Life in a Nuclear Neighborhood: Nuclear Power

Plants in South Korea

Angela Jang

Colgate University

August 2016

2016 Lampert Civic and Global Affairs Summer Fellowship

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my gratitude to Lampert Civic and Global Affairs Institute for

allowing me this opportunity to explore my passion, and learn valuable experiences and skills. I

would also like to thank my faculty sponsor, Professor Daisaku Yamamoto, for providing

memorable advice and excellent feedbacks throughout this project. Furthermore, I want to

acknowledge all the villagers who have let me interview them. Specifically, I would like to thank

Reverend Kim Chang Hee and Kim Bu Ha for their generous help to make this project possible.

And, last but not least, I am grateful for my family for providing assistance and encouraging me

through both happy and difficult times.

ABSTRACT

With the introduction of nuclear power plants, host communities have been experiencing a

breakdown of traditional culture and an increasing economic dependency on the plants. Scholarly

studies, however, rarely examine possibly differentiated and dynamic views among the local

residents of these host communities, changing nature of communal organizations, and their

livelihood changes, adaptations and challenges in regards to the nuclear power plants. Through

the study of the village-wide ancestral worship in Bukmyun, South Korea, I illustrate that the

local resident of these host communities are active agents who skillfully maintain their

community and community practices despite the challenges posed by the nuclear power plants.

Since the nuclear power plant’s introduction into the area, Bukmyun’s village-wide ancestral

worship has been experiencing decreasing participants because of the surge of “outsiders,” or

temporary workers, in the area. Despite these challenges, the community has presented three

changes to help sustain the village-wide ancestral worship by (1) changing the nominating

system of the ritual leaders; (2) decreasing the ritual to once a year rather than twice a year; and

(3) by incorporating modern facilities and loosening the “side” rules. Through these three

changes, the community lessens the burden for the villagers and the ritual leaders in carrying out

the village-wide ancestral ritual. Through this paper, I urge policymakers of regional

development to recognize local residents as active agents who are constantly negotiating their

values and the changing environment, and develop policies that reflect the actual needs and

values of the community.

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INTRODUCTION

Imagine you live in a small, rural town. Now, imagine placing a multi-million dollar

nuclear power plant in your town. Within the next few years, how did your town change? There

is almost no debate in the academic field that nuclear power plants have enormous effects on the

nuclear host communities. From changing the economics to the geography of the area, nuclear

power plants have long been one of the most powerful projects launched by the South Korean

government. Currently, South Korea is ranked fourth in the world for generating energy from

nuclear power plants – just after United States, France and Russia.1 As of July 1st, 2016, South

Korea has twenty-five reactors operating, three under construction, and eight more planned for

construction.2 With its twenty-five reactors, South Korea heavily depends on nuclear power

plants for electricity. In fact, in 2015, South Korean nuclear power plants provided 157.2

Terawatt-hours of electricity, which provides 31% of the total electricity consumed in South

Korea.3

One of the significant ways nuclear power plant changes the area is through what we call

“nuclear money.” These “nuclear moneys” are given from the nuclear power plants to the

community either through collecting property taxes, providing jobs, subsidies from the

government, and/or simply donations to the local government.4 In other words, it is money

received from the area due to the existence of the nuclear power plant. Many scholars claim that

nuclear power plant money has had a positive influence on the community and communal

organizations. It provided jobs, funds to build and maintain important buildings, and an overall

increase in economic well-being of the area. However, some scholars argue that nuclear money,

in fact, only increased the communities’ dependency on the nuclear power plant. Instead of

building an autonomous community, the community can only function and maintain itself

through the existence of nuclear power plant.

With a closer look into the debate, nevertheless, most scholars assume that nuclear host

communities are passive and static agents. Rarely do these studies examine possibly

differentiated and dynamic views among the local residents of these host communities, changing

nature of communal organizations, and their livelihood changes, adaptations and challenges in

regards to the nuclear power plants. In short, we know little about how people actually “live” by

nuclear power plants in Korea. Yet, this is potentially one of the most important issues in order

to determine the future prospects of South Korea’s nuclear development, domestic energy

security and sustainability challenges, and its role in Asia and the world.

In this paper, I will show villagers actively shaping their organizations to adapt to their

environment. I examined four different life organizations – The Sports Festival, The 4.13 Manse

Memorial, the village common possession, and the village-wide ancestral worship – in Bukmyun

1 World Nuclear Association, “Nuclear Power in South Korea,” World Nuclear Association, September 20, 2016,

http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-o-s/south-korea.aspx (accessed September 25, 2016). 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. 4 Nuclear Energy Institute, “Nuclear Power Plants Benefit State and Local Economies,” Nuclear Energy Institute, February, 2015,

http://www.nei.org/Master-Document-Folder/Backgrounders/Fact-Sheets/Nuclear-Power-Plants-Contribute-Significantly-to-S

(accessed September 25, 2016).

