해류, 명태 그리고 NLL - 동해 명태 회유로의 이동과 남북한 냉전 -

Abstract

Examined in this article is how the change in East sea’s pollack fishing ground’s location, caused by shifting sea currents during the Cold war period, actually affected South and North Koreas’ relationship and even aggravated their conflicts with each other. In the 1970s, North Korean fishers engaged in active pollack fishing in the area, while the South also did so later in the 1980s. According to North Korean research, this was due to the relocation of the winter pollack fishing ground, which was because of the warm current in the sea east to the Korean peninsula that shifts every ten years. BR As a related incident, North Korean authorities’ frequent capturing of South Korean fishing boats in the 1960s may be worth discussing. In the 1960s, South Korean fishing boats would often cross the border to gain access to the golden fishing ground in front of the Goseong area. As tension between the two Koreas was high during that period, North Korea oftentimes captured such South Korean boats. Kidnapped South Korean fishermen would receive secret training in North Korean state propaganda, and then return to South Korea. Later they were accused of being North Korean spies by the South Korean state, whenever such accusation would meet the needs of the South Korean authorities.BR We can see the East sea pollacks, which are nowhere to be seen nowadays, were able to play a certain role in a Cold war setting, and brought tragic results to the lives of some Korean fishermen. Also, it should be noted that all the South and North Korean fishermen who caught even the fries(young fish) with dragnets were the ones who contributed to the extinction of East sea pollacks, which was another ecological disaster in itself.