Looking for the hidden history and memories that are preserved
Neungheodae Park
Neungheodae Park won’t catch your eyes with large or striking spectacles. However, as you uncover the history and rediscover the old memories hidden in the park, you will slowly soak up the charm of this beautiful and emotional park. Let’s head to Neungheodae Park, a place filled with tidy and charming stories.
Writer Kim Ji-suk
Photographer Jang Hyeon-seon
The memories and traces of dwelling in Neungheodae Park
Constructed in 1988, Neungheodae Park is located at 194-54, Ongnyeon-dong, Yeonsu-gu with a total area of 12 thousand ㎡. Heading into the middle of summer, the entrance of the park was filled with the sounds of cicadas. Although the first thing visitors will notice upon entering the park is the number of trees covering the whole area, the most intriguing of all sceneries however is the pond surrounding a rocky island that catches the eyes of all visitors. In the pond, there are a variety of aquatic plants, fishes, terrapins etc welcoming the visitors. The most outstanding attraction is the small rocky island in the middle of the pond, which is surrounded by all kinds of trees including pine trees and oak trees. Although the park was constructed artificially, the natural scenery of the park presents a mystical atmosphere. The park began to preserve its environment 20 years ago. For such reason, people who have lived nearby for a long time will share special memories about this place. From his writing in 1930, Wuhyeon Ko Yoo-seop, the pioneer of Korean esthetics, mentioned, “Neungheodae is a small sandy island which is located about 4km south of Incheon along the city’s coastline. The island has beautiful trees and rocks, and in the middle of the island, there is a small yet clean area filled with white sands. Different from the view seen at the port, the view of the ocean from Neungheodae is wide open. The waves under the feet are like a landscape painting.”
Due to industrialization and urbanization, the coast was reclaimed, and the area began to develop into a residential neighborhood occupied by apartments and streets. Although the old scenery of Neungheodae disappeared, the rocky island standing in the middle of the pond still holds the old memories and atmosphere. Visitors can enjoy a cool breeze upon landing on the rocky island and entering into the gazebo. It seems that history and legend are being revived whenever the wind blows.
History revisited at Neungheodae
History revisited at Neungheodae
Neungheodae is assigned as Municipal Monument #8. The name Neungheodae has a meaning of ‘Sailing the West Sea as if flying through the sky,’ and the story hidden in the name is interesting.
In the 27th year of King Geunchogo’s reign, Baekje wanted to establish a trading-exchange relationship with Dongjin, China. However, land routes weren’t available due to Goguryeo, and thus Baekje decided to use the waterways as a mean to connect with Dongjin. The starting point of the waterway was at a port named Hannaru, just below Neungheodae. At that time, the safest waterway from the Korean west coast to China was to leave Hannaru and go to Shandong Peninsula through Deokjeokdo Island. The Chinese envoys used the same route to come to Korea. Such exchange between Korea and China was made possible through Hannaru below Neungheodae, from the period of the Three Kingdoms and Goryeo Dynasty to the time of King Gwanghae of Joseon Dynasty. Although the traces of Neungheodae are gone now, the stories related to the place are intertwined in the area names of Incheon. For an example, the name ‘Byeolligogae’ comes from a story of how the Korean families of the envoys to China saw their beloved ones off from the hill, while the name ‘Samojigogae’ comes from a story of how the envoys called the names of their families three times to ease the pain of farewell while crossing the hill.
The sad story of Gisaengbawi Rock
The sad story of Gisaengbawi Rock
Meanwhile, there is a sad story related to Neungheodae, sad enough to be dramatized and performed as a play. According to ‘Incheon Bueupji,’ King Geunchogo dispatched a team of envoys to Dongjin, China during the 4th century to hold Goguryeo in check. To sail to Dongjin, the team went to Hannaru, the history and cultural assets of Incheon. The City Museum has five permanent exhibition rooms, one theme exhibition room, and an outdoor exhibition area. In addition, it boasts an auditorium, seminar room, volunteers’ room and a museum shop. The exhibition rooms display earthenware, ceramics, relics from the modern port opening era, historic materials and artifacts of Incheon, works of the Joseon Dynasty’s major authors, and masterpieces of calligraphy. In the beginning, the directors of the City Museum were professional curators with great passion, including the First Director Lee Gyeongseong, Director Yoo Hee-kang, Director Wu Mun-guk, etc.
After 1968, however, administrative public officials were assigned as the directors, and the City Museum stagnated for nearly 50 years. Recently, however, the museum welcomed a civilian & professional curator Lee Myeong-suk (aged 66, former CEO of Bupyeong Cultural Foundation) as its 38th director. Director Lee is also the first female director of the City Museum.Neungheodae. However, due to a storm and high aves, they couldn’t depart from the port, and thus had decided to stay in a gisaeng(Korean geisha) house until the storm had passed by. There, one of the envoys fell in love with a gisaeng but soon had to go o China to fulfill his duties. Seeing him off on top of a large rock, the gisaeng(woman) couldn’t bare he pain of farewell, and jumped into the ocean after making a deep bow to the envoy. Since then, people started to call the large rock ‘Gisaengbawi(or Giambawi) Rock.’
The museum’s various programs
The museum’s various programs
Based on her delicate feminine touch and abundant experience in the field of culture, Director Lee is thriving to improve the image of the City Museum to fit its history and tradition.
Especially, she is planning to move the City Museum in order to expand its size. The accessibility to the museum is also poor. Director Lee is also preparing to operate a free shuttle bus that connects subway stations with the City Museum, so that more citizens can easily visit the museum.
To become a ‘happy museum,’ the City Museum is preparing various programs that can meet the cultural demands of the citizens of Incheon and contributes to cultural sharing. Some example programs are experiential exhibitions for youths and children, historic programs, educational courses, folk events, and music concerts. For foreigners, the museum will open experiential exhibitions and museum tour programs.
Especially, the museum is planning to operate a transit program from Incheon International Airport so that foreigners can easily visit the museum. In addition, the City Museum is preparing to operate ‘small museums,’ such as exhibition rooms or annex centers inside the airport.
Such efforts of the museum will improve the image of Incheon as an international city with excellent culture, and a city that tourists want to revisit.
