Three Decades of the Saemangeum Project: Progress Only at 43% While Nation Ushered in 7 Presidents Environmental Debate Still Ongoing

[경향신문]

A picture taken during the ground-breaking ceremony of the Saemangeum Reclamation and Development Project in 1991. Courtesy of the Jeollabuk-do provincial government

November 28 marked the thirtieth anniversary of the launch of the Saemangeum Development Project. More specifically, it was the day that workers began building the 33km-long Saemangeum Seawall, the longest in the world. So far, 8.44 trillion won has been invested into the project, which is expected to cost a total of 22.78 trillion won. Three decades have passed and Cheongwadae has welcomed seven new presidents, but at the end of last year, progress remained at 42.8%.

According to the province of Jeollabuk-do on November 29, the Saemangeum Development Project first started when the Saemangeum area was noted as a site with the perfect geographical conditions for a national territory expansion project in 1970. The project was launched in 1991 under President Roh Tae-woo, but four years later, environmental issues were raised, leading to over a decade of twists and turns including a legal battle. Construction was resumed in 2006, when the Supreme Court ruled that the public interest had priority in the state-promoted Saemangeum reclamation project. Meanwhile, a public-private joint investigation team was formed, leading to changes in the perspective on the environment. The project also underwent a drastic make-over. Originally, 70% of the land created by the project was to be designated for farming, but farmland was reduced to 30% and 70% was set aside as a mixed-development area.

In April 2010, construction on the end zone of the Saemangeum seawall was completed, and the construction of the world’s longest seawall was complete. The seawall, which linked Gunsan and Buan, was opened to the public and became a tourist attraction. In 2017, the area was selected as the host of the 2023 World Jamboree, and last year a major road heading east from the seawall across the territory inside the seawall was completed. They are also in the process of finalizing investors for the project to develop a tourist zone.

A panorama of a road running across the Saemangeum area from east to west opened in November 2020. This street is a major road that runs across the area formed by the Saemangeum seawall. Courtesy of the Jeollabuk-do provincial government

This year, the Saemangeum Development Project ended phase one of the project and has entered phase two. According to the Jeollabuk-do provincial government, the goal of phase one was to build the seawall and improve the water quality, and phase two will focus on constructing a new port and principal roads, developing a tourist zone, and constructing the new Saemangeum Airport. The province announced that the Saemangeum Waterfront City will be developed into a masterpiece city with world-class urban environment where advanced technology coexists with nature. The province is aiming to complete the construction of the city by 2024. The province also plans to harvest renewable solar energy in the Saemangeum area, produce green hydrogen here and turn it into a hub of the eco-friendly mobility industry, such as electric and fuel cell electric vehicles.

But controversial issues still remain. Environmental organizations argue that the circulation of seawater is essential for the sustainable development of Saemangeum. The Saemangeum Airport, which gained momentum after the government exempted it from a preliminary feasibility study in 2019, also has three hotly disputed issues to resolve: the destruction of the mudflats, the airport’s connection to the U.S. military, and its lack of economic efficiency.

The debate on environmental damages due to the Saemangeum Project is ongoing. Recently, experts argued that the new Saemangeum Airport destroyed the Sura Mudflat. The picture shows Greenpeace members participating in a demonstrating calling for the circulation of sea water. Kyunghyang Shinmun archives

The Joint Action to Save Saemangeum released a statement this day and said, “The Saemangeum Project has swayed each time a new president entered office for the past thirty years. A project that is not based on reality is bound to bounce all over the place,” and argued, “The project destroyed one of the world’s five major mudflats with the lie that 100% of the new land would be used for agriculture and that it would create a freshwater lake. It destroyed the fisheries as well as a sustainable local community.”

The Joint Action also said, “This February was a historical moment when the government abandoned the plan to turn Saemangeum Lake into a freshwater lake and shifted towards circulating the seawater to manage water quality thanks to the efforts of the civil society and support from politicians, but the government is still promoting an unrealistic plan that was designed at the time when it promoted the freshwater lake.” The civic group demanded the government to increase the volume of sea water circulated in the Saemangeum Lake to improve water quality and the ecosystem and called for a transition toward a realistic and practical project led by the residents of Jeollabuk-do and one that could benefit them.