Suncheon

At the end of the 19th century, the area around Suncheon had long been known as an important military and administrative center. Its early modern and colonial history is not widely known, but it was the events during this time period that led to its gradual urban reformation under Japanese rule. As the former Joseon seat of power in the region, it contained a fortress town, Suncheoneupseong (순천읍성). The fall of traditional Suncheon began with the Gabo Reform as, in 1895, it became the County of Suncheon (Suncheon-gun). Its administrative jurisdiction, which covered a large area, was then reduced by half in 1897 (the counties of Yeosu and Suncheon were also incorporated during this change).¹

Like a number of former Joseon centers, any old world power, status, and prestige that came with being a well-established fortress town rapidly melted away after Suncheon’s initial administrative changes. By 1908, the Resident-General‘s broad restructuring of administrative divisions had led to the incorporation of a number of townships into Suncheon-gun, including Nagan-gun which doesn’t remain today but the area is currently known for its folk village.²

Suncheon’s Spatial Arrangement and Early Growth
Suncheon Fortress (순천읍성) was built right on the northern side of Okcheon Stream, where its south gate opened to a stone bridge. Taking up a mere 42 acres (.07 square miles), the fortress walls did not encompass a very large space by today’s standards. Nevertheless, this spot represented the Joseon authority in Suncheon. In the 1900s, many former Joseon centers fell victim to local and central government policies leading to the dismantling of fortress walls. Though I haven’t found any specific research on Suncheon’s fortress walls, the fact that present day roads (parts of Okcheon-gil, Honam-gil, Gamsateo-gil, and Simin-ro) sitting in the exact same sections where the old walls previously existed suggests that Suncheon Fortress met a similar fate: the walls were torn down and roads were put in their place. Photos from the 1910s still showed at least parts of the fortress walls to be intact, but by 1923, only the southern gate remained.³ This gate stuck around at least until the 1930s but I’m not sure when it was destroyed. This shows that, for comparison, the destruction of Suncheon’s fortress walls came later than major cities (Daegu, Dongnae, etc).

Japanese settlers started to put down roots in the Suncheon area around 1905 – the time of Korea becoming a protectorate of Japan.⁴ Despite having such a relatively small population, the newcomers had enormous influence on the reshaping of Suncheon – a fact which became clearer and clearer as time went on. It was then the establishment of Suncheon Public Normal School in 1911 that showed Suncheon was on track to become a modernized and important regional educational center (discussed further below).⁵ However, it is important to note that even in the 1910s, Suncheon as a whole did not look very “modern”. Only sections of the town would have had Western-Japanese architecture and, per the pictures linked to before, the town still retained at least parts of its fortress walls and numerous chogajip homes in the 1910s. In the 1920s, electrical poles next to remaining thatched-roof buildings made for an interesting blend of old and new. When Suncheon’s relatively small population is taken into consideration, it is then unsurprising to see its modernization coming a little later than major cities (discussed further below). By 1923, the developing urban area in present day Suncheon still only had about 547 Japanese residents, yet in 1928 their number had increased to about 1,300 out of some 18,705 total people in the entire city.⁶ By 1943, the city had grown to about 34,805 people in total. (For comparison, the Dong-A Ilbo reported in 1932 that the population of all the land within Suncheon’s jurisdiction amounted to almost 120,000 total people.)⁷

Colonial Suncheon’s spatial arrangement was not unlike Miryang‘s, where the train station was built far from the old Joseon town center. When Suncheon Station was constructed in 1930, it was done so more than a kilometer away from the old Suncheon Fortress. Built on the opposite side of the East Suncheon Stream, the station attracted Japanese residents and the area even featured a large neighborhood (like Samnangjin and Gyeongju) of simple, wooden Japanese-style houses (discussed further below).⁸ There were then the Presbyterian missionaries and their structures, which occupied the hill space just north of the former fortress (discussed further below). All the other parts of the city developed during and after industrialization.

The Rise of Suncheon as a Transportation Hub
In 1920, telephone wires were run between Suncheon and Gurye as tele-traffic grew within Suncheon, Namwon, and Jeonju.⁹ The early 1920s also saw the construction of roads between Suncheon and Hadong, and from Suncheon passing through Beolgyo, Bosung, Jangheung, Gangjin, Haenam, before ending in Jindo.¹⁰ By 1924, the roads were being used by the mail system.¹¹ During this decade, Suncheon drew business interest from a number of automobile companies. In 1925, the Suncheon Samwoo company applied for a car service between Suncheon and Gokseong. The Gwangha Automobile Company (光诃自動車部) initiated an automobile transportation company between Gwangyang and Suncheon in the same year.¹² In 1927, a businessman named Kim Han-gyu was able to establish an automobile business of some kind between Yeosu and Suncheon for three luxury cars.¹³ In 1936, the Railway Bureau (branch of the Government-General) initiated its own state automobile service between Suncheon and Jinju.¹⁴