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City, in Uljin County. Among these four, the village-wide ancestral worship did not lose its

autonomy and has been able to creatively and skillfully negotiate their core values or practices

despite the changing environment. Through this paper, I hope to not only challenge conventional

view of the host communities but also urge policymakers of regional development to recognize

local residents as active agents, and develop policies that reflect the actual needs and values of

the community.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The introduction of nuclear power plants radically transforms local host communities in

numbers of ways, which includes changing the built environment, economic bases, demographic

compositions, and social fabric. According to Yamane et al., hosting nuclear power plants have

brought local communities economic benefits through “job creation due to construction, operation

and maintenance of the facilities, provision of subsidies/ donations or public goods from the

government and the electric power companies.”5In fact, nuclear power plants are the single largest

economic bases for many of the host communities. Examining the nuclear power plants in

Kashiwazaki City and Kariwa Village in Japan, Kato et al. discovered that 15 – 24% and 37 – 68%

of the total annual revenue, respectively, originated from the nuclear power plant property tax.6 In

Kashiwazaki and Kariwa, huge percentages of these property tax revenues are spent on social

welfare programs (such as building hospitals or funding medical programs) and infrastructures

(such as roads, parks, and others).7Although individual households are not receiving much private

benefits (e.g. monetary compensation), scholars claim that the nuclear power plant has improved

the financial condition of the community by providing these public benefits to the community as a

whole.8

Nevertheless, some scholars have argued that nuclear power plants do not provide positive

economic benefits specifically for the local communities as many have expected. Pijawka and

Chalmers demonstrated that “the rural local areas could not supply the substantial amounts of

equipment and supplies needed for construction, and the effects of such purchases (indirect income)

on the study area economies were insignificant.”9 In fact, according to them, most of materials for

the construction of the Turkey Point facility in Florida came from outside the region and only 1.3

percent of building materials were from the local area.10In addition, Pijawka and Chalmers argue

that developers bring their own construction workforce and there is a major local leakage of

employment benefits.11 In my research site, Bukmyun City, only 6% of the employee working for

5 Fumihiro Yamane, Hideaki Ohgaki, and Kota Asano, “Social Factors Affecting Economic Welfare of the Residents around

Nuclear Power Plants in Japan,” Energy Procedia 9, (2011): 620. 6 Kato et al., “A Case Study of Economic Incentives and Local Citizens’ Attitudes towards Hosting a Nuclear Power Plant in

Japan: Impacts of the Fukushima Accident,” Energy Policy 59, (2013): 811. 7 Ibid. 8 Carol Mansfield, Geroge L. Van Houtven, and Joel Huber, “Compensating for Public Harms: Why Public Goods are Preferred

to Money,” Land Economics 78, no. 3 (2002): 368.; Kato et al., “A Case Study of Economic Incentives,” 811. 9 D. Pijawka and J. Chalmers, “Impacts of Nuclear Generating Plants on Local Areas,” Economic Geography 59, no. 1 (1983): 73. 10 Ibid. 11 Ibid.

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the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Uljin Branch and 23% of the employee working in the

operational enterprise are native to the local area.12

Other scholars studying the impact of nuclear power plants on the local economy have also

pointed out that there have been significant demographic changes. According to the US Census,

there has been an average 17% increase in the number of people living around the nuclear power

plants.13Along with the demographic changes, Gamble and Downing have also found that the total

real property market values have been increasing around the nuclear power plant.14 As Gamble

states, “… annual growth rates [of real estate property] for the years following plant construction

were higher than for the years before plant construction, with the increase in the growth rate for the

host communities higher than the increase for the region as a whole, the presence of the nuclear

power plant may have served as a stimulus to growth.”15 Bezdek and Wendling found that the

“total property values, assessed valuations and median housing prices have often increased at rates

above the national and state averages.”16 They go further and state that nuclear power plants have

“protected property values” during the periods of economic decline and instable property market

by providing steady employments for the surrounding communities.17

However, the debate between the positive effects of nuclear power plant and the negative

effects has been fierce. According to these opposing traditions, the presence of nuclear power

plants may result in two contrasting effects on existing communal organizations and traditions in

host communities. On one hand it may act as a threat to such organizations and traditions

because of increased outsiders and cultural modernization.18 On the other hand generous

“nuclear money” (e.g., donations from power plants and government compensations) may

promote the maintenance or even up-scaling of such traditions although at the risk of eroding the

autonomy of local agents.19

Despite ongoing debates regarding the effects of nuclear power plant sitings, the current

social scientific literature on nuclear power plants, especially in the context of non-western

countries, lacks the discussion on how inhabitants of nuclear host communities deal with the

presence of nuclear power plants in their everyday lives. Instead, scholars studying the effect of

nuclear power plants typically focus on the local and national perception of the nuclear power

12Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, A Nuclear Power Plant White Paper (Seoul: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy,

2015), 636 – 637. 13 Bill Deadman, “Nuclear Neighbors: Population Rises near US Reactors,” NBC News, April 14, 2011,

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42555888/ns/us_news-life/t/nuclear-neighbors-population-rises-near-us-reactors/#.V9Ro4JgrLIU

(accessed September 25, 2016). 14Hays B. Gamble, Roger H. Downing, and Owen H. Sauerlender, “Community Growth around Nuclear Power Plants,” AREUEA

Journal 8, (1980): 278 – 279. 15Ibid, 279. 16 Roger H. Bezdek and Robert M. Wendling, “The Impacts of Nuclear Facilities on Property Values and Other Factors in the

Surrounding Communities,” International Journal of Nuclear Governance, Economy and Ecology 1, no. 1 (2006): 133. 17Ibid, 138. 18 For example, see Hiroshi Onitsuka, “Hooked on Nuclear Power: Japanese State-Local Relations and the Vicious Cycle of

Nuclear Dependence,” The Asia-Pacific Journal 1, no. 0 (1970); Martin Fackler, “In Japan, a Culture that Promotes Nuclear

Dependency,” The New York Times, May 30, 2011, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/world/asia/31japan.html?_r=1. 19 For example, see Kato et al., “A Case Study of Economic Incentives.”; Fumihiro Yamane, Hideaki Ohgaki, and Kota Asano,

“Social Factors Affecting Economic Welfare.”

