[Joyongjun's Travel Stories] The Days When Even Neighborhood Dogs Carried a 10,000 Won Bill

Do You Know the Kkachibal Buildings in Taebaek Cheoram Village?
A Time Travel to the Mining History of 1970-1980
Taebaek in Its Heyday, More Glamorous Than Myeongdong, Seoul

The Kkachibal Building of Cheoram Coal Mine Historical Village

A statue of a miner waving to his family as he safely goes to work today

When it comes to winter travel destinations across the country, there is one place that always comes to mind: Taebaek in Gangwon Province. It boasts countless travel spots, such as the beautiful snow flowers of Manhangjae, the majestic winter mountain range of Baekdudaegan visible from Hambaksan, the spirit-filled Taebaeksan, and the windy hill of Maebongsan. Not only that, the Taebaek Snow Flower Festival, famous for its large snow sculptures, also plays a significant role. However, this story is not about the beautiful winter scenery of Taebaek. It is a time travel journey to find the forgotten mining village that once thrived even more than Myeongdong Street in Seoul during the 1970s and 1980s. Taebaek, which was so prosperous that even the neighborhood dogs were said to carry 10,000 won bills in their mouths, what kind of image does it still hold? If you are planning a trip to Taebaek this winter, be sure to include a visit to the history of the mining era in your itinerary.

The Cheoram Coal Mining Historical Village, located about 170 meters from Taebaek Cheoram Station, is a living history museum that restores and preserves the old mining village residential facilities. The past scenery remains intact, as if actors would start performing the moment the director shouts "Action!" It is a place where miners who dug coal and children who saw briquettes for the first time meet, a place where Taebaek played a central role in South Korea's coal industry.

In the 1970s, when the mining village was booming, the Cheoram area was as crowded as Seoul’s Myeongdong Street, with tens of thousands of people aspiring to become miners. From the Cheoram apartment shopping district to the hillside shantytown, the city rapidly expanded during Cheoram’s "prime time." The mining village’s economy was so good that even dogs carried 10,000 won bills, and it is said that Cheoram’s neighborhood dogs carried 100,000 won bills, reflecting the heyday of the coal industry. Miners were guaranteed high wages including hazard pay, making Cheoram a "land of opportunity" to build a foundation for life’s turnaround. The glory of Cheoram unfolds one by one at the retro-themed Cheoram Coal Mining Historical Village.

Behind the old building, the Kkachibal building, which holds historical value

In front of the Kkachibal building, an old structure with historical value

Among the 11 buildings in Cheoram Coal Mining Historical Village, six have been arranged as exhibition spaces. The route goes from Pelicana, Honam Supermarket, Jinju Castle, Bonghwa Restaurant, and ends at Hanyang Coffee Shop, but each is an independent space, so visitors can choose according to their preferences.

Signs that evoke nostalgia such as Sanwoollim, Boombine, and Youth’s Sunshine are visible, but all are closed businesses. Even knowing this, if you open the door and enter, it feels as if the old shop owners would warmly welcome you.

The first floor of ‘Pelicana’ serves as the management office. The second-floor planning exhibition room displays various ledgers, report cards of Cheoram area students, contracts, and soju that miners likely drank daily. After intense labor, enjoying pork and a glass of Samho soju on the way home must have been the strength to endure the rest of the day. It is a place where visitors’ eyes linger, longing for the taste of nostalgic local liquor.

In the black-and-white photos in the exhibition room, the payday office scene is impressive. Women with neatly rolled perm hairstyles stand out. At that time, wages were paid in cash, and wives, worried about their husbands’ extravagant spending, took precautions. This is understandable since miners’ wages were double those of government officials, and there were countless coffee shops and bars that could be found only in Jongno, Seoul, so concerns about empty pay envelopes were justified.

Exhibition Recreating the Alley Scenery of Cheoram

Miner's Wage Payment Statement

‘Jinju Castle’ serves as a tourist rest area, a complex cultural space, and a documentary space about Cheoram, while ‘Honam Supermarket’ is arranged as an exhibition space related to Cheoram’s origin and history and an observatory overlooking the coal sorting yard.

In Cheoram, there is a rock over 20 meters high and 30 meters wide along the railway at the northern boundary with Baeksan Mountain, called ‘Soebawi’ (Iron Rock) due to its high iron content. Stones taken from the rock were melted to obtain iron, hence the village was called Soebawi Village, or Cheoram-ri (鐵巖理) in Chinese characters.

The second floor of Honam Supermarket recreates a tavern, a home, and village alleys depicting miners’ lives. Briquettes and shell briquettes appear without fail in the kitchen and heating facilities.

