서해지역 봉수의 분포양상과 그 의미 －전북지역을 중심으로－

Abstract

As a result of conducting continuous archaeological field surveys, it has been confirmed that twenty signal fires used to be distributed along the West Sea in Jeonbuk, comprising thirteen beacons on the mainland and seven beacons on islands. It is understood that these signal fires formed one of the five signal fire routes in the Joseon Dynasty (or ‘wonseol Bongsoo’, and both their construction and operation are assumed to have occurred during the late Joseon Dynasty. However, the distribution of these signal fires coincided with the West Sea coastal routes which were actively utilized since the era of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Therefore, the signal fires may also have played the role of lighthouses for the safe navigation of vessels, besides their main function as signal transmission beacons. In ‘eonhwa bongsa goryeo dogyeong(宣和奉使高麗圖經)’which was written by Seogeung, the Song Dynasty’ envoy to Goryeo, there is a record stating that beacon fires provided guidance from Heuksan-do to Gaegyeong, and this indicates that the signal fires were actively utilized by vessels. As Korea is surrounded by water on three sides, international exchanges through the high seas have developed actively since early ages. At the same time, however, the coastlines are complex and the difference between high and low tides is severe, making the waters treacherous for vessels to navigate. Accordingly, throughout time, there has been a need for facilities to make sailing easier and safer and signal fires appear to have played a role in history as such. This is supported by the fact that most of the signal fires discovered on the mainland are concentrated along the coastlines, and also a large number of signal fires have been found on major islands.