Gwangju Dong-gu Holds Unveiling Ceremony for Humanities Walking Trail Signboard

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Im Taek) announced on the 4th that it installed information boards at historical sites along the ‘Dong-gu Humanities Walking Trail,’ created based on humanities resources, and held an unveiling ceremony.

The unveiling ceremony held at the site of ‘Heunghakgwan’ (currently Gwangsan-dong) was attended by Deputy Mayor Lee Seung-guk, Choi Gi-seong, a descendant of Choi Myung-gu, the founder of Heunghakgwan, Noh Seong-tae, director of the Namdo History Research Institute, Professor Lee Dong-soon of Chosun University, and local cultural guides of the Humanities Walking Trail.

Dong-gu is dotted with places that hold significant historical events from modern and contemporary history, such as the Gwangju Student Independence Movement and the May 18 Democratic Movement. However, due to recent urban development and redevelopment, these historical relics have disappeared without a trace, barely surviving as mere sites.

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

The district plans to initially install information boards at three key resources among the 35 major sites on the Humanities Walking Trail?‘Heunghakgwan,’ ‘Chunmokam,’ and ‘Nongjang Bridge’?and gradually expand the project thereafter.

‘Heunghakgwan’ was built and donated in 1921 by Choi Myung-gu, a local notable, 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 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 a parking lot occupy the site.

‘Chunmokam,’ located in Hwanggeum-dong, was a restaurant operating during the Japanese colonial period, designed by Kim Soon-ha, the only Korean architect in Gwangju at the 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 the Gwangju American Cultural Center. Following an arson incident on December 9, 1980, protesting U.S. responsibility for the May 18 Democratic Movement, it became a symbolic space for anti-American movements in the Gwangju area.

In 1988, the site witnessed a painful history of May 18 when 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) was named because exemplary prisoners from Gwangju Prison crossed it to work at a farm located where the current courthouse stands.

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

The ‘Dong-gu Humanities Walking Trail’ guided program is scheduled to be fully launched next month.

It 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.

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,” adding, “Through documentation work on 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.