From the observatory, the Taebaek Cheoram Station Coal Sorting Facility (a registered national cultural asset) comes into full view. The black mountains with layered cuts contrast with the white buildings. The last remaining coal mine in Taebaek, the Daehan Coal Corporation Jangseong Mining Site, sends raw coal to be sorted and processed on-site before loading it onto freight trains. The Jangseong Mining Site and Cheoram Station Coal Sorting Facility are also scheduled to disappear into history by the end of June this year.

Snow-covered Cheoram Village

A mural depicting the days when even neighborhood dogs carried ten thousand won bills in their mouths

In the past, the mining village’s urban expansion outpaced construction, leading to repeated extensions. Existing buildings were used as shops, and space was expanded toward the Cheoram Stream to create living quarters below ground level. To support the buildings, pillars were made like magpie legs, which is why these are called ‘magpie-leg buildings.’ To see these buildings properly, one must stand on Sinseol Bridge. Some buildings have different materials and architectural styles on each floor. The rise and fall of the mining industry seem to echo like the cry of magpies. The plaque in front of Cheoram Coal Mining Historical Village states, “While debating whether to preserve or demolish, countless relics of Korea’s modern history have disappeared,” which represents the reason for this place’s existence.

Passing Sinseol Bridge and climbing the hill, you face the mountain village. This is Sambang-dong, where miners lived. A sculpture shows a miner father holding a lunchbox wrapped in a red cloth, standing with his child. Families must have prayed daily that today’s departure from the mine was not the last chapter of life. From the mountain village, you can see the magpie-leg buildings of Cheoram Coal Mining Historical Village, the Cheoram Station Coal Sorting Facility, Soebaugol Coal Mining Cultural Market, and Cheoram Station at a glance. Colorful murals breathe life into the declining village.

Cheoram Station began operations in 1940. Since anthracite coal produced in Jangseong, which had no railway, was shipped nationwide via Cheoram Station, its status was significant. It is said that in the 1980s, Gangneung Station had 28 staff members, while Cheoram Station had about 300. As the coal industry declined, Cheoram Station’s status also fell, but it continues to attract tourists as the starting and ending station of the Baekdudaegan Gorge Train (V-Train).

Geologically Valuable Outcrop

Visitors walking on the snow flower trail of Manhangjae

About a 5-minute drive from Cheoram Coal Mining Historical Village is Gumoonsu (a natural monument), one of Taebaek’s eight scenic spots. It is where the Hwangji Stream and Cheoram Stream meet in the south of Taebaek City, featuring a cave-like rock with a large hole in the cliff, which is fascinating. The limestone layers reveal various sedimentary structures, and Paleozoic fossils have been discovered, giving it high geological value.

Questions about Gumoonsu’s geology can be answered at the nearby Taebaek Paleozoic Natural History Museum. During the Paleozoic era, the Gumoonsu area was underwater, as evidenced by fossils of marine life that existed then. The Taebaek Paleozoic Natural History Museum, the only one in Korea built on Paleozoic strata, is a specialized museum where visitors can explore from the Precambrian to the Paleozoic and the emergence and development of humans in the Cenozoic era.

At the Mongtorang Mountain Goat Ranch, located at an altitude of 800 meters, you can enjoy a panoramic view of Taebaek city. About 130 mountain goats, geese, and mountain rabbits roam freely, creating a pastoral scene. Feeding the animals is a unique experience. The feeding trough empties quickly as the mountain goats approach with curious, smiling eyes. At the Mongtorang Cafe, famous as an SNS hot spot, you can taste freshly milked goat milk and freshly baked bread every day.

◇Travel Notes

△Getting There=Gwangju-Wonju Expressway → Jungang Expressway → Jecheon IC toward Yeongwol/Jecheon → Sindong Intersection → Gomyung Intersection toward Yeongwol/Ssangyong → Hwangji Bridge Intersection toward Dogye/Donghae → Right turn toward Cheoram Station/Cheoram Industrial Complex → Cheoram Coal Mining Historical Village.

Taebaeksan snow flowers (left) and the Taebaek Snow Flower Festival site closing this week (right). The sculptures at the festival site can be seen until the snow melts.

△Attractions=Maebongsan Wind Hill, Taebaek Yongyeon Cave, Manhangjae, Taebaeksan, Hambaksan, Taebaek Paleozoic Natural History Museum, Tongri Tanttan Park, 365 Safe Town, Taebaek Coal Museum, Hwangji Free Market. Cheoram Coal Mining Historical Village is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed on the first and third Mondays), and admission is free.

△Food=Taebaek Dakgalbi, a specialty dish where rice cakes, noodles, and sweet potatoes are boiled in broth, is a delicacy. It is not spicy and has a mild taste. Grilling high-quality Korean beef raw meat over a charcoal fire is also a must-try experience in Taebaek.