In addition to automobile growth, the 1937 total completion of all the sections of what is currently called the Jeolla Rail Line running between Iri (Iksan) and Yeosu contributed to Suncheon’s transformation into a transportation hub. This line connected Suncheon to the north on December 16, 1936. (The line began in 1917 and was completed in sections until it reached Suncheon in 1936). The Gwangju Line running from Gwangju to Yeosu connected Suncheon to the west six years earlier, on December 25, 1930. Suncheon was not unlike Daejeon in that it enjoyed rail access to a number of cities, but it never reached its potential under Japanese rule. This may partially be due to Suncheon seemingly never being fully connected to the east by rail during the colonial period. The Gyeongjeon Line, which ran through cities east of Suncheon, began in Samnangjin and went west towards Changwon, Jinhae, Masan, and Jinju, and appears to have never made it to Suncheon until 1968. Had Suncheon been connected in every direction much earlier in the Japanese occupation, it may have become a more significant colonial city.

Interestingly, though it wasn’t finished until 1968, it appears that construction of a line between Suncheon and Jinju began shortly after Suncheon was connected north to Iri(Iksan) in 1936.¹⁵ A train maintenance shed in Boseong was moved to Suncheon Station during this time and some one hundred railway employee residences were constructed to the northeast of Suncheon Station. Many of these homes remain today (discussed further below).

Further evidence of Suncheon’s former potential for becoming a large intercity rail hub can be seen in its securing of an important railway office. Though the Railway Bureau was considering placing the office in Gwangju due to the city’s convenient railway facilities and quality education facilities for the familes of railway employees, Suncheon created a construction company that could serve the needs of the railway and another kind of supporting association that somehow advocated for middle school education. These measures were apparently influential enough to help convince the Railway Bureau to build the railway office in Suncheon.¹⁶ The Dong-A Ilbo reported on July 18, 1936, that Suncheon was expected to grow significantly within the next few years. Within five years, it was thought that Suncheon could have even surpassed Daejeon in size.¹⁷ Real estate prices in the downtown area rose significantly. Though the city’s growth was promising during the 1930s up until liberation, it seems it never reached its potential.

Commercial and Educational Growth
The Suncheon Branch of Honam Bank was established in 1922,¹⁸ which was one of three big banking institutions in the area along with Suncheon Financial Cooperative and Suncheon Mujin Joint-stock Corporation.¹⁹ Founded on June 5, 1925, Suncheon Electric Company was one of the larger firms to be established in the area judging by its initial capital investment of 220,000 won.²⁰ Followed by Suncheon Motors in 1927,²¹ Suncheon Fabrics in 1928,²² and Suncheon Brewing Company in 1932 (順天裂麯),²³ these were some of the biggest companies at the time in terms of invested capital. Because of its proximity to Yeosu, Suncheon shared a close commercial relationship with its coastal neighbor. Goods from Yeosu were dealt in Suncheon’s markets. Suncheon also, of course, contained some small businesses and factories.

Regarding its educational facilities, there was the aforementioned Suncheon Public Normal School, which was founded in 1911 but actually began life as Seungmyeong Private School in 1906.²⁴ Ten years later, in 1921, Maesan Boys’ and Girls’ School was founded by U.S. Presbyterians, though they had their hands in education in Suncheon before that (discussed further below). The Y.M.C.A. established Suncheon Kindergarten in 1926, and the Suncheon Labor Academy followed in 1927. Maesan School began running an agricultural and farming training center in 1931, which wasn’t officially recognized until 1935. Suncheon Public Agricultural School was opened in 1935, followed by Suncheon High School in 1938.²⁵

While the establishment of these schools might appear simple and linear on the surface, there were a number of complications regarding the progress of Suncheon’s educational facilities. First, it must be noted that having a middle school showed that the city was growing. But some locals longed for higher quality education.²⁶ In 1923, an association affiliated with Suncheon Public Normal School gathered to raise 100,000 won in sponsorship money to support education in Suncheon.²⁷ Another meeting of the district heads and community leaders was called in order to solicit financial support from wealthy society members for a new school. Those active in the community clearly wanted to attract more money and business from outside Suncheon, yet the lack of quality secondary schools was deemed a road block to the city’s development. Despite this, the previously mentioned efforts all failed to bring about any new schools. Such was the state of education in Suncheon in the 1920s up until after the mid 1930s.

