Gamnae Gol Happy Power Plant

A heart is painted on the facade of a two-story building, along with the words: “Gamnae Gol Happy Power Plant.” Gamnaegol is the old local name for present-day Gamcheon. Electricity has never been produced here: the founders explained “happiness” as the residents working together and earning an income.

From the nineteen nineties, young people left Gamcheon to look for work, the population declined, and houses stood empty. When tourists came to the hillside, officials of the Saha District administration decided to bring jobs here as well. In twenty fifteen, they announced a competition among local enterprises: participants were offered workshops on the first floor and asked to hire village residents.

Manufacturers of electrical and automobile parts, the Saha Senior Club, and a food-packaging company agreed. By the opening, twenty-five residents found work here. They intended to raise the number to thirty after launching a meat line. Some fulfilled orders for the enterprises, while others prepared food and served visitors. So the building’s income depended both on production and on the people who came to Gamcheon on tours.

The project did not end with the opening ceremony. A shared workshop is still on the first floor: automobile parts and sesame oil are made here. A café, an office, and a room for activities with tourist groups operate on the second floor. The café employs elderly Gamcheon residents and is called Café Cheongchun—“Youth.”