Will It Be Only a Question of Name?

The construction of the Pyokkolje Reservoir in Kimje (金堤市, 김제시), North Cholla Province (全羅北道, 전라북도), must have been unprecedented in its large-scale engineering work when it was built in 330 during the reign of King Piryu (比流王, 비류왕, ??-344, r.304–344) of the Paekche Kingdom (百濟, 백제, 18 BC-660 AD). The length of the embankment alone is 3.3 km indicating the early development of rice farming in the area.

Pyokkolje. Changsaenggo, one of the 2 remaining ancient gates

With the extended length of 33 km, the Saemangum Embankment (새萬金, 새만금, Mangum Seawall) located not far from Pyokkolje is 10 times longer than that, but its construction must not have been as difficult as the Pyokkolje Reservoir built 1700 years ago. The embankment should be used for land reclamation on the Mangum (萬金) estuary, a name probably formed from combining the first character of Mangyong (萬), as the area was known, and that of Kimje (金).
The reconstruction of the Pyokkolje Reservoir during the reign of King Taejong (太宗, 태종, 1367-1422, r.1400-1418) of the Choson Dynasty (大朝鮮國, 대조선국, 1392-1910) was also a spectacle. Over 10 000 people that were mobilised from all over the country worked hard to complete the work in two months. Even workers from Cheju Island (濟州島, 제주도) were called to join. They arrived late because of the distance and bad weather for sailing. They were ordered to build a southern embankment. Thus that area today is called the Cheju Embankment. Near the reservoir there is a small hill. Legend has it that the hill was created from the pile of worn-out straw shoes that the construction workers threw there.
King Taejong is still remembered for his devotion to constructing reservoirs and irrigation canals. Therefore, the rain that is good for rice farming—especially the kind that falls during the 5th month of the lunar calendar—is called the taejong-u (Taejong rain). The word pyokkolje (the reservoir in the rice field) was intended to supply water to vast field of rice paddies in the Kimje and Mangyong areas in North Cholla.

An artistic rendition of the Saemangum Project

The Saemangum reclamation project had been rife in controversy since its inception in 1987. It is said that the project was called Saemangum because it would create a vast, fertile farmland—sae (new) and magnum (huge amount of money). There is also a theory that sae has been attached in front of mangum because the embankment is shaped like the wings of a bird (sae also means ‘bird’). Seen from the sky, the embankments form the shape of a bird flying toward the Yellow Sea and China, spreading both wings wide. It can be said, therefore, that the Saemangum also implies the grand desire for creating a land like a bird that soars up into the world. Despite having a good name, though, enthusiasm for the project faded as the lawsuits and protests against it appeared to be endless. According to a survey, the word saemangum now reminds people mostly of environmental destruction.
The government recently presented a new master plan for the project. The plan includes a suggestion that they will use the brand name Ariul while also using the original name Saemangum to describe the reclamation. Ariul is a compound word coined by combining the ancient Korean word ari (water) and ul (fence). As was the case with Saemangum, however, a good name does not ensure that a project will go smoothly.

Giorgio Olivotto
Photo by Chong Myo-hwa
Seoul, Korea
November 21, 2010