Gwangju Dong-gu Publishes 'Walking Through the Time of Hakdong'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Im Taek) announced on the 5th that it has published "Walking Through the Time of Hakdong" in collaboration with the Hakdong 4 District Regional Housing Redevelopment Association.

This is the third work following "Figures of Dong-gu" and "Old Shops on Chungjang-ro."

Dong-gu, aiming to be a "humanities city," signed a business agreement with the Hakdong 4 District Regional Housing Redevelopment Association last May as part of the "Humanities City Dong-gu Documentation Project" to record and preserve the humanities resources of the area.

"Walking Through the Time of Hakdong" meticulously captures the village’s history and the joys and sorrows of residents who have lived in close relationships with their neighbors in the Hakdong area. It is organized into four themes: ▲Time and Memory ▲History and Place ▲People and Culture ▲Scenery and Living Spaces, comprehensively covering Hakdong’s past and present within historical events.

Under the theme "Time and Memory," historical memories are reconstructed to broadly review Hakdong’s past, which was once called "Hongnim-ri."

Next, "History and Place" introduces locations that have breathed with citizens throughout history, such as "Mukeunbatang" (the site of the current Chonnam National University Hospital Emergency Medical Center), where baseball club games were held during the Japanese colonial period; the "Kanebo Textile Factory" (currently the site of Samik Ceramic Apartments), built through the harsh labor of teenage girls; and the site of the Jirisan Partisan Central Prison Camp during the Korean War.

"People and Culture" contains stories of figures such as "Wind Rich Man Lee Moon-hwan," "Water Rich Man Guk Chae-jung," "Dust Rich Man Park Heon-dong," and "Founder of Honam Bank Hyun Jun-ho."

In particular, it includes scenes of the thatched houses in "Baekhwa Village," a refugee village established by Baekbeom Kim Gu in 1946, and anecdotes about Gwangju Ranch, the first Korean-owned dairy farm in Gwangju during the Japanese colonial period. Lastly, "Scenery and Living Spaces" features stories about "roads" that have shared the residents’ hardships, such as Baegopun Bridge and Bbungbbung Bridge.

Dong-gu plans to place the book in administrative welfare centers and libraries. Additionally, signboards will be installed at the historical sites mentioned in the book, and it will be used as educational material for resident cultural guides on the "Dong-gu Humanities Walking Trail," as well as for creating secondary works such as content for the upcoming Chungjang Festival.

Mayor Im Taek of Dong-gu said, "It is very regrettable that local resources of the village are gradually disappearing during the continuous urban development and redevelopment of the deteriorated old downtown area. We will maintain the identity of Humanities City Dong-gu by balancing development and preservation and protecting the traces of the village and its people."

Meanwhile, the published "Walking Through the Time of Hakdong" was carried out by the Urban Regeneration Documentation Team of Inbooks Publishing, with overall planning and reporting by poet Kim Ho-gyun, and major authors including Jo Gwang-cheol, curator of the Gwangju History and Folklore Museum.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.