2-2 Songrim
The place where my grandparents lived was songrim-dong, Dong-gu, Incheon. The place has many names. It was called “Sudoguksan”, “Ddong(poop) hill”, “Huffing hill”, and so on. Now the place looks completely different from when my mother lived. In the fall of 2021, I happened to go to Hyundai Market located in Dong-gu, Incheon. When I told my mother that I had been to Hyundai Market, she said that she spent her childhood around there. The area around the market was scheduled for redevelopment, so all the residents left and there were only ruins. Newspaper wallpaper blowing in the wind, and full-length mirrors that someone might have looked at preserved the appearance of people once living there. At the same time, the no-trespassing tape aggravated the desolation of the abandoned house.
The image of houses full of hand-built traces was powerful. I couldn't forget that image in my mind, so I wandered the abandoned house like a stray cat until it was about to be demolished. I wondered what this attraction was. At the same time, I started asking my maternal grandparents about the time they lived in Dong-gu, Incheon.
Before it was demolished in 2022, I could visit there with my grandparents and asked questions.
pictures of my grandparents walking around the place where they used to live
As soon as the grandmother riched the place and got out of the car, she apologized for coming so late and spoke toward the Salvation Army church building where she had her wedding. She said she felt like crying. She thought the neighbors and place would stay the same as before. Also she said that it would be nice if all her neighbors who lived with her would also come back and live there together.
I also want to introduce two writings from two articles which wrote about their memory of Songrim. It shows how Songrim was called and formed.
Our neighborhood in Songrim-dong was also called “Donggogae(poop hill)” and there was a large reservoir containing seawater nearby. Beyond the reservoir dam was the sea. Now it is land and many factories and apartments have been built, but at that time, the western region was “Gae-guunu(across the sea)”. In the summer, I lost track of time because I was swimming and fishing for gobies. In front of the house was ‘Buddha Mountain’, named because it was the place where the stone Buddha statue was located. It is where Jaeneung University and Chungwoon University are located today. 10
Songrim-dong was divided into inner Songrim and outer Songrim. Inner songlim refers to the neighborhood from behind the old Hyundai Theater to Seoheung Elementary School. The houses and alleys here are relatively spacious and nice. In inner songrim, refugees from Pyeongan Province, who lived there immediately after liberation, who returned from evacuation from the War and who came to South Korea during the January 4 Retreat, lived together.
The outer Songrim was always inferior to the inner Songrim due to the lack of regional solidarity. Refugees from Hwanghae Province came in large numbers and settled in the outer Songrim, but they were different from the refugees from Pyeongan Province. Since they fled from Yeonbaek, Jangyeon, Songhwa, and Chodo, which are relatively close to Incheon, without being prepared for division, most people made a living by catching fish in the sea or owning a few boats. Because they made my living mainly by boating around Hwasu wharf, it took a lot of difficulty and time to establish a basis for living.*
10. Yoo Pilwoo, Incheon is a city that gave me pride, 2020
* Unfortunately, when I visited the article, it was gone. So I could not find the link.