II.
Geo-political Stories of the Place
How can human listeners be situated in the geo-political context of Sihwa? The one important layer of Sihwa as an ecological place is the pollution from 30 years of national-scale reclamation projects, which I situate in a geo-political context. Most of the sounds in this context of the place are collections of unwoven stories rather than sonic materials that can be measured. So, to learn about the pollution of Sihwa, listening needs to be a conceptual framework: reading the unwoven stories and hearing unheard voices regarding the social-political actions of humans that have been done. This mode of listening arises from experiments with ways of knowing and inhabiting the world, gesturing toward disciplines concerned with sound, the politics of language, and the physical and philosophical environment. Sound is also about becoming aware of unfamiliar registers that have much political significance. Indeed, it is the responsibility of a human being to learn the causality of pollution. Most crucially, exposing the human roots of construction in the place by listening to geo-political stories makes it possible to build a bridge across and situate the ears close to non-human perspectives on pollution.
Listening to the geo-political context of Sihwa also became integral to the multidisciplinary collective, GetbolLAB, which I collaborate. As part of this collective, during a seminar led by Jung-hwa Kim, a professor of landscape architecture at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, we explored how the coastal areas are positioned within urban planning. Through discussions with Sun-mi Park, a resident and activist in the Sihwa area, and visits along Sihwa's open and inner seas, we established a direction for tracing the intricacies of Sihwa encountered during field research. Therefore, in the following writings, I explore the geo-political and ecological history intertwined within Sihwa, tracing the process of re-wilding alongside the chronology of 30 years of reclamation, aiming to learn about the layers of the place.
*You can read the original version of this chapter in "Into the (re)wild" which I authored, and which was published by Ecoes #6 by Sonic Acts.
1980: After oil money
During the first oil crisis, Gulf countries flourished economically and, leveraging their accumulated wealth, formulated plans to construct social infrastructures such as roads and harbours. The rapid pace of construction served as an opportunity to absorb labour from overseas due to the scarcity of the Gulf domestic workforce②⑤. In Korea, this led to a remarkable increase in the proportion of foreign labourers, from 37% in 1975 to 65% in 1985②⑥. This period also witnessed a significant surge in the migration of South Korean labour to the Middle East. This phenomenon was propelled by the nationwide, post-Korean War slogan ‘Live Well’, coupled with vigorous corporate expansion and the aspirations of young people to escape poverty. However, in 1980, following oil-producing countries’ increasing emphasis on domestic project orders, many South Korean heavy equipment operators and labourers working abroad returned home. This phenomenon coincided with large-scale South Korean reclamation projects, such as the Sihwa development project. Efforts were instead concentrated on bolstering the domestic economy and expanding national territory. By bringing fresh water from artificial reservoirs to the reclaimed agricultural and industrial areas, these projects aimed to form coastal industrial belts on the western coast, dispersing the population from within the capital region and regulating the influx of business facilities into the Seoul metropolitan area②⑦.
1987: A straight border (reclamation)
The Sihwa District Development Project began with the construction of a seawall. To develop the 17,300-ha reclamation area of vast tidal flats spread around the city of Siheung and Hwaseong county, a seawall spanning 12.7 km with five sluice gates was built, creating a freshwater reservoir to hold approximately 180 million tons of water. This was the longest seawall built in Korea and the largest reclamation project in Asia at the time. The project gave hope to the local fishermen and merchants, who sold their homes at bargain prices, exchanging their livelihoods for compensation and the high prospect for economic growth. However, following the commencement of the seawall construction, the bright prospects for Lake Sihwa began to disintegrate. The cessation of seawater inflow led to accelerated anthropogenic contamination from heavy metals, resulting in eutrophication and the rapid formation of lifeless zones. Nearby factories also illicitly discharged wastewater.
1988: Unemployment, divorce, and suicide
During low tide, using simple fishing tools, the residents of the villages gathered clams and octopuses. They also cultivated various shellfish species such as oysters, clams, Venus clams, and cockles to sustain their income②⑧. However, following the construction of the seawall, the marine environment started rapidly declining. Ultimately, maintaining their livelihoods through fishing became increasingly challenging. Furthermore, the tidal flats, which were considered a common resource (part of the sea), historically shared equally among fishing communities, given the absence of individually owned agricultural land, made it difficult to claim compensation. In 1988, this situation prompted almost all the villages around Lake Sihwa to engage in class-action lawsuits against the government seeking compensation for traditional fisheries②⑨. Through the first and second rounds of litigation, they won and received individual payouts. With this compensation, the fishermen sold their goods in nearby rural areas and sought jobs in urban centres. However, accustomed to relatively flexible working hours governed by the tides, many found it difficult to adjust to the fixed schedule of the city. Possessing limited skills beyond fishing, a large number returned to their villages. Additionally, as the government’s final appeal was won at the Supreme Court, villagers found themselves forced to repay the compensation they had already received, increasing their debts③⓪. The Daebudo Island village of Donguri gradually collapsed due to poverty. Once home to around 130 households, now only around 40 families remain, a testament to its decline③①.
