Former Main Building of the Gunsan Customs

On the road in front of Gunsan's inner harbour stands a red-brick building crowned with three pointed towers. This is the former main building of the Gunsan Customs, opened in 1908: a modern government office built by the Korean Empire before the country lost its sovereignty to Japan. It was designed by a German architect whose name has not survived and built with bricks imported from Belgium, and today it houses the Honam Customs Museum.

A customs house built by the Korean Empire

Gunsan opened as a port on 1 May 1899, and a customs office was set up the same day under the authority of Incheon Customs. The building was planned in 1906 and completed on 20 June 1908. Customs officers here inspected goods passing through the port and levied duties on them.

Under Japanese colonial rule, Gunsan became a key route for shipping rice and other resources from the Honam plains to Japan, so this building also witnessed that history of exploitation. It served as the customs headquarters for 85 years, until 1993, when a new office was built after the neighbouring watch post was demolished. The original complex also included an inspection office and a watchtower; only the main building and a warehouse remain.

Gunsan as a treaty port

From the late 19th century Korea opened a series of ports to foreign trade, starting with Busan, Wonsan and Incheon, and Gunsan was one of them. Foreign merchants and ships came and went, and the customs office acted as the gatekeeper of trade. With the vast Honam plains behind it, Gunsan's most important cargo was rice, so banks, warehouses and shops quickly sprang up around the harbour. That is why so many early modern buildings survive in the old town today.

Reading the building

• European exterior: Three spires rise above the red brick walls. The building shows the Western construction methods that reached Korea after the ports opened and has kept much of its original appearance; it is often compared with the old Seoul Station and the Bank of Korea headquarters.
• Brick and timber: The exterior is brick, the interior timber. Inside the museum, look out for the wooden floors, window frames and roof structure.
• Night lighting: After dark the building is floodlit, which makes the red brick stand out even more.

Honam Customs Museum

Since September 2006 the building has been the Honam Customs Museum. Exhibits cover the history and work of customs, a century of records from Gunsan Customs, films that were shot here and the office's former directors. One room stacked with rice sacks evokes the era when grain flowed out through this port.

The building was designated a North Jeolla Provincial Monument in 1994 and raised to a national Historic Site in August 2018.

Tripto tips

• Opening hours: 09:00–18:00, closed on Mondays. Hours may change, so call ahead on +82-63-730-8721.
• Time needed: 30 minutes to an hour for the exterior and the exhibition.
• Parking: Parking is available. The address is 244-7 Haemang-ro, Gunsan.
• Combine with: Gunsan's old town is full of early 20th-century buildings and easy to explore on foot. The Japanese-style house in Sinheung-dong is about 700 m away.
• Photography: Shoot the façade from across the road to fit all three towers into the frame.