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plants,20 severe accidents and consequences,21 anti-nuclear movements,22 and the political

economic dynamics surrounding nuclear power plant.23Accordingly, the current literature on

nuclear power in Korea often ignores already existing nuclear host communities, or portrays

them as merely passive and static agents to these external changes happening. However, host

communities are rarely such passive agents. Instead, they are active in adapting through constant

negotiations with their environment and their communal organizations.

Theoretical Framework

For this research, I employed Hiroyku Torigoe’s life environmentalism framework to

explore the research question. Life Environmentalism framework was developed in Japan in

response to the emerging and influential environmental sociology by Catton and Dunlap.24 This

paradigm encouraged policymakers to carve out and create new plans for protecting national

parks, sanctuaries and community parks. However, in areas with high population density and less

available land to create national parks like Japan, Torigoe found that this environmental

sociology paradigm is hard to achieve. Thus, the life environmentalism framework was

developed to create environmentally sustainable actions by connecting people’s livelihood and

the environment.

Life environmentalism framework focuses on recording and understanding the unique

history of individuals and where they place themselves within their communal organizations and

groups. The framework focuses on studying three concrete aspects that influence rural livelihood

decisions: common possessions, iibun (group views), and life consciousness (or life

experience).25 First, common possessions are privately owned properties that are treated as

communal properties. For example, a mountain in Bukmyun city may be legally listed as

privately owned. However, in practice, the mountain is used by all community members rather

than the owner. Second, iibun means group views. Many individuals in rural areas are part of a

community with variety of distinct discourses and groups. Torigoe notes that it is necessary to

understand these group views because some of these discourses may attract individual into

making certain livelihood decisions that may or may be against their will simply due to their

membership. Third, life consciousness, or life experience, is necessary to consider because, aside

from group views, each individual have unique histories and experiences that help them make

decisions. Thus, the life environmentalism provides an outlook and framework on how

20 For example, see Yo-Sep Song, Dae-Wook Kim, and Dong-Sub Han, “Risk Communication in South Korea: Social

Acceptance of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs),” Public Relations Review 39, (2013); Xuelin Liu, “Public Perception and Attitude

of the Young Generation Towards Nuclear Energy and its Safety in South Korea,” Atoms for Peace 3, no. 4 (2013). 21 For example, see Sung-Jin Leem, “Unchanging Vision of Nuclear Energy: Nuclear Power Policy of the South Korean

Government and Citizens’ Challenge,” Energy & Environment 17, no. 3 (2006). 22 For example, see Heike Hermanns, “Health Risks and Protests in South Korea,” Han’guk Chongch’I Hakhoe Po 48, (2014). 23 For example, see Seong-Won Park, Miles A. Pomper, and Lawrence Scheinman, “The Domestic and International Politics of

Spent Nuclear Fuel in South Korea: Are we Approaching Meltdown?,” Korea Economic Institute 5, no. 3 (2010); Kato et al., “A

Case Study of Economic Incentives.”; Fumihiro Yamane, Hideaki Ohgaki, and Kota Asano, “Social Factors Affecting Economic

Welfare.” 24 Hiroyuki Torigoe, “Life Environmentalism: A Model Developed under Environmental Degradation,” International Journal of

Japanese Sociology 23, no. 1 (2014): 22 – 24. 25 Ibid, 27 – 29.

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community members and individuals decide their livelihood strategies in amongst the changes

that are brought by the nuclear power plants.

To understand how the community, as a whole, change and adapt with the introduction of

nuclear power plants, I will be focusing on the changes brought upon the ‘life organizations’ of

the community. As the student of Torigoe, Takehito Noda explains ‘life organization’ as “a type

of social organization that is intricately related to daily lives of inhabitants of a local

community.”26 ‘Life organizations’ can be formal or informal, small or large, and groups or

organizations within the community. But, these life organizations are critically submerged into

the daily-lives of the community, and by examining the changes brought upon the life

organizations, I will see how the community as a whole negotiates their values and practices with

the external environment.

METHODOLOGY

This study was taken place in Bukmyun, Republic of Korea, between the summer of June

2016 and August 2016. Due to the nature of the research question, this study required me to be in

the area and conduct in-depth interviews with numerous villagers. When I first visited the area, I

had no personal connections with any residents in Bukmyun. So, through my personal

connection with a faculty member in the Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary in

Seoul, South Korea, I was able to connect with Reverend Kim from Central Bugu Church. From

then on, Reverend Kim was able to introduce me to residents who he considered “original”

villagers and also lived in the area before and after the nuclear power plant. However, because he

was also an outsider who came into the area in the early 80s, there were limits to his connections.

Unexpectedly, the past village leader Kim Bu Ha, whom Reverend Kim introduced to me,

reached out to help me. Because he was an “original” villager and spent twenty years of his life

as a village leader, he had numerous connections with other villagers and village leaders. In

addition, after each interview, I would ask the interviewee to recommend me to another person.

Then, I would contact the recommended person and hold an interview.

Within the given two months, I interviewed a total of eighteen residents of Bukmyun.