1996: Down the drain
A total of 332 million tons of wastewater from Sihwa were released into the nearby ocean③②. By the mid-1990s, the Sihwa Lake freshwater reservoir had become severely contaminated, making it unusable not only for agricultural and industrial purposes but for any other uses as well. The once-clear water turned murky, with foam on the surface and a foul odour pervading the waves. Anchored, motionless ships rusted and fell apart and there was widespread crop failure in the Sihwa surrounding areas. As the water of Sihwa Lake evaporated, the wind swept across the exposed salt flats, covering farms and villages with salt deposits that piled up on windowsills like dust③③. Within the waters of Sihwa Lake, a marine ecosystem survey revealed species globally recognised as indicators of organic pollution, consistently dominating the benthic community③④. As pollutants entered via these pathways, the proliferation of phytoplankton continued, leading to phenomena such as red, brown, and green tides③⑤. As Sihwa’s pollution gained international notoriety, the government took a surreptitious approach, releasing the polluted water into the sea at night. The Ministry of Environment argued that the released water met the discharge standards set by the Water Quality and Ecosystem Conservation Act, discarding the issue③⑥. However, when considering the chemical oxygen demand test, the contaminant load was astronomically high, exceeding more than tenfold the amount of wastewater discharged by all of Korea’s factories combined in a single day.
2011: Finally bright?
Ironically, named ‘Finally Bright,’ as organisms died off in swarms and residents left, colloquially Sihwa began to be referred to as the ‘Lake of Death’. The government proposed solutions to address the worst of the water pollution and, in the process, suggested the conversion of Sihwa from a freshwater reservoir (as originally intended) to a seawater lake by constructing tidal power plants with sluice gates (this led to the discharge of polluted water from Sihwa into the open sea). Tidal power generation, in principle similar to low-head hydropower, utilises the tidal range, the difference in water level between high and low tide, to create kinetic, and then electrical energy③⑦. The unique aspect of the tides, the rising and falling sea level is one of the most predictable oceanic phenomena, governed by the gravitational forces of the Moon and Sun, and the balance of Earth’s rotation③⑧. The government requested a preliminary review of the feasibility and economic viability of installing tidal power plants by the Marine Research Institute. The procedure was deemed viable, and construction commenced. With an investment of 355.1 billion KRW③⑨
(resulting in a total amount of approximately 24.36 trillion KRW for all construction at Sihwa, including the seawall and tidal power plants), the project began in the mid-2000s and was completed in 2011.
2018: Into the (re)wild
Re-wilding is the process of reconstructing a natural ecosystem on a large scale, in the aftermath of significant human interference④⓪. It involves restoring natural processes and regenerating a complete or near-complete food web at all trophic levels, resulting in a robust and self-sustaining ecosystem where biota can thrive as if the disruption had not occurred. The conversion of Sihwa to a seawater lake and the establishment of tidal power plants fundamentally encompassed the objective of re-wilding, attracting considerable attention from various research institutions④①. A study released in 2019, examined the spatial variation of heavy metal contamination in sediment after the implementation of tidal power plants④②. Surface sediments, sediment cores, and particulate matter in suspension were analysed, comparing the findings with the data from 2009. The results indicated an average reduction of 8% to 31% in heavy metal concentrations, though core samples from upstream areas with industrial complexes still exceeded safety limits. Significant accumulation of heavy metal-contaminated sediment exceeding 40 cm in width was observed in these cores, indicating that industrial pollution through sedimentation remains a concern. While increased seawater circulation resulting from the operation of tidal power plants contributed to a decrease in contamination, pollution from industrial activities persisted. It was concluded that the potential discharge of contaminated sediment from Sihwa into the outer regions could have adverse effects on the environment and ecosystems. Sihwa’s recovery has progressed more slowly than expected. A local activist who had been monitoring the site for years noted that rather than the toxic pollutants being swiftly discharged into the distance overnight, as many might assume, the process is lengthy. Pollutants are swept out by high tide in the morning and then, during low tide in the evening, return, albeit in depleted concentrations.
②⑤
National Institute of Korean History, The Economic Boom of Middle Eastern Oil-producing Countries and Korea's Entry into the Middle East Construction Market (Our History Net).
②⑥ Ibid.
②⑦
Jong-won Lee and Sung-man Hong, The Versatility of Public Projects and Policy Improvement (Korean Public Administration Journal, 2009), 1162.
②⑧
Ansan City Editorial Committee, History of Ansan; Siwhaho and Ansan (Ansan: Ansan City Editorial Committee, November 30, 2012).
②⑨
Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Fishermen's Lives and Fishing Activities in Intertidal Zones (Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, 2021), 4.
③⓪
Hyun-kyu Park, Current Status and Response to Resident Damage Due to Siwha Freshwater Lake Policy (Green Law Center).
③① Ibid.
③② Ibid.
③③ Ibid.
③④
Byeong-sang Park, Giant Failure Siwhaho (Hwanghae Culture, 1996), 1.
③⑤
Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ecology and Environment Research Division, Environmental Assessment of Siwha Lake Using the Coastal Pollution Index (BPI) (Ocean and Polar Research, 2003), 198.
③⑥
Eun-soo Kim, Study on Environmental Changes in Siwhaho and Establishment of Conservation Measures (2nd year) (Korea Institute of Ocean Research, 1998), 31.
③⑦
Jung-wook Kim, Pollution in Siwhaho and the Role of Citizens (Hwanghae Culture, 1996), 4.
③⑧
Young-seok Choi, After Auditor's Inspection of Siwha Lake, Neglect in Post-Inspection Check (Ansan Newspaper, October 14, 2003).
③⑨
Korea Water Resources Corporation, Siwha Lake Tidal Power Plant Plan and Prospects (Korea Energy Forum bulletin no. 63, 2003), 39.
④⓪
Conservation Biology, Guiding Principles for Rewilding (Conservation Biology, 2021), 1888.
④①
Kwang-su Lee, Establishment of Support Measures for Areas around the Tidal Power Plant (Infrastructure Development Center for Power Generation Projects, 2009), 21.
④②
Jeong Lee, [Green Changes the World] Korea Water Resources Corporation ‥ Completion of Siwha Tidal Power Plant Next Year (Korea Economy, February 5, 2009).