Days gone by · 100 photographs · 1979–2012
Bucheon, days gone by
Taxis gathered outside the station, lunch was served in classrooms, and summer unfolded in the park. These 100 photographs follow everyday moments and the changing shape of Bucheon.
Explore 100 photographsSosa · Bucheon Station · Yeokgok · Songnae
A day beginning at the station
Trains and taxis, tightly packed shop signs and car-free roads. Follow the streets shared by people and vehicles into everyday Bucheon.
Gyeongin Road beside Somyeong Underpass
This is Gyeongin Road in Sosa-dong in 1979. Cars descend into the underpass while pedestrians follow the surface street past low shops and signs. The split between the two levels shows how vehicles and people shared this busy corridor.
A train beneath a new overpass
An overpass was under construction in Jung-dong in 1980. A blue-and-cream train passes concrete piers and the bridge deck. The photograph brings working railway tracks and road construction into the same frame.
A patrol car and buses at the north station square
A youth-guidance campaign passed the north side of Bucheon Station in 1985. A procession follows a blue-and-white patrol car between buses and shopfronts. Vehicle colors, signs and the broad road preserve the station area's street scene.
Yellow taxis filling the station forecourt
An outing for older residents began at the north side of Bucheon Station in 1986. Yellow taxis stand in several rows as people move between them. The low station building and packed forecourt show how the square supported group departures.
Beneath a fallen road arch
An accident involving a roadside arch was recorded in Yeokgok 2-dong in 1988. The large promotional structure leans across the road beside trucks and vans. Its civic slogans and the waiting vehicles preserve details of the street at that moment.
Gathering outside Yeokgok Station
A cleanup gathered people outside Yeokgok Station in 1991. Brooms and other tools are held in front of the low station building. The open forecourt and station facade give a clear view of the square's former layout.
A roadside police mannequin
A traffic-safety campaign was photographed at Sosa Junction in 1992. A police mannequin stands on the pavement beside a temporary-checkpoint sign. Its fixed pose contrasts with the real vehicles passing along the road.
A procession through the station shops
A youth-guidance campaign crossed the north station area in 1993. People wearing sashes walk past cars and densely stacked shop signs. The surrounding storefronts provide a detailed record of commerce near the station.
A crossing and a road-safety flag
A traffic-safety campaign was photographed at Bucheon's north station area in 1993. People carrying bags cross beside a yellow safety flag. The nearby car brings the close relationship between pedestrians and traffic into view.
Helping beside a taxi door
A free-ride event for disabled passengers was recorded at Bucheon's north station area in 1993. Two people assist beside a wheelchair and an open taxi door. The close view documents the practical help involved in boarding.
A bus with wheelchair boarding
A dedicated accessible bus was recorded at Chunui Welfare Center in 1996. A wheelchair rests on the boarding lift as people watch nearby. The equipment makes the challenge of moving between ground and vehicle floor visible.
A cycling procession between apartments
A community cycling event passed the Central Park area in 1998. Bicycles stretch along the broad roadway toward tall apartments. The elevated view connects individual riders to the scale of the surrounding city.
People taking over a car-free road
A car-free street opened in front of city hall in 1999. People walk and use wheeled play equipment across intact lane markings. With motor traffic removed, the roadway becomes a broad place to meet and play.
A video-display truck on the street
A mobile publicity screen appeared on a Bucheon street in 2000. The truck stands before a commercial building as a car passes in front. Building advertisements and the vehicle's display show different forms of street communication together.
Dooly Street by Songnae Station
Dooly Street in Songnae Station's Rodeo Street area was photographed in 2000. Character-topped lamps rise above colored paving between layered shop signs. The street brings cartoon imagery into a neighborhood shopping environment.
Descending into Sang-dong Underpass
Sang-dong Underpass was photographed in 2002. Divided lanes descend toward the tunnel beneath another roadway. The close view shows how traffic routes are arranged at different levels.
Buses lined up at the intercity terminal
Bucheon's intercity bus terminal was photographed in 2004. Several buses line up around a small building beneath shops and taller structures. Boarding and vehicle waiting areas fit into a compact urban site.
Silver taxis waiting for an outing
The archive records an outing with visually impaired participants in 2004. Silver taxis wait in a long line beside the road. The photograph shows assembled vehicles, documenting travel arrangements rather than the hot-spring destination itself.
Roadworks north of Jung-dong Station
Work to widen Jung-dong Overpass was photographed in 2008. Barriers and vehicles occupy the junction between rows of shop signs. The roadworks remain closely embedded in the surrounding commercial streets.
