A watchtower overlooks Mangdae Village in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.Courtesy of Jack Greenberg By Jack Greenberg Earlier this summer, I rode the Gyeongchun Line out to Chuncheon, the capital of Gangwon Province. The purpose of my trip was not to eat "dakgalbi" (Korean grilled chicken) or to follow in the footsteps of the characters from "Winter Sonata" (2002) but rather to explore the city's architecture and search for traces of local history.
After several hours of walking without any particular itinerary, I reached the beautiful cathedral of the Missionary Society of St. Columban in Jungnim-dong, which I had first visited last September. The church sits atop a hill and as I climbed, I happened to notice a low-rise neighborhood on the opposite side of the road.
Rising above the old roofs was an unusual sight — a square, white tower. Curiosity aroused, I had to go across for a closer look. This neighborhood, which is within the boundaries of Yaksamyeong-dong, is informally called Mangdae (Watchtower) Village for the obvious fact of the tall structure's presence.
The community's origins can be traced to the 1950s when people displaced by the 1950-53 Korean War decided to settle on the hilly, sloping terrain. To get up close, I first located a narrow set of stairs. They would have been easy to miss if it wasn't for the watchtower-shaped informational sign.
After a few twists and turns, I reached the watchtower's base. However, from here I was too close to see it properly due to overgrowth and because the space in front had been appropriated by the neighboring house for a small garden and to store "onggi," or Korean earthenware, jars. I descended back to the road and tried another set of stairs, this one leading up to an alley that not only offered a much better view of the watchtower but also revealed a fair number of abandoned houses that had become quite dilapidated.
A watchtower overlooks dilapidated old houses of Mangdae Village in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. Courtesy of Jack Greenberg The fate of Watchtower Village has been up in the air since 2010, when a redevelopment plan was first proposed. As is typical in these situations, it has involved much political wrangling as well as lengthy fights in court.
Some of the elderly residents who have lived in the village would rather stay put while others expect that redevelopment will improve local living conditions. The current plan, which calls for 1,468 apartment units, has been approved although compensation for the eventual evictees has yet to be paid out. When redevelopment does happen within the next two to three years, the watchtower — which is one of the oldest structures in Chuncheon — will be demolished.
For years, it was taken for granted that the watchtower was built by Japanese authorities during the colonial period to monitor fires and search for escaped prisoners. Chuncheon Prison, which had been a branch of Seoul's Seodaemun Prison, was located in the area, albeit at a fair distance from the watchtower site. Chuncheon Fire Station was also located in the original Yaksa-dong during the colonial period, but again its location was outside this village.
Last year the Chuncheon Institute of History produced three photos relating to the watchtower's construction. The first, from 1954, shows a three-story wooden structure with a thatched roof at the watchtower's current site. The second, from 1962, was taken from Chuncheon Elementary School.
The current structure is visible in it, although the roof is different from today's. The watchtower is seen to have its current roof in the last photo, which is from 1974. According to local testimony, the watchtower was used after 1981 to make announcements and for civil defense drills.
Over the following few weeks I visited two other historic watchtowers that have managed to survive redevelopment. A worker stands at a truck in front of a watchtower in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province. / Courtesy of Jack Greenberg In the relatively flat downtown of Boryeong (formerly Daecheon) in South Chungcheong Province, I passed by an impressive 10-meter-tall watchtower made from natural stone mixed with cement.
It was built from 1950 to 1951 at the order of the local police chief when remnants of the People's Army and other subversive elements were based near Mount Seongju, carrying out guerilla activities in the area. Designated as a cultural asset, it was thankfully left alone when, in 2020, the old Boryeong Police Station was demolished to make way for a new business complex. I also returned to the site of the former Daejeon Prison in Jungchon-dong, where political prisoners were detained beginning from the March 1 Independence Movement.
Here, one can see a 1971 watchtower made from red brick and cement mortar that measures nearly 8 meters tall. It was originally connected to the prison wall, which was demolished along with the rest of the facility when a new prison was built in 1984 in Yuseong District. A watchtower in Daejeon / Courtesy of Jack Greenberg In both of these places, the respective watchtowers are close enough to the street that their preservation could be accommodated without disrupting new development.
Unfortunately, the awkward location of Chuncheon’s watchtower and the need to alter the site’s terrain mean that its preservation is no easy task. Officials of Chuncheon have pledged that once redevelopment occurs in Yaksamyeon-dong, the city will have a replica of the watchtower constructed and installed in a different location. While it is too late now to save the structure, I fear this watchtower’s significance could be diminished out of its original context.
On the bright side, I am glad that I had the opportunity to document it and share its story before it was too late. Jack Greenberg is a recipient of the Global Korea Scholarship, currently pursuing a master's degree at Korea University's Graduate School of International Studies. He is interested in the history of Korean housing and urban development and documents the changing cityscapes across the country in his free time.
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