Among the eighteen residents, thirteen of the interviewees consider themselves “original”

villagers and five interviewees consider themselves as “outsiders.” Among the “outsiders,”

reasons for coming to Bukmyun included vocational reasons or marrying an “original” villager

who lives in the area. In addition, the average age of my interviewees is between 50 to 80 years

old. The occupation of each interviewee ranged from an owner of the county government council

member to small-scale farmers. Unfortunately, I was only able to interview two female villagers

while the rest of the interviewees were male.27

26 Takehito Noda, “Why do Local Residents Continue to Use Potentially Contaminated Surface Water After the Nuclear Accident?

A Case Study of Kawauchi Village, Fukushima,” in Rebuilding Fukushima, ed. Mistuo Yamakawa and Daisaku Yamamoto

(London: Routledge Publishing, 2017): 2. 27 More details regarding the names and basic demographic profiles of the interviewees and participants are given in Appendix 1.

Please note that information placed within this paper have been consented by participants unless otherwise noted.

7

The interviews were semi-structured and interviews lasted between 30 minutes to 3 hours.

In addition, most interviewees were interviewed twice, at a separate date and time, with

additional questions and clarification. Efforts were made to conduct the interviews in quiet,

private spaces. However, based on the interviewee’s availability, some interviews were

conducted in public spaces or while transporting from one place to another. Other interviews

were done through the phone. If interviews could not be recorded, then I would take extensive

notes.

Before the interview, interviewees were given a brief overview of the project, asked if

recording was permitted, and reminded of their rights as a participant. When all of these

procedures were done and the interviewees permitted the recording, I would then start the

recording and ask prepared questions. Questions ranged from the factual (e.g. their job and age)

to subjective(e.g. the interviewee’s particular feeling living next the nuclear power plant).All of

these interviews were conducted in Korean, transcribed in Korean, and then translated into

English.

I expected to use pseudonyms at first when writing this paper. However, there was a

special request among villagers to use their real name. Part of the reason why villagers

participated in my study was creating an effort to spread awareness of their stories to the outside

world. Many lament that younger generations do not know or wish to hear their story. Thus, for

these villagers, using their name was crucial – if not, common sense – in spreading awareness.

Thus, unless specifically asked, please note that most of my interviewees have permitted using

their real names and biographical information for this research.

HISTORY OF NUCLEARPOWER PLANTS IN KOREA

The beginning of nuclear power plants in Korea started only few years after the Korean

War of 1950. In 1961, a military coup d’état allowed President Chung-Hee Park to seize

totalitarian power over the weakened and impoverished state. During Park’s regime (1961 –

1979), the main focus was to modernize the country through the development of the economy,

science and technology rather than the reunification of two countries.28 For a resources poor

country like South Korea, the Park administration promoted nuclear energy because the country

needed to move away from its dependency on foreign oil and energy, which was further spurred

by the 1973 oil crisis.29 By this time period, nuclear energy eventually became a symbol of South

Korea’s “transition from resource-poor, technology-dependent developing country to sovereign

industrial nation.”30 The state was the major driving force in planning and constructing nuclear

power plants and “ordinary Koreans were continuously reminded that, as responsible members

of the nation, they have a duty to support and assist the state-led techno-economic

28Sheila Jasanoff and Sang-Hyun Kim, “Containing the Atom: Sociotechnical Imaginaries and Nuclear Power in the United

States and South Korea,” Mierva 47, (2009): 133. 29 Ibid. 30 Ibid.

8

development.”31 Eventually, the first nuclear unit, Kori 1, was commissioned on April 1978 with

two other units – Wolsung 1 and Kori 2 – commissioning five years later.32 By the early 1980s,

eight reactors were already being constructed.

Figure 1: Nuclear power plants' operation and construction in South Korea.33

So why and how is the government still pushing nuclear power plant as a national policy?

The strongest and most recent proponent of nuclear power plant is President Myung-Bak Lee.

During his administration (2008 – 2013), President Lee issued South Korea’s National Strategy

for Green Growth. His vision for green growth energy can be seen in his speech celebrating the

63rd anniversary of national liberation and the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Republic

of Korea:

Today, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of

Korea, I want to put forward 'Low Carbon, Green Growth' as the core of the

Republic's new vision. Green growth refers to sustainable growth which helps

31 Ibid. Scott Victor Valentine and Benjamin K. Sovacool, “The Socio-Political Economy of Nuclear Power Development in

Japan and South Korea,” Energy Policy 38, (2010): 7975. 32 Chung-Taek Park, “The Experience of Nuclear Power Development in the Republic of Korea: Growth and Future Challenge,”

Energy Policy 20, no. 8 (1992): 725 – 726. For more information on the output, construction period, and the first operation date

of South Korea’s nuclear power plants, see Appendix 2 in the appendix section. 33 Korea’s Energy Justice Action, “Nuclear Power Plant Operation and Construction in South Korea.” Digital Image. Energy

Justice Actions. Accessed September 25, 2016. https://energyjustice.kr.

9

reduce greenhouse gas emission and environmental pollution. It is also a new

national development paradigm that creates new growth engines and jobs with

green technology and clean energy. Green technology puts together information

and communications technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology and culture

technology, and transcends them all. Green technology will create numerous

decent jobs to tackle the problem of growth without job creation. The renewable

energy industry will create several times more jobs than existing industries. In the

information age, the gap between the haves and have-nots has widened. On the

contrary, the gap will narrow down in the age of green growth.34

After President Lee Myung-Bak established the Green Growth Institute, the institution

released a Five-Year Plan in 2009. The institution’s vision is to see Korea become one of the five

top leading Green Growth countries by 2050. The plan details increasing “2% of its GDP

through 2013 to create a knowledge and technological foundation to sustain a green growth

economy for generations… [developing] the world’s first nationwide ‘smart grid’ system by

2030, increasing the country's renewable energy to 11% of energy supplies by 2030, reducing its

greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2020, and building 1 million green homes by 2020.”35 Then,

in June 2014, the government released the second Five-Year Plan.