A long avenue between buildings
This view of central Bucheon was taken from Richensia in 2012. A long avenue runs between commercial buildings and apartment blocks. Following the road reveals how movement and everyday urban space are connected.
Fields, workplaces, markets and lanes
A neighborhood made by working hands
People add soil to fields, sweep streets, browse market clothes and sit down to seek work. Small tasks come together into the city's daily life.
Sweeping with long brooms
An early cleanup was photographed in Bucheon in 1979. People gather dirt and dust with long brooms across a broad street. Workshops and stacked materials behind them place the scene alongside everyday workplaces.
Fresh soil for Daejang-dong fields
Soil improvement work was photographed in Daejang-dong in 1983. A dump truck tips red earth onto a field covered with short stalks. The piles show vehicles at work replenishing agricultural soil.
A sales fair in the city-hall square
A domestic-products sales fair filled the city-hall square in 1983. People move beneath long striped canopies while cars pass on the adjacent road. The square becomes a place to browse and shop beyond the permanent storefronts.
Sweeping the shopfront pavement
A neighborhood cleanup was photographed in Bucheon in 1983. People in caps sweep the pavement in front of shops with varied signs. The storefronts and adjoining road document the ordinary setting around the activity.
A desk for overseas workers' families
A consultation desk operated in Bucheon City Hall in 1984. Its sign identifies a service for the families of overseas workers, with two people seated across paperwork. A telephone and paper documents anchor this face-to-face service.
Brooms beside a bus shelter
A bus shelter was being cleaned in Bucheon in 1985. Route information and advertisements cover the shelter while people work around it with brooms. The narrow space brings a transport stop and neighboring shops together.
A crop-spraying helicopter by the fields
Rice-field pest control was photographed in Sinheung 1-dong in 1985. People gather around a small helicopter, with fields and electricity pylons behind them. Agricultural work and urban infrastructure occupy the same landscape.
Counting people and homes on paper
Population and housing census work filled a city-hall room in 1985. Papers and sorting boxes line long desks as people examine the records. Counting the city's residents and homes involved this visible work of handling and arranging documents.
Children cleaning a dirt lane
A spring cleanup took place in Sinheung 2-dong in 1987. Children and adults crouch or stand along a dirt lane beside homes. Brick walls, a narrow path, shovels and brooms record the neighborhood environment.
Helping with the harvest in Beombak-dong
People helped with farm work in Beombak-dong in 1988. A line of workers bends over the golden field behind an event banner. The photograph records an agricultural side of Bucheon that housing scenes alone cannot show.
A pavement beside passing buses
This street was photographed during an environmental cleanup in 1989. People hold brooms along an extended pavement beside a bus on the road. The view shows the pedestrian space between roadside trees and shopfronts.
A red awning and a street cleanup
A cleanup was photographed beside a covered stream in 1989. People sweep outside shops near a red awning and a handcart. Layered signs and temporary selling space share this busy stretch of street.
Handicrafts beyond the workplace
Industrial workers took part in a handicraft contest at city hall in 1989. Participants concentrate on materials, thread and tools spread over their desks. The scene records workers through creative activity outside the factory.
Repairing the waterway after flooding
Flood-recovery work was photographed in Bucheon in 1991. A line of people works along an exposed earthen waterway with an excavator behind them. Hand labor and heavy machinery appear together in the repair effort.
A neighborhood administrative office
Yeokgok 3-dong's administrative office was photographed in 1992. Its curved frontage, entrance steps and the adjoining street appear together. The building places local public services directly beside a neighborhood road.
Bundling used paper
A wastepaper collection campaign was recorded in Bucheon in 1993. People gather and bundle paper and boxes spread across the floor. The piles and working hands document the everyday handling of recyclable materials.
Waterways between fields and apartments
The archive identifies this as a flooded area of Jung-dong and Daejang-dong in 1993. Fields and narrow waterways occupy the foreground, with apartments and construction farther away. The record also captures the meeting of farmland and new housing.
Shovels and carts at Gulpo Stream
Flood repairs were under way at Gulpo Stream in 1993. People level earth beside a pavement using shovels and handcarts. A passing bus and apartment blocks connect the work site to the surrounding city.
A rescue drill outside the power plant
A protection drill took place at the combined-cycle power plant in 1994. Participants in white clothing and military uniforms move around vehicles. This is a training record, documenting emergency response at an industrial facility rather than an actual accident.
