Water guns (水銃器) used from the Japanese colonial period until the 1980s, which had been stored in a village hall in Yangju City, will be opened to the public.
The Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced on the 6th that they received the water guns kept by the residents of Sangsu 2-ri, Nam-myeon, Yangju City, and will exhibit them at the Gyeonggi Fire History Museum in the Osan Gyeonggi Citizen Safety Experience Center.
The donation of the water guns occurred after an employee of the Yangju Fire Station visited the village hall in connection with fire damage reduction measures, discovered the stored water guns, requested their donation from the village chief, and the residents willingly agreed.
The water guns are estimated to have been produced during the Japanese colonial period, and the attached equipment such as rakes and hooks have been preserved in their original form since their manufacture, making them highly valuable as firefighting historical artifacts.
The water gun, also called a firefighting hand pump or manual pump, is a manually operated fire suppression device worked by human arms. It is the predecessor of modern fire trucks and was invented in the West in the 16th century. It was introduced to Korea through China in 1723 (the 3rd year of King Gyeongjong's reign). This year marks the 300th anniversary of the water gun's introduction to Korea.
Jo Seon-ho, head of the provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters, said, "Firefighting artifacts are precious cultural heritage not only for firefighters but for all residents of the province," and added, "We will honor the intentions of the residents of Sangsu 2-ri, Nam-myeon, Yangju City, who donated these items by preserving and displaying them to the public."
The provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters has excavated Korea's oldest wooden water gun, made 113 years ago in 1910, and has been exhibiting it at the Citizen Safety Experience Center since July.
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