Where Old Memories Flow

The Nakdong 낙동강 and the Geumho 금호강, meet around Hwawon resort. The smaller one, Geumho flows into Nakdong, the longest river in the southern peninsula. Shincheon 신천, the urban stream in Daegu is a branch of the Geumho river.

The Geumho river separates western Daegu from Dasa 다사 district. A bridge connects the two at Gangchang 강창 meaning a riverside storage; gang 강 is river, chang 창 storage. In Joseon Dynasty(1392~1910 AD), sea and rivers were the main routes to transport the tax collected locally to the government in Seoul. Gangchang was a riverside storage where the tax amount was stored temporarily. Tax collecting ship used to come to pick up the stored tax earlier every year. The tax was usually paid with grains of rice.

Small boats had been also operated to transport locals to the other side of the river since the ancient times. The boats had been the only way for the locals to cross the river until a new bridge named Gangchang was built in 1971. The very top photo on the left shows a ferry boat crossing the river and the other one locals joined the opening ceremony of Gangchang bridge to celebrate.

The first bridge is not here any longer and has been expanded and renovated twice since 1971. The above ones are views of the present bridge opened in 2009, which has ten lanes. Gangchang used to be a typical countryside as the other villages around the city. It had peaceful scenery along the stretch of riverside with sands and tall trees, and traditional houses were scattered here and there along the dusty road. As urbanization occurred, however, the landscape is not just as it was in the past. Only the nearby mountains look the same as past.