34 Myung-Bak Lee, “A Great People with New Dreams,”Korea.net, August 15, 2008,

http://www.korea.net/Government/Briefing-Room/Presidential-Speeches/view?articleId=91000&pageIndex=9 (accessed

September 25, 2016). 35 Ash Dollesin, “Korea’s Global Commitment to Green Growth,” The World Bank, May 3, 2012,

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/05/09/Korea-s-Global-Commitment-to-Green-Growth (accessed September 25,

2016).

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Figure 2: The diagram overviews the concept of ‘Green Growth.’36

Within these two plans, naturally, nuclear power emerged as one of the landmarks to

counter against the use of fossil fuels and increasing greenhouse gases. In fact, both plans

mention nuclear power plant as one of the ten major policy directions.37 The Green Growth

Institute states to expand number of plants, develop, and export nuclear power technology. In

fact, finalized in July 2015, the Ministry of Education, Science & Technology (MOTIE) released

the most recent edition of the country’s seventh long-term development plan that pushes the

construction of 12 new reactors and decommissioning of Kori 1 by 2029.38 As an instigator of

this push, President Lee stated:

Nuclear is one of the most efficient power generation methods that will lead us to

a low-carbon society, and I intend to make sure that Korea keeps up with its role

as one of the major suppliers of these zero-carbon power plants. The nuclear plant

that Korea recently agreed to build in the United Arab Emirates, for example,

amounts, in effect, to 40 million tons of carbon mitigation. This bold and

insightful choice by the UAE for nuclear power as a clean future energy source is

indeed noble and admirable.39

36Committee on Green Growth, “Green Growth,” Digital Image. Committee on Green Growth. Accessed September 25, 2016.

http://www.greengrowth.go.kr/menu001/sub001/GRG_001_101.do. 37 Committee of Green Growth, “5 Year Long Green Growth Plan,” Committee of Green Growth, 2009,

http://www.greengrowth.go.kr/menu001/sub002/GRG_001_202.do (accessed September 25, 2016). 38 World Nuclear Association, “Nuclear Power in South Korea.” 39 Myung-Bak Lee, “Shifting Paradigms: The Road to Global Green Growth,” Global Asia 4, no. 4 (2010): 11 – 12.

Environmental

Qualityof Life Environment and

Economic Opportunities

Green Growth Policy Response

11

In addition, nuclear power plant has become one of South Korea’s fastest growing

markets. The most recent and biggest accomplishment of the nuclear power plant market is the

deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2009. The deal was to build 4 reactors and has an

estimated $20.4 billion of profit.40 It is expected to boost South Korea's footprint in the

increasingly active global nuclear business, which are often dominated by French, Japanese, U.S.

and Russian companies.41 Aside from the financial benefits, this critical win is also seen as South

Korea’s chance to improve their international standing in promoting nuclear power and safety. In

fact, South Korea hosts the world’s first International Nuclear Safety School to train safety

experts from other countries.42

Case Study: Bukmyun, Uljin County

There are a total of nine provinces in South Korea: North ChungCheong, South

Chungcheong, Gangwon, Gyeonggi, North Gyeongsang, South Gyeongsang, Jeju, North Jeolla,

and South Jeolla. Uljin County is located within North Gyeongsang Province. North Gyeongsang

Province is situated in the mid-east of South Korea and lies next to the East Sea. Within this

province, Uljin County is located north-east of the province and borders Gyeonggi Province to

its north. The East Sea lays east, Yong-Yang County (North Gyeongsang) to the west, and Yong-

Duk County to the south.

Most of Uljin’s area consists of forests and mountains, making it one of the most isolated

regions in South Korea. In fact, 85.6% of the area (847.19 km2) is woodlands and only 8% of the

area (79.55 km2) is used for farmlands.43 These woodlands have created natural borders for Uljin

as to its South lies Chilbo Mountain (810.2m), West lies Baekam Mountain (1,003 m) and

Geungjang Mountain (848.7 m), and North lies Ohnami Mountain (1071.1m) and EungBong

Mountain (798.5 m).44

40 Margaret Coker, “Korean Team to Build U.A.E. Nuclear Plants,” The Wall Street Journal, December 28, 2009,

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704905704574621653002992302 (accessed September 25, 2016). 41Jill Kosch O’Donnell, “Nuclear Power in South Korea’s Green Growth Strategy,” Council on Foreign Relations, (2014): 3 – 4. 42 Ibid. 43Uljin County, 2013 Statistical Year Book of Uljin, 2013, Pub. 53, Uljin City: Uljin County Printing Office. 44Uljin County, Uljin County History (Uljin City: Uljin County Printing Office, 2001), 3.

