From Chemical Plant to Apartment Complex

Dwitgaenmal, the village at the foot of Mount Gungsan, was home first to a chemical plant carved into the hillside, then an electronics factory, before becoming an apartment complex in the late 1990s.

Key takeaways

At the northwestern foot of Mount Gungsan, on the site of the old natural village of Dwitgaenmal — named for a ferry crossing called Dwitgae — there once stood a chemical plant built by carving away part of the hillside. Fact The plant produced hydrochloric acid and liquid chlorine, and closed after an industrial accident. Fact An electronics factory later occupied the site but didn't last long before closing as well, and the apartment complex standing there today was built in the late 1990s. Fact

What to look for on site

The apartment complex built on the former factory site
Local accounts (based on resident interviews) describing Han River floodwaters reaching the apartment complex's storefronts during monsoon season
The carved-away terrain still visible at the foot of Mount Gungsan

Editorial note

It's inaccurate to describe this apartment complex as "built on untouched natural land." Establish its industrial history as a chemical plant site first.