김포 민통선 마을의 현황과 활용방안에 대한 제언

Abstract

This paper examines the historical development and current status of Gimpo’s civilian control line villages. However, the intention is not to emphasize the situation in which Gimpo’s civilian control line villages cannot help but become a controlled protection zone as a border space between the South and the North. Rather, the purpose is to examine the past and present of the civilian control line villages in a diachronic manner in order to find a desirable future development plan. In other words, the paper attempts to clarify what role these villages played historically, what their current situation is, and what direction they should be developed in when mutual cooperation between the South and the North becomes possible. Gimpo is a region that faces Gaepung-gun in North Korea across the Han River. Accordingly, Gimpo’s civilian control line villages, unlike civilian control line villages in other regions located inland, are set against the backdrop of the Han River estuary. Although the Han River is currently inaccessible due to the barbed wire fence, the port villages of Jogangpo, Mageunpo, and Gangnyeongpo in the northern part of Gimpo served as a conduit for maritime logistics distribution since before the Goryeo Dynasty, and because of the special nature of the brackish water area where freshwater and seawater meet, they were also villages where fishing was prosperous. After the Korean War, these port villages became spaces of isolation and exclusion. All ports were closed, and the residents were evacuated to the rear areas, leaving them as quiet rural villages. However, while many civilian control villages such as Paju and Yeoncheon were artificially created, Gimpo's civilian control village was naturally rebuilt by the local residents. Accordingly, the village residents retain attachment and pride in the region that has become their home, and this fact will serve as a great driving force in rebuilding historical and cultural villages that preserve regional traditions in the coming era of peace between the South and the North.