12

Figure 3: Physical View of Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province. The area marked inside the red line

is Uljin County.45

Currently, tourism is the major and growing industry in Uljin County. Of the 4,249

different industries and 16,193 workers, 1,302 industries and 2,937 workers were working in the

tourism sector of business.46 That is 30% of the industries and 18% of the total workforce in

Uljin are geared towards tourists. In addition, of the seven Uljin County’s development goals,

three are related to developing tourism and its facilities.47 The four major tourist attractions are

Uljin are Baekam Hot Springs (OnjungMyun), Dukgu Hot Springs (BukMyun), Seongnyu Cave

(GeunnamMyun), and Buryeongsa Temple (GeunnamMyun).48

45 Naver Maps, “Uljin County.”Digital Images. Naver Corporations. Accessed September 25, 2016. map.naver.com. 46Uljin Gun, 2013 Statistical Year Book of Uljin. In addition, see Appendix 3a and 3b for the full breakdown of industries in Uljin

County in the appendix section. 47Uljin County, Uljin County History, 108 – 109. 48 Ibid, 116 – 119.

13

Figure 4: Picture of Deokgu hot spring (Bukmyun) in the entrance of the village.

The Hanul nuclear power plant is located in Bukmyun city. Bukmyun city is located on

the north-east of Uljin County. The city borders Gyunggi Province and is the north east corner of

Uljin County and North Gyeongsang Province. To its east lies the East Sea, its west lays

EungBong Mountain (798.5 m), and its south is Jookbyun city.49

The city consists of 29 small villages and each village is named after the street names

they are on. For example, villagers who live on street Bugu 1 are collectively called the village

of Bugu 1.50 There are 26 village leaders representing different areas of Bukmyun. Village

leaders are first nominated by villagers and voted, and the one with the most votes becomes the

village leader. Under the village leaders, each village has their own informal committees and

administrations whom are also nominated individually like the village leader.

49 Ibid, 882. 50 Ibid, 882 – 915.

14

Figure 3: Map of village Bugu 1 with villagers’ houses and lands indicated.51

51Yang-Myeong, Han et al. Bukmyun People and Their Tradition (Uljin City: Jae-Il Publishing, 2006), 29.

15

Figure 5: Map of Bukmyun. The yellow circle indicates the location of Hanul Nuclear Power

Plant.52

There are 7,156 people and 3,148 households living in Bukmyun. Among the ten cities in

Uljin County, Bukmyun is the fourth largest city – only after Uljin, Jukbyeon, and Hupo city.

Before the nuclear power plant entered, the main livelihood in the area was fishing and farming.

However, as of now, nuclear power plant and tourism are two biggest industries in the area. Of

the 3,520 workers in Bukmyun, 46.8% (1,648 workers) work in the nuclear power plant and 15%

(526 workers) work in the tourist sector.53 One of Uljin County’s top grossing tourist attraction,

Dukgu Hot Springs, is located in Bukmyun.

52Naver Maps, “Bukmyun City.”Digital Images. Naver Corporations. Accessed September 25, 2016. map.naver.com. 53Uljin Gun, 2013 Statistical Year Book of Uljin.

16

Figure 4: Pictures below show the view of Bukmyun's "downtown" street. There

are many restaurants, hotels, motels and facilities geared towards tourists.

17

Uljin County and Nuclear Power Plant

Who instigated the decision to bring the nuclear power plant to Uljin County and when is

unclear among villagers and academia for two reasons. First, the decisions were made in close

doors among the government officials and dictator Park Jung Hee and Chun Doo Hwan.54 And

second, the idea of nuclear power plant was a foreign concept for many Koreans. Almost all of

my interviewees claimed that no adults knew what a nuclear power plant was before it came into

the area.55 Instead, council members and politicians simply said “it was something good for the

local economy” repeatedly to the villagers.56 Thus, there were no recorded protests or disgruntles

as Hanul #1 and #2were being constructed in Bukmyun in the 1980s.

In 1986, the Chernobyl accident sent horrifying shivers across Bukmyun residents. Then,

in 1988, Only 50 days after starting its operation, Hanul #1 underwent repetitive breakdowns.57

Nervous and Scared, on January 1989, Bukmyun residents gathered and established the ‘Joint

Committee on Securing the Right to Livelihood of the Residents near the Nuclear Power Plant’

(원자력인근주민생존권보장공동대책위원회).58 The committee consisted of four representatives, one

assistant administrator, ten working assistants, and 75 village representatives.59 On March 9th of

the same year, the committee protested that the nuclear power plant must complete the following

seven service for the community: (1) provide employment for the residents; (2) expand the water

supply system in the area for the residents; (3) construct an embankment for Bugu 1; (4) solve

irrigation problems; (5) compensate for damaging the shorelines; (6) allow fishing and gathering

along the seawalls; and (7) place a radiation sensors/ detectors around the village.60

In 1989, the news that additional units would be constructed along with a nuclear waste

site instigated the first protests against nuclear power plants in Uljin County. On August 26th,

1989, 500 villagers along with the Joint Committee on Securing the Right to Livelihood of the

Residents near the Nuclear Power Plant gathered in Bugu Elementary School to protest against

the government’s decision.61 However, despite the villager’s pressure, on July 19th, 1990, the

Nuclear Power Committee decided to pursue building Hanul #3 and #4, angering the Joint

Committee and more Uljin residents.62

The biggest demonstration in Uljin County against Hanul Nuclear Power Plant, however,

happened from June 1991 to March 1994. News started circulating that in 2030 there will be a

total of 17 units operating in Uljin County and the government assigned Uljin County with a

nuclear waste site.63 Outraged, the Uljin Youth Committee and Hupo Youth Committee gathered

54 Scott Victor Valentine and Benjamin K. Sovacool, “The Socio-Political Economy of Nuclear Power Development,” 7974;

Sung-Jin Leem, “Unchanging Vision of Nuclear Energy.” 55 For example, see Bu Ha Kim, July 6, 2016; Young-Ja Shin, July 5, 2015. 56Interview with Bu Ha Kim, July 6, 2016. 57Uljin County, Uljin County History, 457. 58 Ibid, 457 – 458. 59 Ibid, 458. 60 Ibid. 61 Ibid, 460. 62 Ibid, 461. 63 Ibid, 463.

