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The site of Jeommal Cave is located in Pojeon-ri, Songhak-myeon, Jecheon-si and is the oldest Paleolithic Era cave site. Many of youhave probably read about it in textbooks. Many other sites were also excavated, including the Changnae Site in Sagi-ri, Hansu-myeon, Keungilga Site, and Hwangang-ri Site. Judging from how dolmens and other precious prehistoric findings were found throughout in Hwangseok-ri, it can be assumed that people were very spread out in the Jecheon region since olden times.
On the other hand, when we look back on the historical eras, the Jecheon region, which was once the site where humans lived in the Paleolithic Era, turned into a fringe area with the coming of the era of the Three Kingdoms. echeon must have been a very attractive place to various countries with the nearby iron mines, Namhangang River waters (essential for water transport), and its geographical location at the center of the peninsula. This is why sites from this time are often defensive remains, mainly sites of fortresses such as Mangwolsanseong Fortress, Hwangseokrisanseong Fortress, and so on. The name of Jecheon during the era of the Three Kingdoms also shows how Jecheon was the battleground of many countries, with its name differing depending on who conquered it. In the Goguryeo Era it was called Naeto-gun or Sayeolihyeon and in the Silla Era it was called Naeje. Even more interesting is the fact that you can find traces of the era of the Three Kingdoms in Jechon today. First of all, the names Naeto and Naeje, each from the Goguryeo and Silla Eras respectively, are used as street names in Jecheon. Second of all, the Sayeol from Salyeolihyeon from the Goguryeo Era is the name of a county that means that it is “gushing with cold wind and water.” For Jecheon, with its winter festival, it was a timeless (?) name that withstood the test of time. In addition, Naeto was the administrative name for Goguryeo at the time, and this is supposed to point to the Uirimji Reservoir, which conjures up the image of large embankments. The connection between the prehistoric times when here was no written communication, to the era of the Three Kingdoms, to today’s Jecheon is quite intriguing.
As time passes and Jecheon in the Goryeo Dynasty is now called Jeju, Euicheon, or Euiwon. In the Goryeo Dynasty, Buddhism was the national religion, and it was popular in Jecheon as well. We know this through the various temple sites.One of the interesting stories about this period has to do with the name Woraksan Mountain. The mountain, Woraksan Mountain, was named such because the moon would hang on its sacred peak. It was also referred to as Waraksan Mountain. If we look into the roots of that name, the first theory is that Gyeon Hwon of Hubaekje intended to build a temple here, but the plan failed. The second theory is that either Songaksan Mountain in Gaesung and Woraksan Mountain were to be selected as the capital for Taejo Wang Geon. When Songaksan Mountain was selected in the end, the dreams of the people living around Waraksan Mountain crumbled with a “warak” sound. Whichever it may have actually been, we can know that Woraksan Mountain was prominent and famous enough to be discussed as a possible site for a national capital.
After the mid-period of the Goryeo Dynasty, a military upheaval occurred in the central government. A dictatorial system was being formed but was interrupted by the internal Three Kingdoms Reconstruction Movement, adding to the confusion. Mongolia grew rapidly while chaos ensued in Jin and Goryeo and invaded Goryeo many times afterwards, taking the land.The Goryeo military regime utilized the Mongols’ weakness, sea warfare, and defended the island of Ganghwado. This was the same as a leaving terrible disaster to unfold in the entire peninsula. But even amidst this chaos, a fierce battle ensued to protect the central area of Jecheon against the Mongols. The Mongols invaded a total of seven times, and between their 5th to 7th invasions they reached the Jecheon region. Regarding the 6th invasion, there is a story of how the residents hid in a temple in Woraksan Mountain. When rain, mist, thunder, and hail greeted the Molgol soldiers who went to capture the land, the soldiers regarded it as a sign from the heavens and backed away. During Mongolia’s final invasion, the people ambushed them at Bakdaljae and succeeded in taking supplies and captives. (The records mention Chungjusanseong Fortress, but this is taken to be today’s Deokjusanseong Fortress. We know through this that the battles in Jecheon were quite large.)
After being meddled with by the Yuan Dynasty, Goryeo continued to be hassled by foreign invasion. There were many battles near Jecheon, Chungju, and Danyang.
This may be off topic, but the popular drama Taejo Wang Geon from the 2000s was filmed in Chungpung-myeon in Jechon (currently a resort and training ground the for Korea Environment Corporation). The connection between Goryeo and Jecheon-si that extends thousands of years is quite interesting.
After the chaotic end of the end of the Goryeo Dynasty, Taejo of Joseon began the history of a new country, Joseon, with Seoul as its capital. Joseon made Confucianism the national religion, suppressed Buddhism, and strengthened the central power of the throne. It would not be an overstatement to say that Joseon Dynasty Period politics, society, culture, and so on can all be explained through Confucianism. In Jecheon, Confucianism was deeply studied and deepened in accordance with such changes. Then, the queen of Hyeonjong was produced by the Cheongpung Kim family. The family became a formidable political power, built the Hwanggangseowon and Bonggangseowon Confucian Academies, and boosted Cheongpung to protectorate status. In this way, a support base was created while they strengthened their academic base as well.
