Toponyms has an inseparable relation with the region and culture of their regidents. Especially, names of settlements often directly reflect not only characteristics of their surroundings, history and culture but also perceptions of residents.
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Toponyms has an inseparable relation with the region and culture of their regidents. Especially, names of settlements often directly reflect not only characteristics of their surroundings, history and culture but also perceptions of residents.
From this viewpoint, settlement names are an interesting object of geography to study man - land relationship.
This study is aimed to classify hamlet names and historical changes of village names in Hapcho˘n - gun on 1 : 50,000 topographical map, according to place - naming factors and to research regional characteristics through classificatory analysis.
The results are as follws.
1. Much of administrative settlement names such as Myo˘n or Ri were named only for administrative convenience, without reflecting regional characteristics as the other regions and it could be cleared through the changing. Due to mountainous characteristics of this region, administrative settlelment names were named often hamlet name which originated from physical surrounding.
2. Hamlet names which reflected regional characteristics well are consisted of physical names (55.4%), human names (32.2%) and the rest(12.5%) respectively.
It indicates that hamlet names reflect physical environment well. There is no significant difference on distribution of U˘p(town) or Myo˘n, but in case of Cho˘ngdo˘k - myo˘n eastern area of the region, in where various toponyms are entitled due to inflences of streams, it is peculiar that physical names are the greatest in number. The names originated from the ranges, drainage and plain are as much as 35.9%. Among them mountainous names reflected geographical characteristics of the region which occupies mountainous area more than 80% to the settlement locations and it seems to be 23.6% of highest ratio. Water, too, as an indispensable factor of human life, influenced much on settlement location and hamlet naming, we can found that a lot of drainage name at Pongsan - myo˘n located in upper stream area Hwang - river. It indicates that hamlet are greatly influenced by physical environment than urban.
3. Among the human names, the one relalted to economical activities are highest(10.l%) and the one in relation to historic remains are next(9.3%) in number.
In northern Kaya - myon. human names which related to economical activities are entitled more than physical names because of long their history. It could be toponyms are combination of human characteristics as well as physical and particularly that importance of environment be evaluated by its perception.
4. Most of hamlet names in relation to history and legends and abstract can't be identified, their naming factors and the latter are found among newly created toponyms.
5. The higher altitude rise, the more physical names distribute, while human and abstract ones vice versa.
6. Toponyms having no relation with geographical environment are named by analogy and abstract. These toponyms are changed to another one because of the failure of good impression from regidents.
7. In order to conserve indigeneous toponyms reflecting regional characteristics, it is desirable to provide the key for place-naming based upon historical and cultural traditions of the region. For above purpose, further systematic sutdies on top- onym are required.