18

to protest against the decision.64The protest attracted 800 to 1,500 residents and lasted eighteen

days from December 29th, 1991 to January 16th, 1992.65 This protest happened throughout Uljin

County, including Bukmyun, Uljin City, GeungnamMyun, and other major cities.66 Until 1994,

there were sporadic – and sometimes violent – demonstrations throughout the county.67 In the

midst of these protests, eventually, Hanul #3 and #4 were constructed.

Figure 4: People protesting outside Uljin bus terminal in 1991.68

Since 1994, demonstrations happened sporadically with small groups around the county.

However, none have been as big and successful as the previous demonstrations.69 On May 16th,

2016, the ‘Joint Committee on Securing the Right to Livelihood of the Residents Near the

Nuclear Power Plant’ of Bukmyun (now called ‘Bukmyun Progression Committee’ or

64 Ibid, 464. 65 Ibid 464 – 468. 66 Ibid. 67 Ibid. 68Uljin County, “The 1991 Uljin County Protest.”Digital Images. Uljin County. Accessed September 25,

2016.http://www.uljin.go.kr/uljin/index.htm. 69 Interview with Hyun Gyeong Jang, July 31, 2016.

19

북면발전협의회) started a new demonstration against the construction of Shin-Hanul #1 and #2.70

500 villagers gathered around in front of Hanul Nuclear Power Plant Headquarters with the

Bukmun Progression Committee leader, Hyun Gyeong Jang.71 Hyun Gyeong Jang claims that the

nuclear power plant headquarters have not fulfilled the promises that they have said through

previous negotiations.72 Thus, the villagers demanded that the headquarters stop the construction

of Shin-Hanul #1 and #2 and the plan to build Shin-Hanul #3 and #4.

Figure 5: Poster illustrating 16 different demands by the Bukmyun Progress Committee.

Currently, the nuclear power plant is one of the biggest industries and funders of the

region. According to the Korean Nuclear Power Plant website, Hanul Nuclear Power Plant has

spent 145 million dollars on regional development.73 Of the total, 37% (53.6 million dollars)

were reportedly spent on developing regional or local economy.74 In addition, the region receives

14 million dollars of revenue from nuclear power plant taxes.75

70 Jung-Yeop Kim, “500 People Protest Again Shin-Hanul Construction,” Yeongnam News, May 17, 2016,

http://www.yeongnam.com/mnews/newsview.do?mode=newsView&newskey=20160517.010100738520001 71 Ibid. 72 Interview with Hyun Gyeong Jang, July 31, 2016. 73 KHNP Co., “Local Community Support,” KHNP Co., 2015,

http://www.khnp.co.kr/hanul/content/306/main.office?mnCd=BR02030203. See Appendix 4 to see more information on how the

local nuclear power plant contributed to the local community. 74 Ibid. 75Uljin Gun, 2013 Statistical Year Book of Uljin.

20

RESULTS

To understand how villagers of Bukmyun skillfully maintained and negotiated their

community traditions and organizations, it is necessary to identify communal traditions and

organizations of the area. There are four life organizations within the city of Bukmyun that I will

be discussing: The Sports Festival, The 4.13 Manse Memorial, the village common possession,

and the village-wide ancestral worship. As mentioned above, life organizations are “type of

social organization that is intricately related to daily lives of inhabitants of a local community.”76

Among many other life organizations, I will be discussing specifically these four organizations

because of their history. Unlike other organizations that have died or remained inactive, these

four life organizations have been formed and actively sustained decades before and after the

nuclear power plant siting.

In the following section, I will be outlining the effect of the nuclear power plant siting on

the city. Then, I will explain how the nuclear power plant had an effect on these four life

organizations. Through my research, I argue that because of the generous nuclear money, except

the village-wide ancestral worship, three of the four – The Sports Festival, The 4.13 Manse

Memorial, and the village common possession – life organizations have lost its autonomy. Then,

I will explore how and why the village-wide ancestral worship has been sustained while

preserving its autonomy.

Impact of Nuclear Power Plant on the City

Before the nuclear power plant, many interviewees claim that Bukmyun was probably the most

underdeveloped area. One interviewee states that there were hardly any roads:

Before the nuclear power plant came in, this place was probably one of the most

isolated places in the nation. All the houses were traditional thatched houses and

there were no brick houses. Only just traditional thatched houses. Before

[President Park’s], the road was so small and only one person was able to walk on

it at a time…. It was only after the city gained government funds to create roads

we see now.77

Only after the nuclear power plant entered were roads and shops created. Eventually, the city

gained massive attention – nationally and locally – as it became a nuclear power plant host

community. One major effect of the nuclear power plant in the city was the population increased.

Table 1 shows the changes in the population of Bukmyun.

76 Takehito Noda, “Why do Local Residents Continue to Use Potentially Contaminated Surface Water,” 2. 77 Interview with Bu-Ha Kim, July 6, 2016.

