Former Joseon Industrial Bank, Chungju Branch

Overview In July 1906, the Chungju Agricultural and Industrial Bank was established as a regional bank headquartered at the seat of the provincial government office in the inland region. Under an ordinance of the Takjibu (Department of Finance), it was reorganised in June 1907, together with two other Agricultural and Industrial Banks in Hanseong and Gongju, into the Chungju branch of the Han Ho Agricultural and Industrial Bank Co., Ltd. When the North Chungcheong provincial government office moved from Chungju to Cheongju in June 1908, the branch was downgraded to a sub-office that September. After the annexation of Korea, as the number of Japanese settlers and demand for capital increased, construction of a new office building began in August 1912 and was completed in November at what is now 428 Seongnae-dong (the present site of the Angyeongnara eyewear store). In 1918, when the Agricultural and Industrial Banks faced financial collapse, the Japanese colonial authorities merged six of them to form the Joseon Industrial Bank as a colonial industrial finance institution, and the Chungju branch of the Han Ho Agricultural and Industrial Bank was renamed the Chungju branch of the Joseon Industrial Bank. The present building of the Joseon Industrial Bank, Chungju Branch, was newly built in December 1933. After liberation it was used in turn as the Chungju branch of Joseon Sangho Bank, Hanguk Sanggong Bank, Hanguk Heungeop Bank and Hanil Bank, before being sold into private ownership, in which it remains today. Form and principal features The building takes the form typical of financial institutions built across the country in the 1930s: a timber-framed, stuccoed main building joined to an annexe (a Japanese-style timber house) that served as the manager's residence. Its mansard roof, set at the centre of the local town, projects the authority of colonial rule. Art Deco-style decoration and tall vertical windows also show something of the Modernism that was beginning to be introduced in the 1930s.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Chungju, Chungbuk

Designation

Registered Cultural Heritage · 국가등록문화유산