[Yeonsu Hanmadang]
Baedari Used Bookstore Street
There are places you don't visit simply because they are so close by. You don't visit them because you think of them as places you can go anytime. Baedari Cultural Village in Geumchang-dong, Dong-gu, Incheon, also known as Baedari Used Bookstore Street, is one such place. Why don't you leave your car, turn off your mobile phone, and go on a picnic hand-in-hand with your family? Pick up any book from the pile, from the bottom or from the top, and open it up to find a whole new world. You can escape from the business of life and catch your breath, if only for a moment or a quarter day.
Writing by Kim Young-suk · Photo by Hong Seung-hun
Every corner of the village is a space for books
To visit Baedari Cultural Village where the used bookstore street is located, it is good to start from Dowon Station, the beginning of Gyeongin Subway. Heading south and to the right with Dowon Station at your back, there is the Railroad
Eoullim Gallery next to the track, a small, cute picture board made by visitors. A pretty mural is on the walls of old houses. The plain and warm pictures resemble the village itself. Their image is indeed the breath of our Grandpas and Grandmas. Walking while listening to the train pass by sounds familiar and yet somehow new. On the street, there are chairs where you can rest and swings. There is even a large frame where a picture and all kinds of artwork are displayed. True to its name, it is indeed a railroad gallery. The mural can be seen from an alley a block away. Here, there are two elementary schools with history and tradition. They are Changyeong Elementary School and Younghwa Elementary School. Built in 1907 with a history of over 100 years, Changyeong Elementary School was Incheon's base of the 1919 Samil Independence Movement. Younghwa Elementary School is Incheon’s first modern education institute. The old architectural style reveals the passage of time. At the end of the street are the used bookstores. In the late 1950s, the used bookstore street began from the area where Changyeong Elementary School and Incheon Tax Office stand. Today, the street stretches to Geumgokdong. There used to be more than 40 used bookstores, but now only six remain. The first store to open in this street is "Jiphyeonjeon." It opened in 1951, during the Korean War, and has a 65-year history. In Incheon, it is the second bookstore to open following Daehanseorim. On the both sides of Jiphyeonjeon are Daechangseorim, Nabinalda Bookstore, Abel Bookstore, Hanmi Bookstore and Samsung Bookstore. Park Kyong-ni, the author of the epic drama "Toji," also ran a used bookstore here. Although the books in the used bookstore are "used," they were once all new. There are also many books that can't be found in ordinary bookstores.
Cultural events are daily
On Baedari Used Bookstore Street, many bookstores hold cultural events. "Poem Attic" run by Abel Bookstore is a poetry reading that meets once a month, while Space Beam, which used to be a brewery, holds all kinds ofworkshops and cultural events. Many other shops such as Photo Zone Baedari, Yoil Shop, From a Point Gallery Cafe, and Guest House also hold their own cultural events. On October 17 (Sat.), the third "Slow Mr. Baedari and Used Books Festival" will be held at Baedari Used Bookstore Street. Just like last year, cultural events such as the sales of used books by six stores and about 20 teams will take place under the railroad bridge at the entrance of the street in Dong-gu. Other events include the screening of interviews with bookstore owners and small performances. Books once someone else’s are waiting for newrelationships. The new owner might read the story and learn new ideas and knowledge, or even how to warmly care for others.