Waiting beside a blood-donation bus
City employees attended a blood-donation event in 1995. People stand by the bus door holding papers or waiting their turn. Parking lines and the mobile bus define a temporary service in an everyday forecourt.
Clothes laid out at a thrift market
A thrift market was photographed in Bucheon in 1998. Clothes cover long tables as shoppers lift and inspect items. Hanging garments and folded piles turn a small indoor room into a temporary marketplace.
A square turned into a holiday market
A Bucheon manufacturers' sales fair was held before Chuseok in 1999. Rows of tents fill open space in front of apartments beneath promotional balloons. The distant view records a public area transformed into a seasonal marketplace.
Gogang-dong's curved welfare center
Gogang-dong's multipurpose welfare center was photographed in 1999. Yellow vehicles and a small shop sit below its curved pink facade. The multistory public facility is directly connected to the neighborhood street.
Heavy equipment clearing snow
Snow was cleared in front of city hall in 2001. Heavy equipment loads snow into a truck while white patches remain on the road. The work makes space for movement through the winter street.
Long interview tables at a job fair
A job fair filled Bucheon College's indoor gym in 2001. People sit across long tables, writing on forms or speaking face to face. A sports hall becomes a temporary place to seek work and meet employers.
The road outside Technopark
Bucheon Technopark was photographed in 2004. Long multistory buildings line a road occupied by cars and vans. These workplaces present a different built form from the low factory roofs seen elsewhere in the collection.
The dense neighborhood around Wonmi-gu Office
An aerial view records the Wonmi-gu Office area in 2008. Low homes and shops crowd around public buildings and a sports ground. Larger facilities provide landmarks for tracing the smaller neighborhood streets between them.
The road curving past Sosa-gu Office
The Sosa-gu Office area was photographed from the air in 2008. A road curves beside the large office building, with dense low structures behind it. The public building's scale contrasts with the smaller units of the surrounding neighborhood.
Classrooms · libraries · parks
At the desk and beyond the classroom
Lunch pots, table-tennis tables, library recording equipment and steps used for drawing. Learning and growing continued beyond school walls.
Children around the table-tennis tables
An interschool table-tennis tournament took place at Bucheon Nam Elementary School in 1979. Games fill several tables as children in bright sportswear watch from close by. Players and spectators share the same compact indoor space.
A writing contest at Haugogae
A writing contest gathered people at Haugogae in 1983. Children and adults stand beneath event banners, their bright clothes and hats scattered across the dirt clearing. Learning has moved outdoors from the classroom.
Teachers boarding an excursion bus
Teachers prepare to leave on an excursion from city hall in 1984. A line of people moves toward the door of a large coach. Jackets, bags and the bus's broad windows record the practical details of group travel.
Painting posters at desks
A poster contest took place in the city-hall meeting room in 1985. Participants bend over large sheets spread across desks. Brushes, paints and working postures reveal the making of the posters rather than just the finished results.
Simgok Library, past and present
Find the rounded library in a 1986 frontal photograph and a 2002 aerial view. The perspective expands from its steps and facade to the houses and streets around it.
Present means the later of these two photographs, not today's view.
Simgok Library's rounded facade
Simgok Library was photographed from the front in 1986. Ribbon windows wrap around its curved facade beside broad steps and a pointed structure. These distinctive forms can be located again in the accompanying aerial view from 2002.
Finding the library among the rooftops
The area around Simgok Branch Library was photographed from the air in 2002. Its rounded building appears before a dense spread of houses and larger structures. The recognizable facade from 1986 becomes a landmark for reading the wider neighborhood.
Watching the brush tip
A calligraphy contest took place at the senior welfare center in 1991. Participants lean over large sheets spread on individual desks. Ink, brushes and aligned tables show a space shared by practice, learning and leisure.
Learning the road signs
Children visited the traffic park in Chunui Park in 1992. Dressed in yellow, they line up beside a row of traffic signs. A compact learning space introduces the rules of movement before they meet the full-sized road.
The braille library's recording room
A recording room was photographed at the braille library in Wonmi-dong in 1992. A person sits beyond the glass while recording equipment fills the foreground. The room shows library work that makes information available through sound.
Studying classical Chinese at long desks
A classical Chinese class met in Yeokgok 2-dong in 1993. Learners sit at aligned wooden desks facing the front. Window light, shelving and the board outline a neighborhood learning room.
