Installation of Historical Site Signboards on the 'Inmun Sanchaek-gil' in Dong-gu, Gwangju

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Im Taek) announced on the 29th that it has installed information boards at historical sites along the ‘Dong-gu Humanities Walking Trail,’ which was created based on cultural resources.

Dong-gu is dotted with locations that hold significant historical events from modern and contemporary history, such as the Gwangju Student Independence Movement and the May 18 Democratic Uprising.

However, due to recent urban development and redevelopment, these historical relics have disappeared without a trace, barely maintaining their legacy as mere sites.

Accordingly, Dong-gu has begun installing information boards at these disappearing historically significant sites to widely inform residents.

Among the 35 major resources on the Humanities Walking Trail, the district has prioritized installing information boards at three locations: ‘Heunghakgwan’ (around 100 Gwangsan-dong, Dong-gu), ‘Chunmokam’ (Hwanggeum-dong, Gwangju American Cultural Center), and ‘Nongjang Bridge’ (Jisan-dong, current Dongji Bridge), with plans to gradually expand this effort.

‘Heunghakgwan,’ located around 100 Gwangsan-dong, Dong-gu, was built and donated in 1921 by Choi Myeong-gu, a local leader, to serve as a space for youth cultivation and education.

Marking its 100th anniversary this year, Heunghakgwan was a stage for activities by Gwangju youth and civic groups and served as a venue for enlightenment movements that fostered anti-Japanese spirit among young people through night school operations.

It also functioned as a cultural space hosting invited lectures by An Jae-hong and Bang Jeong-hwan, as well as cultural and sports events. Currently, commercial facilities such as parking lots are located there.

‘Chunmokam,’ located in Hwanggeum-dong, was a restaurant operated during the Japanese colonial period, designed by Kim Soon-ha, the only Korean architect in Gwangju at that time. After liberation, it was managed as enemy property by the U.S. military government, then operated as the Gwangju American Information Center, and later as the Gwangju American Cultural Center.

Following an arson incident on December 9, 1980, protesting the U.S. responsibility for the May 18 Democratic Uprising, it became a symbolic space for anti-American movements in the Gwangju area.

In 1988, the site witnessed painful history related to May 18, including an incident where actor Ahn Nae-sang, then a Yonsei University student, planted a homemade time bomb that failed to detonate. The site was temporarily closed in 1989 and is now occupied by a parking building.

‘Nongjang Bridge’ (currently Dongji Bridge), located in Jisan-dong, was named because exemplary prisoners from Gwangju Prison crossed it to work at a farm on the current courthouse site. Gwangju Prison, located in Dongmyeong-dong at the time, was also a place where many independence activists endured harsh imprisonment during the Japanese colonial period.

Currently, under Nongjang Bridge stands ‘Blue Road Cultural Spring,’ the 11th work of Gwangju Poly, designed by architect Seung Hyo-sang.

Starting in March, the ‘Dong-gu Humanities Walking Trail’ guided tour program will be officially launched.

The program plans to share precious stories embedded in Dong-gu’s historical sites with residents, including explanations of the execution site of the militia leader Gi Sam-yeon, installed by Gwangju City, and the Gwangju Independence Movement monument.

For more details, inquiries can be made to the Humanities City Policy Division, Humanities City Planning Section.

Im Taek, Mayor of Dong-gu, said, “The time and history accumulated and preserved by a city are important assets that show the city’s identity. Through the documentation of places with historical value that we must remember and preserve, we will widely inform residents and ensure that future generations can honor their significance.”

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