Given Suncheon’s centralized location, the construction of a high school was expected. At the time, the closest one was in Gwangju. However, it wasn’t until 1937 that funding for a high school was somehow attained by one Kim Jong-ik.²⁸ Suncheon High School was completed in 1938, but locals had also argued for a girls’ high school in Suncheon in the previous year. The Dong-A Ilbo reported on October 4, 1937 that locals were furious to hear that the new girls’ high school would not be built in Suncheon.²⁹ This turned out to be true and the girls’ high school was constructed in Yeosu.

Stunted Suncheon?
Despite the city’s growth, by the 1930s it had become apparent to some that Suncheon was “behind” many other cities and that its ethnic differences were causing problems.³⁰ The subject was discussed at a forum held by the Dong-A Ilbo, where lack of merchant capital and institutions representing business interests were blamed for Suncheon’s relatively slow growth.³¹ City improvements were debated, specifically the poor road design in areas where mostly Koreans resided. This was an issue due to concerns over fire trucks’ inability to pass through such narrow streets.³²

Such an issue is perhaps evidence of the way the socio-economic split could have influenced Suncheon’s future growth. The difference in living conditions between the Korean and Japanese areas led to significant internal conflict that may have stunted Suncheon’s overall modernization and development. Some seemed to have felt that they had little power or influence to change the situation as well. Korean merchants felt so generally misrepresented in the city’s business affairs that, in 1934, they established their own economic institution to represent their interests.³³

In addition to media and news being dominated by Japanese companies, Koreans also felt like they got the short end of the stick with regard to electricity. When the Suncheon Electric Company was established in 1925, all residents had to prepay their electricity bills each month before getting any power. However, the power company may not have been very reliable. Frequent blackouts brought about complaints from Korean residents. Within the first twenty days of the company’s opening, there were more than ten power failures or short circuit issues. The company also seemed to have passed off lower rated light bulbs as being higher rated (13cd vs 25cd). Issues with the electric company apparently continued until at least 1932, when a lawsuit against Suncheon Electric Company was taken to the Gwangju District Court.³⁴

Another example of Suncheon’s internal conflict was the issue of its railway station. In the late 1920s, the Southern Joseon Railway Company was interested in building a station somewhere between Yeosu and Gwangyang, which would eventually become Suncheon Station.³⁵ However, even finding a location was not that simple. The Dong-A Ilbo reported on January 17, 1929, that a group of community leaders (wealthy or influential Korean and Japanese residents of Suncheon) had as a group refused to accept the railway company’s stiff demands to help support the station’s construction.³⁶ The Japanese community leaders were silent on the matter whereas the Koreans leaders opposed the railway company’s demands of their donating half of the required land for the station. It bothered them that it would be given for free. Another Korean community leader, Kim Bong-ju, thought the city’s focus should have been on educational facilities, not on the railroad. A committee meeting was held around April of 1930, but was disbanded due to the absence of the Korean leaders.³⁷ Regardless, Suncheon Station was built the following autumn on October 25, 1930.

Namnae-dong, Haeng-dong, Yeong-dong, Jeojeon-dong, Okcheon-dong
Beginning near the South Gate Bridge, one can immediately see the influence of modern Japan in Suncheon. A multi-storied red brick building sits along the stream here in the present-day market and shopping area. However, on the south side of the stream there is one Japanese colonial house that looks abandoned and locked, making it difficult to photograph. Across the street of this house is an early modern hanok. Such hanok are scattered throughout this area.

Near the area that Suncheon has dubbed a culture street in Yeong-dong, there is then an early to mid-century modern gabled warehouse type structure that housed the former Hanbit Church and is now used as a gallery or workshop of some kind. Here we can find an old red brick wall. A few more hanok, early modern buildings, and brick remains can be found around here.

About two blocks west of here is another interesting Japanese influenced building. It’s a typical wooden Meiji-inspired structure but its first story is made of red brick. This one is probably the best preserved, however generic, minor colonial building here. It doesn’t appear to have been documented by the city or the Cultural Heritage Administration. More hanok can be found around here.

Perhaps 300 meters further west of here is the most interesting remaining set of buildings in this area. Eight wooden structures that would have been uniform in their past lives sit in two neat rows. Only a few show their origins and most of them have had their facades remodeled. One of these buildings has become a Registered Cultural Heritage site referred to as the Seo Han-mo House (서한모가옥) named after its current owner. Built in 1935, these were the residences of officials of some kind. They’re generic wooden buildings and similar to other housing blocks that were built by the Japanese during the occupation. Ironically, the one building that is registered has had its roof covered with that aluminum/plastic stuff. I visited the site in 2014 and at that time the roof tiles were still visible. A recent visit from this year (2016) shows the new roof/cover.

