KOREA FOUNDATION

Have you ever heard of “Hello! Eoulmasil?” It’s another name for Seokjeon 2-ri village in Waegwan, Chilgok County, Gyeongsangbuk-do. Having been inhabited by many Japanese people during Japan’s occupation of Korea in the early 20th century, the village used to have a strong Japanese atmosphere. However, there is now no hint of such a past, as its railway bridge and most of its houses were demolished during the Korean War. Now, the village hosts US troops and has again adopted a new appearance, one that shows the influence of American culture.

As the village faces the back gate of the US military camp, it is also called Humun, meaning back gate. The village is now home to people of so many diverse cultures that the street around the gate has been labeled a multicultural street. In 2017, the village began to participate in Chilgok County’s humanities village project, taking on a new name: “Hello! Eoulmasil.” The humanities village project was implemented by the county to promote unity and communication among its residents.

As part of the project, residents gathered to pick up trash in the center of the village and plant flowers in the newly cleared spaces. Young community members cut and tended to overgrown bushes and cleared fallen leaves and trash from the grounds of the houses of senior citizens who live alone, making room for new cabbage gardens. In autumn, they harvested the cabbages and held a kimchi-making event along with local multicultural families. American soldiers from the military camp teach English to senior citizens once a week and the weekly lessons prove effective when Korean men and women in their 70s and 80s enthusiastically say “Hello!” to foreigners they come across in the village. Like this, the village is changing. Where residents once found it difficult to unite because of their differences, they can now gather harmoniously despite their different backgrounds, putting the village name “Hello! Eoulmasil” into practice in the truest sense.

Written by Lee Haeng-rim
Illustrated by EEWHA

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