Former Dongyangcheoksikjusikoesa Busan Branch

This building was constructed by Japan during the colonial period as the premises of Dongyangcheoksikjusikoesa, a company set up to carry out Japan's economic exploitation of Korea, and it served as the base from which the economic exploitation of the Busan region was carried out. Dongyangcheoksikjusikoesa was established under the high-sounding pretext of introducing advanced farming methods and making efficient use of the country's land so as to improve people's livelihoods, but in reality it existed to exploit Joseon's land and labour. This building, which served as the Busan branch of Dongyangcheoksikjusikoesa, was used after liberation as accommodation for the US forces stationed in Busan, then opened in 1949 as the American Cultural Centre, and was not returned to Korea until 1999. Built in the 1920s, it is a reinforced-concrete building and one of the few surviving examples that allow us to trace the architectural trends of the period when Western styles were first introduced to Korea. It is also an architecturally significant building in modern Korean history, carrying, from the time of its construction until its return in 1999, a symbolic meaning as a mark of foreign domination.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jung-gu, Busan

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물