Episode 27: Road Survey
When Lee Chang-jin opened the private gate, he saw Chang-sik sharpening a knife on a whetstone.
“Hey, hyung, did you sleep well?”
“Yeah, but what are you doing right now?”
“Oh… this? Because you came, Father decided to slaughter a pig… so he went to the village chief’s house to borrow a grill.”
“What? By himself? Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“Haha, how could we wake a precious guest? Don’t worry. Yeong-do and Jin-ho Seong went with him. You just stay put.”
“But still… it’s something I should be doing…”
Just as Lee Chang-jin was feeling awkward, his mother brought out a table of food.
“Just woke up? You must be hungry. Have a bowl of beef bone soup. It’s been simmering all night with beef bones from yesterday.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
Although he had just woken up, the rich aroma of the beef bone soup made him hungry. The deeply flavored soup was delicious. As soon as he finished the bowl, he tried to get up, but his mother quickly stopped him.
“Just rest at home today. You’ve worked hard in Seoul. Aren’t you tired of it?”
“I’m fine, Mother. I get restless if I stay idle. Since I’m home, I thought I’d take a walk and look around the town.”
In fact, Lee Chang-jin intended to inspect the village roads that he hadn’t had the chance to check properly yesterday.
His mother, showing she couldn’t stop him, said, “Oh my, whose son is so diligent? Alright, but at least be back by dinner. You know your father’s temper, right? If you don’t come back by then, he’ll turn the village upside down looking for you.”
“Haha, alright, Mother. I’ll be back in time.”
Lee Chang-jin started to stroll around the village. Thanks to the Saemaul Undong movement, the thatched roofs had been replaced with blue slate roofs, but most of the roads and levees remained the same.
Though there had been occasional repairs, the old village had many spots that were worn out and needed fixing.
‘The road from the new main road to here would be about 1-2 km.’
In the 2000s, this would have been unthinkable, but it was the 70s now.
Back then, simple levee construction or temporary road installation in the countryside could be done without a construction license.
However, to clarify the boundary lines for even simple land demarcations, a cadastral survey was necessary.
Rural lands were often divided haphazardly, so actual surveys frequently revealed discrepancies from what was initially thought. In the past, boundary lines were drawn by hand on cadastral maps, causing land boundaries to shift by over 2 meters on a 1:50,000 scale map, leading to frequent disputes over land ownership.
Many lands had been washed away by floods or cultivated without permission over long periods, resulting in discrepancies between cadastral maps and reality. Some lands drawn on the mainland were actually in the middle of a river.
To avoid unnecessary disputes later, it was necessary to accurately understand the boundaries before starting construction.
A land survey required coordination with a local architect connected to the regional office.
Typically, there were architectural offices around the town office or county office.
When Lee Chang-jin went to the main street near the county office, most offices were closed due to Chuseok.
‘Should I come back in a few days?’
As he was wandering around the town, he noticed an open office. It was named Myeongseong Architecture Office.
Feeling a sense of familiarity, Lee Chang-jin went inside and saw a man cleaning with a broom, who looked familiar. Lee Chang-jin greeted him.
“Mansu! Are you Mansu?”
“Chang-jin? Is it really you, Chang-jin?”
Choi Man-su, who was arranging chairs, looked surprised.
He clearly didn’t expect to meet here.
The two warmly embraced and greeted each other.
“Wow, Chang-jin, you’ve become a complete gentleman. How long has it been?”
“About 10 years, right? Since middle school graduation? How have you been?”
Lee Chang-jin shared his life story.
As they chatted, Choi Man-su looked impressed.
“You’ve succeeded. I envy you. Getting a regular contract with Cheong-woo is like winning half the battle. Now your company will just grow explosively.”
“I was lucky. By the way, when did you start working?”
“About three years ago. I got my surveyor license and started working around here.”
“Is this office yours?”
“Yeah. My father-in-law helped me when I started. Now, it’s established, and the income isn’t bad.”
“That’s great. But why aren’t you resting on a holiday? Honestly, I was surprised. Do you work even on holidays?”
“Oh, my wife is due to give birth soon. After the ancestral rites, I sent her to her parents’ house to rest comfortably. I was feeling lonely and had nothing to do at home, so I was organizing the office.”
“Then it’s perfect timing. Do you have time today?”
“I don’t have anything special to do… why?”
“Come with me to survey a site.”
“A survey? Where do you want to survey all of a sudden?”
“I want to build a road for farm machinery and cars to enter the village. We need to survey and estimate the costs, so get up quickly.”
Choi Man-su reluctantly followed Lee Chang-jin out.
With a surveying instrument in hand, they marked out the boundaries with stakes.
After walking around and marking the route, Choi Man-su murmured, seemingly tired.
“Let’s take a break. My wife packed plenty of lunch, so let’s eat together.”
“Sure, let’s do that.”
On a hill, they spread out a mat and shared the kimbap that Choi Man-su’s wife had packed.
The seasoned kimbap tasted excellent after working.
As they ate, Choi Man-su, looking down at the hill, reminisced quietly.
“Doing this brings back memories, doesn’t it? Like when we first went on a picnic to town. I wanted to eat this so badly back then. I was the only one who couldn’t bring a lunchbox from our school, and you shared yours with me.”
