B39 In Bucheon: The Art & Culture Space To Check Out

I LOVE checking out how older factories are being given new life as cafes or restaurants and seeing how old military bunkers in Korea are being given new life as culture spaces for local communities. The new art and culture spaces that are being given back to the community are really intriguing and are definitely great places to see in Seoul and its suburbs. This city is always adapting and changing and as factories close, something else must take their place.

Recently, we visited Bucheon, a suburb of Seoul in Gyeonggi-do and stopped into the Bucheon Art Bunker B39 (부천아트벙커 B39). Just opened in 2018, it took an old garbage facility and turned it into a pretty amazing art and culture space for the local community. Both my daughter and I are rather inspired by artistic installations and there are so many to be found in Seoul. Don’t let this be one you miss if you’re interested in city renewal and regeneration.

Here’s what you can find in this post:

• Basic Information
• History
• Concept
• Our Experience

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Basic Information

Address: 53 Samjak-ro, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do (경기도 부천시 삼작로 53)

By Subway/Bus: Get your T-Money card purchased and topped off and get on your way. Head to Sangdong Station on line 7 and take exit 7. Directly out of the exit is a bus stop. Catch bus 50-1 and travel for 12 minutes and get off at the eleventh stop “Samjung Intersection (13025)”. Walk straight in the same direction the bus was headed and turn right on the second major street. You’ll find the art center on the left side of the street.

Days: Tuesdays – Sundays

Hours: 10:00am ~ 5:00pm

Admission: Free

Tours: Tours are available Tuesdays through Sundays. The tour only takes 30 minutes and take place at 10:30am, 1:00pm, and 3:00pm.

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History

B39 was formerly a garbage incinerator plant that began operating in 1995. The plant, located in Samjeong-dong, Bucheon, operated for 15 years and handled more than 200 tons of garbage each day. Due to an increase in toxic dioxin emissions, the government shut down the plant in 2010 after local citizens lobbied for its closure and led environmental movements. Actually, it was found to emit 20 times the legal level of dioxins.

Originally, the incinerator was located in the outskirts of Seoul but since Seoul had grown so much, it was now in the center of a community and had to be closed. This happened more often than you might realize looking at Seoul today. World Cup Park which is home to five amazing parks near the Han River and a huge soccer stadium also sits on a giant former trash mound. And just look at what it is today.

A few years after the incineration plant was closed, it was announced in 2014 that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Bucheon City created a fund to completely renovate the space and give it back to the community as a cultural and artistic platform. The new multidisciplinary culture and arts space was finally opened under the name Bucheon Art Bunker B39, B39 for short, in 2018. The goal of the space is now to educate people on the incineration process and allow citizens and visitors to partake in cultural and artistic experiences.

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Concept

The designer Kim Kwang Soo worked to preserve the incineration spaces while adding the opportunity for arts and education. It’s a mixture of old and new. The designer chose to keep the 39 meter Bunker, the Ash Bunker, the Induced Draft Fan Room, and the Main Control Room in their original state while the garbage collection room was transformed into a Multimedia Hall, the incinerator into the outdoor Air Gallery, and the machine room into a cafe.

Other rooms were converted into workshops and studio spaces. It’s very industrial and still very much an ode to the incineration plant that once was, but now the spaces can be transformed into venues for various exhibitions and performances. The “B” in B39 stands for “Bucheon”, “Bunker”, and “Borderless” and 39 refers to the height of the bunker which stands at 39 meters and it’s proximity to National Highway 39.

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Our Experience

There is a small park in the front of the building that has a very interesting collection of trash made musical instruments that our daughter really loved. Rephrase, we really loved. Take the time to bang on everything and listen to the different tones and keys that come forth. It was a great introduction to the space that I’m guessing a lot of people miss since it’s on the opposite side of the parking lot from the main entrance. We were the only ones banging away making music on our visit.

There wasn’t any staff except for those in the cafe when we visited and the signage was a bit confusing so that there wasn’t really a natural flow to the building but I think we ended up seeing every space that was open to us. While it was a bit confusing to know where to go, the installations and design of the space was really phenomenal.

When you first enter the main door (but there are multiple doors you could enter through so beware), there are doors to the left and a glass door in the front and then a staircase and hall to the cafe and restaurant. The door straight ahead leads to the “Air Gallery”. Originally, this space was where the incinerator burned the trash. There may be creative performances and other exhibitions held in this area. Whether or not there are, you can walk out there and just stand in the open air space that towers.

If you walk through the door to the left, you’ll see the bunker. This gigantic space is 13 meters by 22 meters by 39 meters and was where garbage was gathered. It’s COLD! There’s definitely not heating in this space and a pretty strong draft so if you visit in the winter, keep your coats on. There was a really gorgeous installation hanging in this space, which is the photo on the left just above, that filled the space beautifully.

You can actually enter this bunker space from the main floor and a floor above as well. The installation we saw visiting definitely made this space even more appealing but just the sheer size of the room is super appealing. You can imagine the immense pile of trash that was constantly being funneled through here.

Upstairs, you’ll find offices that have some lovely colorful windows lining them. You can’t enter the offices, but you can enter the rooms on the opposite side of the hallway. They house numerous other exhibitions. The all red room pictured above was in one when we visited. Again, the room it was in had no signage and no one outside to tell us to go in. The only reason we found it was because we visited the restrooms next door and I said, “hey, what’s this door”.

Suffice to say, just open as many doors as you can when you visit to make sure you see everything that you can see. There are multiple doors and the way I figure, if no one is there telling you not to enter and there’s no sign saying danger, then why not? Here that idea really held its weight because every door that could open opened to something absolutely gorgeous and interesting.

When you come down to the cafe, there’s another space, the Induced Draft Fan Room, which also houses exhibitions. This one had a very cool salt rock installation when we were there. It’s the first picture in this post. The salt stalagmites and stalactites were growing everywhere and it was gorgeous. It led to a great discussion on science with our little person. If you’ve never tried the salt rock experiment, which apparently Brits don’t do according to my British friend, definitely try it at home. It’s really neat and this is just a huge adult size version of one.

Finally, we entered the cafe and restaurant which is quite retro looking with round and circular edges. We only had coffees and cookies but the actual meals that were coming out for others looked really appetizing. I’d go back to try some of their menu items and wines. The cafe space is rather large and there are numerous options for seating whether you want to hang out for awhile or just for a bit. This area is definitely built for community hang outs and it looked like when the weather is a bit warmer they set up some seats outside as well.

If you’re looking for something to do, go check out this super cool artistic space in Bucheon. It’s a fun day out.

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