Ganggyeong History and Culture Information Center (Former Ganggyeong Labor Union)

About this place

The former Ganggyeong Labor Union is a modern building constructed in 1925. Ganggyeong is a city that developed commercial districts early on, as it is connected to the West Sea via the Geum River and easily accessible from inland. For this reason, Ganggyeong Market ranked among the top three markets nationally alongside Pyongyang and Daegu, and Ganggyeong Port was called one of the top two ports along with Wonsan Port, seeing active trade and movement of various seafood and manufactured goods. During the Japanese colonial period, as an outlet for exploitation, by the 1920s, most of the inland distribution of marine products passed through Ganggyeong Port for transport nationwide. At the time, the Ganggyeong Labor Union had 2,000-3,000 members, with about 200 boats doing unloading work per day. The Labor Union building was completed on October 3, 1925, when union president Jeong Heung-seop invested 5,000 won of personal funds to build a Korean-style wooden building. This building is symbolic of the flourishing modern Ganggyeong together with the former Hanil Bank Ganggyeong branch, Ganggyeong sluice gate, and Ganggyeong Chaewunsan water storage.