Yeoncheon Station Water Tower

Yeoncheon Station Water Tower is a railway water tower built in 1919 at a midpoint between Incheon and Wonsan, serving as a facility to supply water to steam locomotives. Steam locomotives and water towers first appeared with the opening of the Gyeongin Line between Seoul and Incheon in September 1899, functioning as a means of transportation, but disappeared with the advent of diesel locomotives in the 1950s. All facilities from the Japanese colonial period in Yeoncheon were destroyed by bombing during the Korean War, but the water tower remains intact in its original form. At the time of its construction, while supplying water to the tender car attached behind the locomotive, barter and other commercial activities were active, reportedly serving as a marketplace.

Until before the Korean War, this area was the southernmost region of North Korea, and large amounts of North Korean military supplies were unloaded via the Gyeongwon Line. Consequently, this white water tower was used as a coordinate for intense U.S. bombing, and bullet marks are still clearly visible on the building. Yeoncheon Station Water Tower, along with Gangwon-do Dogye Station Water Tower, Chupungnyeong Station Water Tower, Chungnam Yeonsan Station Water Tower, Gyeongbuk Andong Station Water Tower, Yeongcheon Station Water Tower, and Gyeongnam Samnangjin Station Water Tower, is recognized as a major heritage for understanding railway history and studying modern transportation, and has been designated as a National Registered Cultural Heritage.