Kim Chung-young's Suwon Microscope (6) My First Outing in Suwon Became History

My first outing in Suwon became an unforgettable memory. I was born as the youngest son among ten siblings—seven sisters and three brothers—to my parents who devoted themselves to farming in Won-an-ri, Ujeong-myeon, Hwaseong County.

When I was in first grade in 1963, my third eldest sister got married. Two years later, in the winter break of 1965, I was in first year of middle school when my older brother and I went to visit our third sister's home in Suwon. At that time, my third brother-in-law worked as a direct bus driver traveling between Suwon and Seoul. One day, my brother-in-law asked my older brother and me to go out with him. The first place we went was the municipal public bathhouse next to Paldalmun Gate. Since it was my first time at a bathhouse, I remember feeling embarrassed about undressing.

After entering the bathhouse, I got a haircut and then went into the bath. But the water was so hot that I couldn't get into the tub. Looking around, I saw people scooping water in a basin and splashing it a few times before getting into the tub, so I did the same and barely managed to get in. After bathing, we went to the Simin Hall Theater inside Namun Market and watched the film "Burning Butterfly Life."

After the movie, we went to a restaurant nearby. Later I found out that the place was "Hwachun-ok." The seasoned beef was grilled over charcoal and melted in my mouth—it was truly delicious. To this day, I cannot forget the taste of those seasoned short ribs I ate then.

I would like to take this opportunity to share what I heard about Hwachun-ok. I heard from Mr. Cho Ung-ho, an elder of Suwon, speak about Hwachun-ok. Mr. Cho owned a fabric shop near Hwachun-ok and knew it well.

Before Hwachun-ok existed, there was a bakery called Hwachun during the Japanese colonial period in Yeongdong Market. It was mainly known for making fan-shaped cakes. The Hwachun Bakery was opened by Lee Gwi-sung and his older brother Lee Chun-myeong. Around 1945, Lee Gwi-sung opened Hwachun-ok and started his own business.

Initially, it mainly served hangover soup, seolleongtang (beef soup), yugaejang (spicy beef soup), bibimbap, and naengmyeon (cold noodles). The food tasted good, portions were generous, and prices were cheap, earning much praise. This was because they put plenty of ribs in the hangover soup and boiled them. Later, they seasoned the ribs and grilled them over charcoal, and when they served them generously, they became very popular.

As owner Lee Gwi-sung had a chronic illness and it became difficult to operate, his son, who worked at Suwon City Hall at the time, took over operations. In the 1950s, Major Park Chung-hee came to hunt and visited Hwachun-ok. After the 5.16 coup d'état succeeded and he became president, he visited Hwachun-ok again when he came to Suwon. As this became known to the public, rumors spread that it was a place the president had visited, and Hwachun-ok walked the path to success.

Later, people who worked at Hwachun-ok left and opened their own galbi restaurants, and Suwon became a "galbi town." Hwachun-ok became widely known due to the late President Park Chung-hee's visits, but on the other hand, it was said to have closed because of the late President Park Chung-hee.

In the late 1970s, the late President Park Chung-hee remembered Suwon galbi on his way back to the Blue House after inspecting the provinces, so he contacted Governor Yeom at the time and visited Hwachun-ok. When the president was said to be coming to Hwachun-ok, the restaurant owner, wanting to serve the president well, freshly cooked white rice and served it with galbi on the table.

However, President Park criticized Governor Yeom, saying, "Your jurisdiction doesn't seem to be practicing mixed-grain rice consumption!" After the presidential party left, government officials rushed in the next day. They scolded Hwachun-ok for not practicing mixed-grain rice consumption and then issued a business suspension. The 1970s was a time when the entire nation was mandatorily implementing strict mixed-grain rice consumption due to food shortages.

What was meant to serve the president well became a curse instead. Because of this incident, Hwachun-ok gradually lost customers, and as business declined, the restaurant eventually closed, it is said.

Thinking about it, time truly seems fleeting. My older brother is gone, my third brother-in-law is gone, and the municipal public bathhouse, the Simin Hall Theater, and Hwachun-ok have all disappeared. Now the bathhouse is gone and its place has been taken over by a dishware shop.

The Simin Hall Theater relocated to the Simin Hall built on Paldal Mountain. That site became Clover Department Store and gained fame, but now it has changed to a clothing store, and in the basement there is a Clover Noraebang, which seems to explain that there used to be a Clover Department Store there. Isn't time continuing this way, repeating cycles of birth and disappearance?