Seocheon Pangyo 'Modern Historical and Cultural Space' National Cultural Heritage Registration Notice

Exterior view of the 'Jangmi Photo Studio' building within the Seocheon Pangyo Modern History and Culture Space, scheduled to be registered as a national registered cultural heritage. This building is a two-story wooden house built in Japanese style in 1932, and it is said that a Japanese landlord lived there at the time of construction. After liberation, its use changed to a guesthouse and photo studio, but currently, it is not in operation and only the building remains. Provided by Chungnam Province

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The modern historical and cultural area around Seocheon Pangyo Station (22,965㎡) is expected to be listed in the national registered cultural heritage.

According to Chungnam Province and Seocheon County on the 3rd, the Cultural Heritage Administration recently announced the registration of the Pangyo modern historical and cultural area as a national registered cultural heritage.

This place is highly valued as a cultural heritage site because it contains traces that allow one to gauge the historical flow of rural areas from the Japanese colonial period to modern times.

In the past, Hyeonam-ri in Pangyo, Seocheon began to develop as a key point of railway transportation when the Chungnam Line Pangyo Station opened in 1930.

Also, in the 1970s, the area prospered during Korea's industrialization period with the development of sawmill and woodworking, rice milling, grain, brewing industries, and marketplaces.

However, according to the province, the area was neglected in the 1980s due to urban-centered national land development, and with the relocation of Pangyo Station in 2008, the Pangyo modern historical and cultural area also entered a path of decline.

Exterior view of the 'Dongil Brewery' building within the Pangyo Modern History and Culture Space. The Modern History and Culture Space is scheduled to be registered as a national registered cultural heritage after a 30-day notice period and review by the Cultural Heritage Committee. Provided by Chungnam Province

The Cultural Heritage Administration included seven buildings constructed between the 1930s and 1970s within the modern historical and cultural area as individual cultural properties.

The buildings included as individual cultural properties are ▲ Dongil Rice Mill ▲ Dongil Brewery ▲ Jangmi Photo Studio ▲ Obang Mill (Samhwa Rice Mill) ▲ Pangyo Theater, allowing confirmation of lifestyle changes by era for each building.

The Pangyo modern historical and cultural area is scheduled to be finally registered as a national registered cultural heritage after a 30-day public notice period and review by the Cultural Heritage Committee.

A provincial official said, “The Pangyo modern historical and cultural area is also called the ‘Village Where Time Stopped’ because it allows us to look back in time and gauge the era through old buildings,” adding, “The province will work with Seocheon County and the Cultural Heritage Administration to promote this area as a representative modern cultural space of the region and widely known as a tourist destination where history and culture can be explored.”

Meanwhile, a stamp tour is currently operated in the Pangyo modern historical and cultural area, allowing visitors to tour the main buildings in sequence.

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