A PRESENT FROM THE SALT POND

Since the establishment

of Namdong Salt Pond,

Yeonsugu has undergone

many changes.

 

Beginning with the 1st salt

pond in Dongchon-ri,

the 2nd and 3rd salt ponds

were later established,

and a school for salt farmers

was built to nurture

professional skills.

 

In 1922, when Namdong Salt Pond

started salt farming in full swing,

13 salt supervisors

and 270 salt farmers

worked at the salt pond.

 

Most salt supervisors were Japanese,

while the salt farmers

were residents of the town.

 

Scaling up from the conventional

economic activities

of half-farming and half-fisheries,

 

Yeonsu-gu’s citizens

could now pursue various

types and scopes of practices,

such as salt farming

and salt distribution businesses.

 

In 1937, the Suin line was opened

and economic activities related

to the salt pond were

even more vitalized,

playing a pivotal role

in making Incheon the base

for sea salt ponds in the southern

part of the Korean Peninsula.

 

These days, it is hard

to find even the traces

of a salt pond;

however, for the people

that come from that age,

Yeonsu-gu’s salt ponds

are still sparkling.

 

The salt ponds are now gone,

while the lives of Yeonsu-gu’s

citizens are ongoing.