Drawing on the park steps
Children drew pictures at Leports Park in 1993. Paper and coloring supplies cover broad steps used as work surfaces. Striped shirts, hats and hands holding down the paper record the details of outdoor art-making.
Serving lunch in the classroom
School lunch was served in a Bucheon classroom in 1995. Children in aprons portion food from large containers while trays sit on desks. The room used for lessons also becomes a shared dining space.
Inspecting teaching materials
Teaching materials were displayed in Bucheon in 1998. Small colorful learning aids cover tables surrounded by visitors. The scene reveals the work of selecting and preparing the tools used in education.
Shelves in a literary library
The interior of a literary library in Bucheon was photographed in 1998. Dense shelves line the walls around low displays and reading space. The view records the intimate scale of using books inside a library.
Children playing with sand
A children's event took place at Boksagol Cultural Center in 2000. Children gather beside a low sand area while adults bend down or watch nearby. Hands-on play extends outside the cultural building.
Sports grounds · parks · cultural centers
Shared places, different pleasures
People watch a chess game, open comics and find their balance on wheels or ice. Each photograph records another way of spending time together.
Across the janggi boards
A janggi tournament took place at a senior welfare center in 1990. Players and onlookers gather along a row of Korean chessboards. The close arrangement makes the tables a shared space for players and onlookers.
Following the gallery walls
Visitors attended the Yeto exhibition in 1991. They pause before framed works or move along the gallery wall. Coats and handbags place this cultural outing within everyday life.
Tug-of-war across the sports ground
A women's sports day was held at the civic sports ground in 1991. Participants in matching tracksuits lean backward against a rope. Seated onlookers remain close behind them, bringing the contest and its audience into one frame.
Bicycles lined up in the square
Participants gathered for a cycling event in 1994. Rows of parked bicycles fill the foreground while people assemble across the square. Overlapping wheels and handlebars convey the scale of the ride.
Riding side by side on the road
A cycling and walking event passed the civic hall area in 1994. Riders spread across a broad road beside parked vehicles and shops. The street temporarily serves as a shared space for exercise.
On the lawn during a writing contest
A writing contest for women took place in Central Park in 1996. Small groups sit on the lawn below a large stage canopy. The scene records writing and gathering in public space, with no performance taking place in the frame.
Basketball beside the department store
A street-basketball tournament was held beside LG Department Store in 1998. Players follow the ball across a dirt court backed by shop signs. Sport occupies a corner of the commercial district without a separate major arena.
Children at large easels
Children painted at an art festival in Central Park in 1998. Large triangular supports hold their paper as they work with brushes. The plaza in front of the stage serves as an open-air studio.
A small enclosure in Central Park
A small facility in Central Park was photographed in 1999. A roofed structure sits inside fencing beside a bench and a paved path. Apartments in the distance place this modest park detail within the surrounding neighborhood.
A small shelter beneath the apartments
A pocket park was photographed in Bucheon in 1999. People linger by a small thatched-roof-style shelter below tall apartments. The contrast in scale emphasizes this modest resting place within the residential neighborhood.
Reading together at the comics festival
Visitors read at the Bucheon Comics Festival in Boksagol Cultural Center in 1999. People gather around a small table beside shelves filled with comics. The festival offers direct contact with books through shared reading.
Walls filled with comics pages
Comics pages were exhibited at Boksagol Cultural Center in 2000. Visitors stand close to rows of pages mounted on black panels. Images usually encountered in books become works to examine across gallery walls.
Drawing comics across a wall
A participant worked on a large drawing at the Bucheon Comics Festival in 2000. Seated close to the wall, the person holds a brush against an oversized figure. The scene shows comic imagery being made on a scale larger than the human body.
First steps on the ice
Visitors used a newly opened Bucheon skating rink in 2000. Some move upright while children kneel on the ice to find their balance. Winter clothing and varied postures record the process of learning to skate.
Songnae's gym among the apartments
Songnae's community sports hall was photographed in 2001. A curved roof sits below tall apartments, with paved space outside the entrance. The view shows the scale and placement of indoor recreation close to housing.
Cycles beside the stadium amusement area
An amusement area beside the stadium was photographed in 2002. A multi-seat cycle stands on a broad path with rides and a tall tower behind it. The surroundings supported family play as well as sporting visits.
Summer water play in Central Park
Children played in Central Park's shallow water in 2002. Onlookers gather along the stone edges around them. Nearby buildings and the small stream place this summer scene firmly within the city.
