The Frontiers of Korean Civilization - What Lies Beyond Greater Seoul, from the Han to the Geum

There are two important insights here. Modern Korea’s west coast was shaped by land reclamation and the Cold War. Land reclamation eliminated the maritime transportation networks that had been maintained along the west coast for centuries, while providing vast amounts of farmland and a modest amount of industrial land. The closure of these maritime routes was also heavily influenced by the Communist takeover of China and the threat posed by North Korea. The “West Coast Era” that had been proclaimed since the 1980s never ultimately arrived. Now that a new Cold War has emerged, it seems unlikely that the west coast will once again become a major hub of active maritime transportation.

• 김시덕. 한국 문명의 최전선: 한강에서 금강까지, 대서울 너머 보이는 것들. 서울: 열린책들, 2024.

20260411