Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy (한국해양환경ㆍ에너지학회지)

The Korean Society for Marine Environment and Energy (한국해양환경•에너지학회)
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Human Life in Saemangeum after Reclamation

새만금 간척사업 후 주민의 삶

  • Received : 2010.08.13
  • Accepted : 2010.11.22
  • Published : 2010.11.25
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Abstract

This paper explores the changing aspects of the fishing village and fishermen since the beginning of the Saemangeum Reclamation Development Project in 1991. The Saemangeum Project was neither appropriate nor effective because it adopted an outdated development policy. It should have been obvious that as a result of the Project, tideland where various kinds of clams, crabs, oyster, and many other marine resources live would be lost. The fishermen in the affected area have suffered various hardships. The most acute problem at present is the disappearance of their subsistence activity that threatens their families' survival. Facing the crisis, they view fishing as their most valuable resource. Overlooking the Saemangeum Lake which is newly formed, they view the sea and tideland as their treasure boxes or bank deposits. From the beginning until now, the government did not pay attention to the concerns of the fishermen and their communities. It was an outcome of the typical top-down bureaucratic decision making. Until recently the government has persisted in its position that the primary goal of the reclamation project was to increase agricultural land. In July 23, 2009, the government suddenly announced the new Saemangeum development plan. The new plan focusing on the industrial city complex was quite different from the old plan. Regardless of the revised plan the lives of the villagers in the coastal areas have already been significantly altered. Most villagers no longer depend on fishery. Many have already left their homestead and moved away in order to search new jobs or find another coastal area where they can continue their fishing.

1991년에 시작된 새만금 간척사업으로 인한 주변 어촌마을의 변화를 연구하였다. 새만금 사업은 시대에 뒤떨어진 개발논리에 의해 시작되었기 때문에 적절하지도 효과적이지도 못하다. 간척사업으로 인해 수많은 종류의 해양생물자원들이 사라졌으며 어부들은 이로인한 고통을 겪어야 했다. 가장 큰 문제는 어로활동 제약으로 인해 생계유지가 곤란해진 것이다. 어부들에게 수산자원은 가장 소중한 자산이며 보물상자이고 예금통장이다. 간척사업 시작부터 지금까지 정부는 어부들의 생활에 관심을 두지 않았다. 이는 한국의 전통적인 중앙집권적 의사결정의 결과다. 최근까지도 정부는 간척사업의 목적이 농지를 확보하는 것이라는 주장을 굽히지 않았다. 2009년 7월 23일에 새만금 신개발계획이 발표됐다. 신계획은 구계획과는 달리 산업단지 조성에 중점을 두고 있다. 그러나 어촌주민들의 삶은 이미 상당히 피폐된 상태다. 대부분 어촌마을은 더 이상 어로활동에 의존할 수 없는 상황이다. 많은 어부들이 새로운 직장을 구하거나 다른 어촌에서 어로활동을 계속하기 위해 고향을 떠났다.

Keywords

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