The place names have been researched into not only by geographers but also by many other field scholars, and hence, much performances of the researches have been accumulated. So far, Korean National Geographic Information Institute and many other inst...
The place names have been researched into not only by geographers but also by many other field scholars, and hence, much performances of the researches have been accumulated. So far, Korean National Geographic Information Institute and many other institutions and research groups have studied the place names in Korea, accumulating much data about them. In most cases, the researches into place names have been conducted at the whole nation, provinces or other wide regions. However, if the place names should be researched into at the city or village rather than a wider region, the results would be more specific and practical. Moreover, it is deemed necessary to understand the contents contained in the time-honored maps and the modern ones in consideration of the whole history of Korea, and it is also necessary to interpret the place names in consideration of their natural environmental and humanity and social environmental factors.
Gapyeong-gun (加平郡) of Gyeonggi-do (京畿道) was an agriculture society under the centralized political system during Joseon (朝鮮) dynasty. During the Japanese military occupation, the natural and human and social environments of Gapyeong-gun would change much due to the construction of such modern industrial facilities as railway and dam. Specifically, Nam-myeon (南面) was abolished, while Seorak-myeon (雪岳面) was incorporated, while Homyeong tunnel (虎鳴窟) and Cheongpyeong lake (淸平湖) were created anew. Recently, some place names were created, reflecting residents' opinions and the typicality of the region due to the decentralization of nation's administration and the increase of people's participation.
The purpose of this study was to review the historic data of Gapyeong-gun for the period from late Joseon dynasty through Japanese military occupation to present (2021), and thereby, arrange the place names of the county, and thereupon, construct a database about period-wise administrative districts and place names changed. The results of this study can be summarized as follows;
It can be known that the place names of Gapyeong-gun during Joseon dynasty reflected people's geographic recognition. In addition, the names of 'Myeon Ri' (面里) were determined according to their bearings centered about 'Eup government' (邑治). By the late 18th century, 'Myeon Ri system' (面里制) would be rearranged due to the increase of population and the segmentation of the villages, and thus, Jojong-myeon (朝宗面) would be divided into Jojongsang-myeon (朝宗上面) and Jojongha-myeon (朝宗下面), Seo-myeon (西面) into Naeseo-myeon (內西面) and Oiseo-myeon (外西面), and Buk-myeon (北面) would be divided into Habuk-myeon (下北面) and Sangbuk-myeon (上北面). By the late 19th century when the 2nd Gabo Reform (甲午改革) was implemented, the administrative districts would be adjusted drastically, and Gapyeong-gun was not an exception. In 1914 and 1915 or during the Japanese military occupation, the administrative districts would be adjusted again. As a result, many myeons (面) and lis (里) would be integrated. Moreover, as GyeongChun railway (京春線) was opened in 1939 and Cheongpyeong dam (淸平-dam) was constructed in 1943, the administrative zones of Gapyeong-gun would be reshuffled only to facilitate the changes of its administrative districts and place names. On Oct. 1, 1942, Nam-myeon (南面) would be split into Gapyeong-myeon (加平面) and Oiseo-myeon, and thus, it was abolished. On the other hand, Seorak-myeon (雪岳面) of Yangpyeong-gun (楊平郡) would be incorporated into Gayeong-gun. In 1991 when the local autonomy system was launched, the names of the administrative districts and places that had been uniformly changed by the central government would be changed according to residents' opinions. Currently in many local autonomous cities and counties, residents' opinions are collected to change the place names representing their statuses or change the Japanese-style place names into our original ones. Based on the results of this study, the researcher used the GIS to map the changes of the administrative districts of Gapyeong-gun by period.
This study may well have provided for some basic materials databased regarding the changes of places in Gapyeong-gun. It is hoped that this study will be followed up by future studies that will research into the changes of the place names of Gapyeong-gun systematically and expand the scope of the research encompassing the origins of the place names. Then, the researches into the place names of Gapyeong-gun would develop in both terms of quantity and quality.
In addition, this study corrected the place names of Gapyeong-gun shown in the local or geographic map used as basic database of the researches into the place names. In Korea, the researches into place names have been conducted nation-wide or province-wide, in reference to the time-honored and geographic maps. Hence, the data about the unique or original characteristics of regions could not well be reflected, and such errors tend to remain intact in the follow-up studies. In this regard, future studies are expected to research into other regions, being conscious of the actual status and changes of their place names.