For a long time, the Saemangeum reclamation project has been a social, political, and economic issue in both North Jeolla Province and Korean society. Saemangeum issues gave birth to an opposing structure, development or conservation. The local govern...
For a long time, the Saemangeum reclamation project has been a social, political, and economic issue in both North Jeolla Province and Korean society. Saemangeum issues gave birth to an opposing structure, development or conservation. The local government and people have adhered to Saemangeum reclamation consistently, and Saemangeum has operated as a rosy picture for the future prosperity of North Jeolla Province. Therefore, the so-called 'Saemangeum phenomenon' or 'dictatorship of Saemangeum' came into operation, which allowed the discourse of development and suppressed that of conservation. This study is an attempt to explain the solidity and consistence of the phenomenon. The point of this study used to explain the Saemangeum phenomenon of North Jeolla Province is 'political spectacle'. It is Yu Jongeun, a governor, who made Saemangeum operate as a political spectacle. As a new face, the governor made up for his weak points by utilizing the politics of the spectacular. This Saemangeum spectacle has made the governor a political spectacle and the media of the province has made use of the Saemangeum spectacle to create further media spectacle. Then the local people, enchanted with the political and media spectacle of Saemangeum, came to think Saemangeum as 'the promised land.'<br/>