Inline skating on a park path
People used a broad paved path in Central Park in 2002. Children and adults skate or stand together beneath rows of apartments. Walking and wheeled recreation share the neighborhood's public space.
Snow on the Yain Sidae filming set
Snow covered the Yain Sidae outdoor filming set in 2003. A white street runs between period-style facades and signs. This records a reconstructed historical setting in 2003, rather than an original street photographed in the era it depicts.
Leaning into the skating track
An inline-skating competition took place at the stadium in 2003. Skaters lean forward along the track with the stadium structure behind them. The running surface also supports a sport on wheels.
Crowds beneath the amusement rides
Visitors gathered at Wonder Zone beside the stadium in 2003. People look upward at a large swinging ride. Riders, spectators and those waiting share a tightly packed amusement space.
Learning to skate hand in hand
People practiced inline skating near the stadium in 2003. Two skaters hold hands to balance while others follow the curved track behind them. The scene records the slower process of learning rather than a race.
Ground games at a summer sports day
A PIFAN summer sports day took place at Sang-dong Lake Park in 2003. A participant moves among small ground markers as a seated crowd watches. The festival scene centers on visitors taking part in physical games.
Headsets and rows of monitors
Participants used computers at the Boksagol Cyber Festival in Bucheon's indoor gym in 2004. Wearing headsets, they work keyboards and mice along rows of monitors. Long computer tables turn a sports hall into a place for digital recreation.
From low rooftops to higher viewpoints
A city taking new shape
Fields, low roofs and broad building sites give way to stadiums and apartments. Step back to see the wider setting of everyday life.
The low frontage of the old city hall
The old Bucheon City Hall appears here in 1980. A broad forecourt and a few parked cars sit in front of its long, low facade. The open space and horizontal rows of windows reveal the building's scale and layout.
Fields beyond the rooftops
This view of Bucheon dates to 1981. Dense low buildings and rooftops fill the foreground, with broad green fields behind them. Housing and farmland meet within a single view of the city's edge.
Bucheon Stadium, past and present
Exposed ground in 1993 has become oval stands, playing fields and parking areas by 2002. The paired views follow a change in the use of the same site.
Present means the later of these two photographs, not today's view.
Ground before the stadium
The stadium construction site in Chunui-dong was photographed in 1993. Exposed earth and construction tracks spread below a low hill. Paired with the 2002 view, the site reveals its transformation into playing fields and parking areas.
A stadium on the former construction site
Bucheon Stadium was photographed from above in 2002. Oval stands enclose the field and track beside parking and auxiliary sports areas. Compared with the exposed ground in 1993, the same site now has a clearly defined recreational use.
A park taking shape between apartments
A neighborhood park was taking shape in Jung-dong in 1993. Curving paths and facility outlines emerge from bare earth below apartment blocks. The photograph records the arrangement of public space before its finished appearance.
A park with a pool and stage
Central Park was photographed from above in 1999. A bright blue pool, winding paths, an open plaza and a stage canopy are visible. Apartment blocks frame the arrangement of recreation space within the residential district.
The forecourt of LG Department Store
LG Department Store was photographed in Bucheon in 1999. A large advertisement covers part of the facade above flagpoles and a broad paved forecourt. The commercial building stands alongside apartments in the new urban landscape.
Gyeongin Expressway and industrial sites
An aerial view records the Gyeongin Expressway area in 2002. Major roads cross beside factories, storage tanks and low housing. Transport, production and residential space sit close together in the city's layout.
Bucheon Station and the city from above
Bucheon Station and its surroundings were photographed from the air in 2002. Dense buildings surround the railway facilities, with major streets extending into the city. The aerial perspective places familiar station streets within a wider urban network.
Where low housing meets apartment blocks
This 2002 aerial view covers the education office, tax office and Kkumbit Library area. Tall apartment blocks stand beyond a district of low buildings. Roads and public facilities connect markedly different forms of housing.
Rooftops of Nae-dong's industrial district
Nae-dong's industrial district was photographed from the air in 2002. Factory roofs, storage facilities and major roads sit beside dense low buildings. Industrial activity appears closely interwoven with the surrounding urban fabric.
Open ground and apartments across a highway
The outer ring-road area was photographed in 2002. Apartment blocks occupy one side of the highway while broad open ground remains on the other. Different stages of urban development are visible at the same moment.
Bucheon spread out from above
Bucheon was photographed from Richensia in 2012. Apartments and low housing spread beneath a clear sky, divided by roads. It offers a broad contrast with the 1980s city views, although their viewpoints and directions differ.