Colonial Homes of Guryong-po

The small fishing port of Guryong-po in Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do has an alleyway lined by Japanese-style homes left over from the colonial era, when Japanese settlers established themselves in Guryong-po to develop the region’s fishing and whaling industries. On a hill overlooking the port, the settlers created a park, complete with a shrine where Japanese fishing crews would pray for safe sailing.

Pohang City is working on restoring the alley by 2010 as part of a bid to have it registered as a cultural property (the first time that an entire neighborhood has been so registered). The shrine unfortunately was torn down in March, although the stone steps leading to the park still remain.

The stone steps leading to Guryong-po Park originally had the names of Japanese who contributed to the construction of the park. After Liberation, however, the names were covered over in concrete, flipped over and etched with the names of local Koreans who had contributed to the port’s development.

One wonders what’s under the concrete on this stone monument in Guryong-po Park…

Not everything has been covered up, though.

The neighborhood will probably look a lot different by 2010 once the homes are fully restored. Some of the houses are in desperate need of repair, but that said, dilapidation has its own sort of charm, too… rusting, ramshackle monuments to a fallen empire.

You can read about the rest of my trip to the wonderful city of Pohang in the August issue of SEOUL magazine.