“Did I? Did I do that back then?”
“Haha, you don’t remember. I was so grateful then. Time sure flies.”
Lee Chang-jin also reminisced while looking around the village entrance. It was his first visit in about five years, or decades if he counted his past life memories. As he looked around the village, he suddenly remembered a part he had overlooked.
“We need to survey that levee area too. If we make a road there, it will connect directly to the levee road and the new main road.”
Lee Chang-jin pointed to a piece of land at the village entrance near the levee. Though there were fields next to the levee, it looked suitable for a road at a glance.
Choi Man-su replied, as if it was out of the question.
“Oh, that’s impossible. That’s Byeon’s land.”
“Wait, isn’t Byeon the former village chief?”
“Yeah, after the village chief passed away, his eldest son, Gil-nam, inherited everything. There was a big dispute a few years ago.”
“A dispute? What kind of dispute?”
“Well, the current village chief tried to build a new main road near the village but that scoundrel Gil-nam demanded three times the market price for his land, so the plan fell apart. They cursed at each other and fought like crazy.”
“Really? How much did he ask for back then?”
“The current market price is 500 won per pyeong, but he asked for 1,500 won. Even though it was a bit more expensive since it was a house site, that price is just ridiculous. How could land in this remote village be so expensive? It’s not like we’re talking about Seoul.”
“1,500 won per pyeong… hmm…”
Lee Chang-jin thought carefully.
The land needed for expansion was about 4 meters wide and 100 meters long, roughly 200 pyeong.
Though it was a bit expensive, it wasn’t unaffordable for Lee Chang-jin.
If they avoided Byeon’s land and took a detour, the distance would triple, going around a hillside. This would mean higher construction time and cost, leading to a loss.
After quickly calculating in his head, Lee Chang-jin dusted off his hands and stood up.
“Let’s survey that area too and estimate the costs. I’ll handle that part.”
Choi Man-su, feeling uneasy, asked, “Are you planning to buy it? Don’t be a fool.”
“If necessary, I’ll pay a bit more. This isn’t about making money.”
After their meal, they went to inspect the area near the river.
Around the river, stones piled like retaining walls were scattered everywhere. Lee Chang-jin thought to himself.
‘If we connect directly to the existing levee road and flatten the riverbank and hills, it should be enough.’
Fortunately, there were no particularly steep slopes. With basic construction equipment, the work could be finished in a week.
After completing the survey, Lee Chang-jin and his group went to the county office.
At the county office, there was a road construction manager on duty.
Hearing the situation, Manager Kim was very pleased.
“You’ve made a great decision. However, our county lacks the budget to support the initial costs. If you, Mr. Lee, can expand the village road with your own funds as a development donation, we can propose to include the maintenance costs in next year’s budget. Until the budget is approved, you’ll have to cover any additional costs entirely. Are you really okay with that?”
Manager Kim, pretending to be concerned, tested Lee Chang-jin. But Lee Chang-jin had already made up his mind.
“Don’t worry. I never expected support from the start. I’ll cover the construction costs entirely; just ensure there are no legal issues.”
“Well, if that’s the case, we welcome it. Don’t worry about the permits. We’ll cooperate fully with the necessary forms and administrative procedures. Also, feel free to use the construction materials stored in the county warehouse. We have surplus materials from this year’s budget that we couldn’t use anyway.”
The county warehouse was filled with materials allocated by the government for the Saemaul Undong movement. Since 1971, the government had provided 335 sacks of cement and 2.6 tons of rebar to each of the 33,267 villages nationwide as part of the rural improvement project.
Unused cement or rebar couldn’t be reallocated, so it was actually beneficial for the county to use up the allocated materials.
After discussions with the county office, Lee Chang-jin contacted a heavy equipment office to get a shovel, excavator, payloader, and dump truck. The office manager, concerned, asked,
“Well, if you’re willing to pay well, I’m fine with it. But are you sure? This will cost quite a bit.”
“Don’t worry about the construction costs. Just bring the equipment and skilled workers as soon as possible.”
After the call, Lee Chang-jin turned to Man-su and said,
“And Man-su, until the permit is approved, estimate the costs for me. Here’s today’s pay, including a holiday bonus.”
“Thanks. Leave the rest to me.”
Choi Man-su promised to list the estimated materials, expected duration, and equipment needed for the road construction, and attach it to the road construction plan until the permit was approved.
After finishing his work, Lee Chang-jin bought some bottles of makgeolli before returning to town.
Fortunately, there was a shop open during the holiday, so he got them for a good price.
When Lee Chang-jin returned home, it was almost 5 PM.
The smell of cooking meat already filled the yard.
His father, who had been eagerly waiting for him, half-grumbled,
“Why are you so late? The meat almost got cold.”
“Sorry, I took a stroll and went to town. Here, I brought some alcohol.”
Displaying the heavy makgeolli jug, Lee Chang-jin’s father urged him.
“You didn’t have to buy that. Anyway, come here. The meat is just done.”
In the yard, villagers were cutting well-cooked pork roast.
White smoke filled with savory meat aroma billowed from the drum can filled with charcoal.
- Continued in Episode 28 -
