The Spatial Organization and the Representation of Modernity in a Korean Open Pore

Abstract

The open ports and the concession system were the historical products of the imperialistic aggressions in East Asian countries. In the Korean peninsular, ten ports had been opened, and four concessions exclusive to the Japanese jurisdiction, three to the Chinese, and six for the joint control among several countries had been established between 1877 and 1908.<BR> They were very important in several aspects during the Korean modern period, though they did not reflect the internal dynamics of Korean modernization. They were the paths where the new civilization was introduced, and they had directly experienced the emergence of modern cities in their Western sense.<BR> The open ports and the concessions took the characteristics of modern cities not only in their economic roles, but also in their spatial organizations. For instance, they had the routes with the modern system and the architectures with the modern styles. In most of geographical and architectural studies, those modern characteristics in the spatial organization of the open ports seem to be regarded as the given. Though those works are important in understanding the modern features of the open ports, they are not enough to explain why the spatial organization becomes to represent the modernity. In order to explore the question, we need to distinguish the space into two different, but closely related categories: physical and cognitive. The physical space means the space which exists as a natural and geographical reality, and the cognitive means one that represents what the residents think and feel about the place where they live. Therefore, it is necessary to take those categories into account when we explain a space and/or a spatial organization in its comprehensive manner.<BR> This paper aims to describe the processes in which a part of an open port got to represent the modernity and the other to do the traditionality on the basis of data gathered in one of the Korean open ports, Mokpo.<BR> Mokpo was opened in October the Ist, 1897. In the traditional period. Mokpo was not so important geo-politically. But, after it was opened, it became the center of economic and political activities in the southwest area. It did not have spaces enough for the new settlements. and expanded its territory by reclaiming land from the sea. While Koreans inhabited in the old district in the city, the concessions were located on the reclaimed land, where well-designed routes and exotic buildings were built. The process of urbanization in Mokpo made two different districts, one of which was occupied by Koreans and the other by Japanese. And these two districts represented two different worlds: the former the traditionality and the latter the modernity.<BR> The different meaning of each settlement, however, had been constructed by several means in addition to the structure of routes. First of all, the buildings with such new styles as the Neo-Baroque, the Renaissance, or the Eclectic were built in the Japanese settlement. To Koreans, most of whom lived in traditional houses, the buildings were exotic and were thought as something modern. Secondly, the functions of two districts were totally different. The Korean district was like a bed town, but the Japanese district was the center of various activities like administration, commerce, entertainment, etc. In other words, the Japanese district was the center where all kinds of modern activities were carried out. Therefore, most Koreans could experienced those activities that were though as modern. The last means was the place names. The Japanese district had Japanese place names, but the Korean district still had the Korean place names. The place names differentiate the two settlements symbolically.<BR> The representation of modernity in Mokpo was made by several means in addition to the well-planned routes, which were the new styles of architectures, the functions of the Japanese district, and the place names. These means made the residents differentiate the city, and recognize the Japanese district as modern.