2016:

2014:

Maegok-dong
The Presbyterian mission in Suncheon was established here, in present day Maegok-dong. Taking up a large area to the north, outside the former Suncheon fortress walls, the Presbyterians built a number of noteworthy stone and brick structures over here. In 1910, missionaries Preston, Nisbett, Wildson, and Harrison met in order to discuss the details of establishing a missionary station in Suncheon. Prior to this, Owen, who died in 1909, had been active in this area (Gwangyang, Naju, Bosung, Hwasun) since 1905. Bible studies and other educational classes were held in a dormitory near the local Confucian school (항교) beginning in April of 1910. After purchasing land and constructing some buildings (it seems most of the first buildings no longer remain), the American Southern Presbyterian Mission finally founded their station here in Suncheon in 1913. In keeping with the Presbyterian tradition of using education and medicine for their mission work, the mission station in Suncheon was led by Alexander Hospital, Maesan School, and Maesan Girls’ School. Suncheon Presbytery – the administrative/governing body of local congregations – wasn’t established until 1922.³⁸

Today, the architectural legacy of the Presbyterian mission here is still quite visible. Coming up the street, the present day George Watts Memorial hall was constructed in 1925 and used as a clinic for tuberculosis patients, among other things it seems.³⁹ Though not made of granite like some of the other missionary buildings near here, its gray brick matches nicely with them. These bricks, which were included in other Presbyterian buildings mentioned below, were imported from Shanghai through Townsend & Co. in Incheon (Chemulpo).* The interior materials were bought from Montgomery Ward in San Francisco.*

Just up the hill along the same street one can find the 1930 hall of Maesan Middle School. Originally built as the George Watts Memorial Boys’ School in the same gray brick as the previously mentioned George Watts hall, this granite stone structure replaced the gray brick structure in 1930. Naturally, the granite was mined locally, coming from Suncheon and Okcheon while much of the interior materials were brought over from the U.S. The school voluntarily closed in September of 1937 as some Presbyterians refused to participate in Shinto related activities. Under pressure, Suncheon Presbytery debated whether or not to visit Yasukuni Shrine. After the group choose to do so, many missionaries withdrew from the presbytery and, later, members of the presbytery changed their minds and decided to oppose Shinto worship again. In 1940, all fifteen foreign pastors in the Suncheon Presbytery were detained and then deported out of Korea.⁴⁰

Behind the school hall lie two old houses, one of which was constructed around the time of the mission station’s founding. The Preston House is estimated at having been built around 1913, making it one of the oldest buildings left in Suncheon – and certainly the oldest Western building. Unlike the 1930 hall of Maesan Middle School, the Preston House’s granite stonework is neatly cut and assembled. The supports for the porch use gray brick. In its current state, the building is a perfect 1:1 square, but the left side used to have a a two-story, overhanging porch/balcony attached, similar to the Wilson House in Gwangju. Judging by old photos, this section was built with wood and gray bricks. The balcony may have been demolished around 1955, and the roof redone in 1988.* In its original state it mixed Korean giwa roof tiles with Western stone architecture as well. The house was perhaps designed by missionary Martin Luther Swinehart,* who came to Korea with his wife, Lois Hawks Swinehart, and was based in Gwangju between 1911 and 1937. The building is currently being used as a language lab for Maesan Girls’ High School.

Across the dirt recreational field, one can see the old Rogers House, which is identical in style but slightly larger than the Preston House. Unlike the Preston House, the Rogers House still retains its protruding, enclosed porch section that features a second story above it. The square section of the Rogers House was built with the same neat granite as the Preston House, but the Rogers House’s enclosed two-story porch used gray brick.

On a hill behind the Preston and Rogers houses lies an enclosed area that is off limits to the public. While I tried to gain access to it, the Presbyterian pastor who allowed me into the George Watts Memorial Hall couldn’t/wouldn’t let me into this hillside area. In this restricted area there are two old Presbyterian buildings. One of these is the former residence of missionary Robert Thornwell Coit. The other is something simply labeled “Foreign School”, though it is unclear exactly who it was used for.⁴¹ Both of these buildings are empty and unused at the moment. From the street I got a shot of one of the buildings, which I think is the Coit House. Another tiny shed looking structure made of stone was just barely visible from the street as well.

