Yeongdo Finally Overcomes

Taejongdae is a natural park with strangely shaped rocks and stones that cascade down into the Korea Straits below. Yeongdo Bridge, on the other hand, is the only bascule bridge in Korea. Today, these are two of the most famous tourist destinations in Busan but at a certain point in the past, they were called the “suicide rocks” and the “suicide bridge” respectively. In the course of constructing the Bridge in the 1930’s, countless lives of Koreans mobilized for the construction were lost; those who could no longer take the exploitation by the Japanese jumped off the Yeongdo Bridge and the cliffs of Taejongdae.

In 1950, there was an exponential increase in the population of Busan. War refugees seeking refuge in the southern part of the country settled down in Busan and formed a shanty town as they built shelters along the mountain slopes.

Cheonghak-dong at the foot of Bongnae Mountain in Yeongdo-gu was one such place. Until 1970, roughly 700 residents from 131 households lived in a severely deprived and unhygienic environment that had no water or sewer system.

Houses were so densely packed that there was not enough space for a single cleaning truck to access.

With the spread of Saemaul Undong on a national scale, the Saemaul Promotion Campaign was held in 1971 for Yeongdo-gu residents. At this time, Saemaul leaders were appointed for 14 dongs in Yeongdo-gu, kickstarting major Saemaul living condition improvement projects. Both the natives and the refugees, united by their desire to improve their living environment, worked together to extend narrow alleys and pave roads by removing weeds and rocks. It was only then that cars and cleaning trucks could access the shanty town of Yeongdo-gu.

The densely clustered brothels in Bongrae-dong were another dark side of Korean modern history. For almost 60 years, this grim part of town remained secluded. However, when Bongrae-dong was selected as a region for a Saemaul living condition improvement project, its residents began to persuade the owners and employees of the brothels. Rather than have the women evicted, the residents tried to send them back home or help them find new work through dialogue. Through these efforts, this red light district ended its 60-year history.

Taejongdae, boasting a fantastic coastal view, is not only a regional attraction of Yeongdo but a famous tourist destination in Korea. Maintaining its beauty and value was truly an important Saemaul project. The residents of Yeongdo succeeded in completing, all by themselves, the large-scale project of improving the coastal roads reaching four kilometers in length along Taejongdae.

Not only did they install drains and move natural rocks but they erected stone walls as well as plant flowering trees. They extended the width of the roads turning sharp corners near the shore, thereby securing safety for moving vehicles, and repaired the formerly abandoned cliff areas to ensure safety.Every single process of Yeongdo’s transformation was undertaken at the hands of its 140,000 residents, which means that on a daily average between 5,000 and 6,000 people participated in the project during 1972 and 1973. It is recorded that some 800,000 stones and 250,000 natural rocks were used to construct stone walls. It was dangerous and perilous work but not a single life was lost during the process.

Today, we can no longer see the poverty-stricken and dark past of Yeongdo. Following the Saemaul living condition improvement projects in the 1970’s, Cheonghak-dong is now occupied by newly-built apartments, Yeongdo Bridge attracts tourists with its daily openings, and Taejongdae has earned a reputation as a popular amusement area for tourists.