Gunsan history and culture time travel tour | Travel Course | K-Travel Mate

The Balsanri Stone Lantern is an early Goryeo period work, standing 2.5m tall, characterized by dragon patterns carved on the pillar stone. It was taken from Bongrimsa Temple site in Samgiri, Gosan-myeon, Wanju-gun during the Japanese colonial period by Shimatani. Its current location is in the garden behind Balsan Elementary School building. The site of Balsan Elementary School used to be the home and farm of the Japanese farmer Shimatani in the 1900s, where many cultural relics collected by the Japanese farmer were preserved. The lower base stone is carved with eight lotus petal designs (two lotus petals overlapped), and the pillar stone features a humorously depicted dragon baring its teeth and smiling. This stone lantern with a dragon carved on the pillar stone is unique in Korea. Additionally, the foundation stone is currently kept at the Jeonbuk National University Museum.

This villa house was built by Kumamoto Rihei, a large Japanese landlord who managed a large-scale farm in Gunsan during the Japanese colonial period. It served as a temporary residence during spring and harvest visits to the farm and features a mix of Western, Korean, and Japanese architectural styles. After liberation, it became known as Lee Young-chun House when Dr. Lee Young-chun, a pioneer in rural health and hygiene in Korea, resided there. Due to its beautiful exterior, it has been used as a filming location for many movies and dramas such as Bingjeom, Hourglass, and The Rustic Period. Dr. Lee Young-chun, called the Schweitzer of Korea, had the pen name Ssangcheon (雙川), meaning two streams that heal physical illness and the soul. Born in Yonggang-gun, Pyeongannam-do in October 1903, he became director of Jahye Clinic at the young age of 33 in April 1935, introduced by his homeroom teacher Watanabe from Gyeongseong Imperial University while studying law at Pyeongyang High School. He cared for over 20,000 tenant farming families affiliated with the Kumamoto farm in Gaejeong, Jeonbuk, and implemented Korea's first school nurse system and health insurance association.

채만식선생의 문학적 업적을 기리기 향토문학 예술발전 등 이를 널리 알리기 위해 금강하구둑에 위치한 채만식문학관을 건립 내부시설 및 단지 조성이 완료되어 개관하였으며 오페라 [탁류]를 제작하여 군산 시민문화회관에서 6회에 걸쳐 성공적으로 공연하였다.

Jinpo Marine Theme Park is a marine park opened in 2008 to commemorate the Jinpo Naval Battle where General Choe Mu-seon of the late Goryeo period created cannons to repel over 500 Japanese ships. Set against the vast sea beside the harbor, visitors can see 16 military equipment units of 13 different types no longer in use. Exhibits include the navy ship Wibong, deployed in the Vietnam War, as well as armored vehicles, self-propelled guns, fighter jets, and army, navy, and air force equipment retired after frontline service in defense of the country. Visitors can enter inside the military equipment for hands-on boarding experiences. Inside Wibong, there is an exhibition hall displaying a model of the Jinpo Naval Battle, weapons used at the time, stories about the cannons made by General Choe Mu-seon, and a naval barracks life experience.