근현대 시기 순천의 성장과 도시계획의 전환

Abstract

This study investigates the urban growth and development plan of Suncheon in the modern and contemporary historical trajectory. During the Japanese colonial period, Suncheon’s feudally controlled space began to be transformed into a modern urban space. At this time, the competition between the colonial powers and the Protestant church for leading Suncheon’s spatial modernization propelled the city’s urbanization. However, the calamity of the Yeo-Sun Incident in 1948 and the flood of 1962 halted the growth of Suncheon. The incidents contracted the city’s urban functions for an extended time period. First, the incident brought about an enormous loss of human and material resources；this shook up the city’s fundamental structure. Second, during the flood of 1962, the “water bomb” swallowed downtown Suncheon (which came to be known as “the submerged city”) destroying houses and roads and paralyzing the city’s crucial functions, leading to the collapse of the city. However, quite the reverse, the catastrophic damages of the flood engendered the in-depth discussion of the city’s urban planning and reconstruction plan. The redevelopment project originally aimed for the Suncheon flood recovery and reconstruction；but it grew into a long-term development plan as news of the connection of railway and the attraction of the Honam Refinery was released in the mid-1960s. The government’s modernization policy impacted the direction of urban development ：the government fostered the training of experts and the building up of educational curricula for the specialization of urban planning. For instance, Shin Se-sik, Chief of city, participated in the urban planning training led by Heo Pi, and started to carry out a long-term urban planning based on his experience and knowledge earned from the training. Although the 1968 completion of “Basic Urban Plan” was a long-term city development blueprint that replaced the colonial Suncheon downtown development project, the depth of the plan was limited. In 1969, Wooil Construction oversaw making amends in urban planning. The redevelopment project highlighted the building of the ‘garden city’ that revitalized the downtown landscapes centered on the Dong stream and Jukdobong. The city was also structured as a ‘linear city’ that connects the divided downtown along the Dong stream. Lastly, the basic framework for urban growth was completed by securing the growth engine in connection with the Yeocheon Industrial Complex. Since then, this direction of urban development has continuously improved. This reorganization plan played an important role in bringing out the slogan of ‘ecocity’ that integrates urban planning with the benefits of a natural ecosystem.