화성시 어촌 지명의 형성과 변화 : 지명의 명명(命名) 관행과 집단정체성

Abstract

In the coastal city of Hwaseong City there are forms of toponyms, such as ‘Yukdap’ (“Land-farm”) or ‘Haedap’(“Sea-farm”), which cannot be found in inland locations, even though they might also be found on reclaimed land. Also changes by era to the nomenclature about the land reclamation, which has been going on since the Joseon era, was observed. Traces of time, dissolved into place names, were inquired into through the names of the reclaimed lands of the Hwaseong region. The processes of formation, change, extinction and fossilization of toponyms were analyzed through the names of places and streets within Jebudo Island. A street frequented by locals harbors the environment, culture, etc. of a village. The streets of the Jebudo Island are often named very intuitively, for instance, ‘Baendaengigil’(“ Herring Street”), ‘Daechunamu-gil’(“Jujube Tree Street”), and ‘Gamnamu-gil’ (“Persimmon Tree Street”). Such names provide the locals with their own guideposts and constitute their own spaces. On the other hand, streets named by government agencies include ‘Haean-gil’(“Coastal Street”) and ‘Jebumal-gil’(“Jebu Village Street”), both of which are names that might regularly appear in fishing villages. These impersonal nomenclatures are applied wholesale made without any consideration for the history or the culture of the region. Sometimes, place names are interpreted without any relevance to historical facts. There are places in the Hwaseong area whose names contain the word “wang”(“king”), and the locals tend to tell stories that connect such places with royal visits. However, the people who tell these tales also know them to be untrue. Some of the toponyms have developed in interrelation with each other. In Yongdu-ri, there are place names such as ‘Yongdu-ri’(Dragon’s Head Village) and ‘Yongeuichori’(Dragon’s Tail), and it is known that the local people used to perform rainmaking rituals by shooting arrows at flags bearing images of dragons. Indeed, it seems that place names and rainmaking rituals formed the basis for mutual belief. A single place can be called by different names or have diverse interpretations. Certain groups of people, depending on their affiliation, would express the identity of the community through the nomenclature and its understanding of the local topography. For example, the island of Ddanseom(“Isolated Island”) in Yongdu-ri is also called ‘Sodangseom’(“Caldron Lid Island”) by the local fishermen because it is said to resemble a sodangdduggeong (“lid of a caldron”) when seen from the sea, while it is called ‘Nangseom’(“Cliff Island”) by the villagers because of its nangddeoreoji (“cliff”). There are two possible interpretations of Salgoji in Songgyo-ri: first, the name Salgoji originates from the word sal, which denotes an item of fishing gear; and second, this place could save lives when a war breaks out. The description depends on the means of affiliation, historical incidents, and ways of interpretation. Many place names coined by the locals that are imbued with their own history and culture are disappearing due to the standardization of language, the production and maintenance of maps, language education, the interventions of administrative agencies, unknown origin stories of toponyms found on the internet, and other complex causes. That being the case, it is time to shed new light on place names, since local communities form them, and these names in turn form the identity of those communities.