'The History of Camp Market in One Place'... Incheon City Establishes Basic Plan for Documentation Project

Opening of the 2030 Archive Complex Cultural Space

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City is set to intensify archive work that allows a comprehensive view of the history of Bupyeong Camp Market, which was used as a Japanese military weapons manufacturing factory during the colonial period, then as a US military base, and is now returning to the citizens.

The city announced on the 24th that it has established a basic plan for building the Camp Market archive.

Accordingly, from this year until 2025, the city will begin preparations for a digital archive through the discovery and collection of records, then plans to build a platform and organize an operating body by 2028.

Additionally, aiming for an opening in 2030, the city will create a complex cultural space for the archive and operate various programs linked with Camp Market Park.

The city will secure dedicated personnel such as curators to enhance the professionalism of the work and will disclose the list of records on the Camp Market website.

Until now, academia, experts, and citizens within the local community have continuously advocated for the establishment of an archive, emphasizing the need to discover, preserve, and spread the value of records related to Camp Market.

Accordingly, starting with the 'Camp Market Archive Construction Direction Study' by the Incheon Research Institute in the first half of 2021, the city derived proposals on the necessity of archive construction, secured related budgets, and conducted the 'Camp Market Archive Basic Plan Establishment Service' from March to November last year.

View of Bupyeong US Military Base (Camp Market)

A city official stated, "A systematic archive construction and plans to utilize cultural content based on records are expected to promote the region's historicity and sense of place, and serve as a guide for establishing the identity and direction of the Camp Market cultural park to be completed in the future."

Camp Market, located in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, opened in 1939 as the Japanese weapons factory 'Jobyeongchang,' was used as a US military base after liberation in 1945, and was closed in October 2021 following the relocation of the unit.

According to the Korea-US agreement, 210,000㎡ out of the total 440,000㎡ was returned in December 2019, and the remaining land is expected to be returned soon.