Geumgok-dong
Just down the road from the Coit House and the “Foreign School” is what appears to be an abandoned Presbyterian missionary house. Though not nearly as grand as the previously mentioned Presbyterian buildings, it is nonetheless significant. The building wasn’t even really visible until a section of worthless concrete homes were destroyed behind it, revealing its gray bricks and chimney done in the same style as the other Presbyterian buildings. Unfortunately, brief searches have revealed no information about this building, and it looks like nobody has photographed it in recent years – if ever. However, it clearly was built by the Presbyterian mission sometime before 1945. The roof has been changed but it may have been similar to its neighbors back in the day. Sections of this single story building were covered with cement sometime after 1945, which you can see here and there. I was only able to get one shot of the interior of one of the rooms.

UPDATE 9/30/17: This building was the Alexander Hospital isolation ward for patients with infectious diseases. The main hospital building no longer remains, but the city has already purchased and renovated this old isolation ward in the year between when I took the photos below and today.

Catholicism in Suncheon goes back at least to the founding of Jeojeon (Catholic church, falls under the archdiocese of Gwangju) in 1932, though it is likely there was a Catholic presence here before the church’s official establishment. Nothing remains of the original church building, but I did come across the present bishop’s house on this hillside in a neighborhood. I only mention it because something about the shape of the underlying frame looks colonial. It’s possible it was built in the 1950s or so, but the shape is very Western and very symmetrical, which wasn’t used very often after liberation. The house features a large garden, whose trees are visible from outside the walled-in vicarage.

Neighboring hanok structures can be seen around here as well. Another colonial, perhaps Japanese built, two-story house is visible from a distance (pictured below), however due to the way the alleyways were situated, sections were locked with gates, preventing me from getting close up to it.

Jangcheon-dong
A set of old hanoks can be found in this neighborhood. They are currently used as Myeonggunggwan, a highly regarded traditional restaurant.

Jogok-dong
On the eastern side of East Suncheon Stream lies an area that may have been solely developed by Japanese. Here we can find the site of Suncheon Station (the original building no longer remains) and some older railway buildings that could date to the colonial period but likely came from the mid-century. Pictured below, these structures could have a wooden frame underneath that has since been cemented over. At the backside of present day Suncheon Station, we can see its old railway water tower, which was almost certainly built during the colonial period as its design is similar to others from that time.

Just slightly northeast of Suncheon Station lies the previously mentioned former railway employee residential neighborhood. Established either by or with the help of the Southern Joseon Railway Company, there were perhaps about one hundred generic wooden Japanese buildings constructed in this neighborhood. Its uniform, grid-like structure is not only typical of modern Japanese city planning, but this neighborhood is specifically comparable to the colonial railway employee housing neighborhoods in Gyeongju and Samnangjin. A number of these homes have been so renovated that they are unrecognizable, but you can see some of the more original examples pictured below.

Near the front side of present day Suncheon Station sits a minor, but curious, colonial Japanese-style two story wooden building. At first glance, the structure’s less common intersecting roof beams are the most eye-catching feature due to the building’s blocky, angled shape. On closer examination, a few molded cement designs can be seen along the first-floor facade. Cement, concrete, and some kinds of stone can all be difficult to date as they sometimes do not show much wear over time. I can’t say with certainty whether or not this cement molding is original, but I do know that it would have been unusual post-liberation – so I’m leaning towards it being original. The most curious part of this building is a corner section with a molded ship’s hull and anchor. Was the building originally made like this? Was the exterior cement and molding added after liberation? The hull and anchor seem gimmicky and possibly a product of, for example, a restaurant trying to add a thematic element to their business. It’s confusing and fascinating.

On the other side of this structure is another early modern structure with its original woodwork showing. The urban planning around Suncheon Station is also noteworthy as it forms a half-wheel with streets in the form of “spokes” protruding away from the station.

North of Jukdobong Park (a small mountain park), one can find a curious old Joseon styled, yet modern-influenced, set of hanoks. Unfortunately, however, I’ve been unable to find anything about this place. In traditional old world Korean style, a set of giwa roof structures are enclosed by clay-rock walls. Likely a home used for memorial service preparation or as a shrine, it is surprising that the government doesn’t seem to have done anything to protect or restore the site.

The gate’s Western-influence suggests it to be from the 1920s or 1930s. Brick can be seen here but it’s unclear how old it is. A brick and mortar arch that does appear to be original can be seen in the fourth photo below. The outer walls feature a few newer gray bricks near the gate that are not original. A car garage and some newer tile bricks at the roof’s gable are also obviously not original. The red brick chimneys were likely added years later after the building’s initial construction. The main structures are in pretty good condition. However, a couple of buildings in the back, which look to be early modern and not done with a traditional Joseon roof, are in poor shape and the entire estate is overgrown with vegetation. If you’re reading this blog and you know anything about this place, please comment below or send me an email.