The time of Hyeonjong was a time when Yesong disputes became popular and the academic deepening of Confucianism reached its peak. Such intense academic conflict carried over to politics, resulting in three separate overturns of the current situation at the time when Sukjong reigned. Jecheon deepened the theoretic base of Noron and produced famous Confucian scholars such as Gwon Sang-ha and Han Won-jin, becoming a political and ididological base of Noron.
With the onset of the Late Period of the Joseon Dynasty, the ideas turned from their original academic nature towards substantiation and new changes began to appear in Jecheon. The beginning was the formation of a small village deep in the mountains of Jecheon. This village, now known as the Baeron Sanctuary, was a gathering place of Catholics who sought to avoid the persecution in the Late Period of the Joseon Dynasty. Hwang Sa-yeong, who was the nephew-in-law of Jeong Yak-yong, hid in a cave in Baeron when the Shinyu Catholic Persecution occurred. He then writes a white paper to Father Govea in Peking regarding some suggestions for evangelism. He was later found and put to death by breaking on the wheel. (The content of his letter was about sending missionaries to spread Catholicism in the Joseon Dynasty, but a part of his paper mentioned bringing in military force for this purpose. This lead to some controversy, and he was not designated a martyr. However, his paper is now displayed in the Vatican Museum on merit of his willingness to evangelize despite persecution and his excellent writing skills.)
Meanwhile, Donghak appeared in response to Seohak along with the appearance of enemy forces and social chaos, growing in strength (mainly peasants). At the end of the Period of the Joseon Dynasty, peasant rebellions were very large in Cheongpung. These later led to the Donghak Peasant War. The tenacity of the Jecheon people continued in full force when the Japanese began to invade openly. They began to call themselves freedom fighters.
After a shameful treaty, ports were opened and foreign powers began to meddle in the country’s rule. None of that meddling was for the people of Joseon, and the residents of Jecheon could not avoid the resulting poverty. Jecheon was the site of indiscriminate massacres as many freedom fighters came from Jecheon (because of this, no buildings over 100 years old remain in the region, which is a pity). Based on such a mood, the feelings against Japan grew in Jecheon’s grassroots, and this later had a huge impact on the March 1st Movement inland as well as the independence movement.
After taking over the government, Japan ruled oppressively based on a military rule. As mentioned, Jecheon was full of freedom fighters. A systematic campaign against the region strengthened anti-Japanese sentiment, and they continued to grow despite the oppression. News of Emperor Gojung’s death stirred up the people even more. Lee Beom-wu who participated in his funeral received the declaration of independence and suggested participation in Wonju, Danyang, Youngwol, and more, while an independence movement was formed in Jecheon. On a market day, the 17th of April, about thousands of citizens came for a large freedom march. This sort of untiring fight against Japan was what armed the Jecheon people; they did not bend to Japan’s continued surveillance and continued with the Jecheon Public Ordinary School Maenghyu Tujaeng as well as Jecheon youth activities by people like Kim Jeong-ho. They keep that spirit going.
The Japanese occupation was also a time during which Jecheon acquired social overhead capital. Although we could simply claim that road and train networks being developed led to Jecheon become a major hub for train transportation, many studies have actually revealed that they were actually intended to help with the efficiency of plundering. This led to much public anger. Proof of this is how the Japanese had taken all the land that had access to Uirimji Reservoir, how they monopolized tobacco sales and general stores, and the fact that the residents of Jecheon at the time were mostly farmers that could not even feed themselves because they were poor. How difficult their lives must have been!
When Japan surrendered during World War II, South Korea finally achieved independence. More chaos ensued due to conflict between left- and right-wing parties. It is said this also happened in Jecheon for a short period of time, but it appears to not have been severe. The Korean War followed and Jecheon, which was a defensive zone with the Namhangang River and the high mountainous areas, slowed down the progress of the North Korean army and made a huge contribution to the Allied Forces’ defense of the area south of Nakdonggang River and provided a base for counterattacks. Ironically, such an environment allowed the North Korean soldiers to begin partisan activities while isolated there, and the southern area was rendered desolate by bombings.
After the war was over, Jecheon grew into a transport city with the Jungang Line, Chungbuk Line, and Tabaek Line crossing it. The coal and cement industries met a boom period, leading to rapid industrial development. That did not last, however. The cement industry declined and the population continuously decreased. The economic and industrial structure changed greatly as well, leading to today’s state. Civilians and the government have partnered to write a new history for Jecheon with the beginning of the operation of a high-speed train that reaches Cheongnyangni (in s56 minutes) in January of 2021.
In the 1980s, the construction of the Cheongpung Dam resulted in the destruction of 61 villages nearby in 5 myeons, and many were left without homes. This caused the creation of the Cheongpung Cultural Complex, which protects historical artifacts and sites from the submerged villages as well as Cheongpungho Lake, which is referred to as the inland sea and is the biggest tourist location in Jecheon. Jecheon now aims to make use of the fact that it used to be a Yangnyeong Market to create the Jecheon Oriental Expo, become a city of tourism offering oriental medicine & medical tourism, and set a vision for the future. Jecheon is also attempting to possess and lead the spirit of national prestige, culture, and central district healing through things like the Jecheon International Music & Film Festival.
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