21

Table 1: Number of Bukmyun Residents Over Time78

Year 1970 1975 1980 1985

Population # 11,028 10,251 8,268 13,088

Year 1990 1995 1997 2003

Population # 7,540 9,583 9,399 9,562

As the table shows, the population was constantly shrinking until sometime between

1980 and 1985. Hanul #1 was starting to be built in 1981 and started its operation in 1988.79 This

aligns with the increase in the number of residents in Bukmyun between 1980 and 1985.

Suddenly, by the end of 1990, around six thousand residents have left Bukmyun within five

years. Sometime between 1990 and 1995, the number of residents increased due to the

construction of Hanul #3 and #4 that ended in 1998 and 1999 respectively. These dramatic shifts

in population imply the influx and outflow of outsiders as one of the major effects of the nuclear

power plant in Bukmyun.

This volatile outsider population has created a chaos for all four life organizations. Unlike

the past, suddenly these life organizations have lost its significance among new residents who are

coming in. In fact, many interviewees claim that outsiders do not participate in many of these

organizations and do not understand the importance of participating.

The first reason why these outsiders do not participate is because they believe they are

stationed in the city temporarily. For these outsiders, they do not feel the pressure to create

lasting relationships between villagers. In fact, before the nuclear power plant entered, any

outsiders coming to live in the village had to gain an approval from the village head and be

introduced in the village meeting. Reverend Chang-Hee Kim and the current village head of

Bugu 1, Gi-Soon Jang, stated the following:

Me: What is the difference between the roles of the village leader now and then?

Jang: Back in the day, the village head had enormous amount of power and

responsibilities. Anything related to the village matter had to be done through the village

head. For example, birth certificates had to be stamped by the village leader to be

approved by the local government.

Rev. Kim: You also needed a stamp from the village leader to be able to settle into this

place. If you wanted to move in, you had to get a stamp from the village leader! Then the

local government approved of it.80

78 Han et al. Bukmyun People and Their Tradition (Uljin City: Jae-Il Publishing, 2006), 17. Note that the number is counted

based on a resident registration system. 79 See Appendix 2 for the construction period of each Nuclear Power Plant in South Korea. 80 Interview with Gi-Soon Jang and Chang-Hee Kim, July 19, 2016.

22

Officially and unofficially, it was necessary for outsiders to gain lasting relationships amongst

the village leaders and the villagers. One way of forming a good relationship was participating in

village-wide organizations, festival and events.

Then, in 1980s, with the nuclear power plant entering, outsiders started swarming into the

city. Because they were temporary workers, many outsiders thought it was not necessary to gain

the village leaders’ approvals. Jang states that eventually – both officially and unofficially – the

village leader lost its powers and outsiders were not required to gain the approval of the village

leader.81 When asked about their relationship with the outsiders, many of my interviewees said

that there is almost no contact themselves and the outsiders, including Jang.

Me: How are the relationship between the villagers and the outsiders here?

Jang: Many outsiders came after the nuclear power plant settled here. Because the

outsiders do not communicate with the villagers, there is some distance. We ask them to

come and join our meeting, but they don’t come at all! They don’t even come to village

festival. It’s important that the all residents in the countryside need to communicate well

amongst each other. So, I announce [through a speaker] to all the outsiders to join our

meeting. But, they still don’t come.82

All four life organizations have been critically lacking in the number of people participating. As

the older generations leave the organizations, there are less and less people sustaining and

continuing the organization. Some life organizations died off while others sustain even today.83

Let’s take a closer look at the four life organizations that have been sustained even to this day.

The four life organization: autonomous or not?

Life Organization #1: The Sports Festival (면민체육대회)

As far back as in 1932 – when Bugu Elementary School was first established in Bukmyun– every

May, the school hosted a sport festival for the students.84Before the nuclear power plant, the

village sports festival first started as a side-event along with the elementary school sport festival.

According to Bu-Ha Kim and Young-So Kim, the elementary school sports event was a huge

event.

Bu-Ha Kim: In the past, the sports festival happened in the elementary school yard.

Students would practice for this sports festival for one month. It was a very big festival.

And, on the side, there were also sports festivals for the villagers too… It was the

village’s only big festival.

Young-So Kim: There were about 6,000 elementary students when I was in school.

81 Ibid. 82 Interview with Ki-Soon Jang, July 19, 2016. 83 Interview with Young Bok Lee, July 6, 2016. 84 Bugu Elementary School, “School History,” Bugu Elementary School,

http://bugues.school.gyo6.net/schoolContent/schoolHistory.do (accessed September 25, 2016).

23

Me: Wow. That’s a big proportion of the population.

Young-So Kim: Yes. So that’s why every household came out to watch their children

play. And, that’s why it became a big festival in the past.85

The village sports festival originally started as a school festival for elementary school students in

the early 1920s, after the country’s independence from Japanese imperialism and the

construction of the elementary school. To support their children, many parents and households

would come and spectate the game. Eventually, the elementary school sports festival became a

large festival that attracted not only students’ parents but the entire village. So, the elementary

school started incorporating the villagers, marking the beginning of the village sports festival.

The elementary school principle and teachers facilitated the village sports festival. The

funds for the games also were from the school. A month prior to the festival, the elementary

school teachers would announce the date of the sports festival and encourage each village in the

city to nominate a competitor. Each village would gather and discuss who to nominate in each

category of sports. These villages would compete against each other and there were small,

limited prizes for the winning village. These competitions would include marathons, sprinting,

wrestling and other sports that were “often about competing amongst villages.”86

After the nuclear power plant, many aspects of the sports festival have changed

drastically. Instead of the elementary school hosting the sports festival, the city mayor has taken

on the responsibility. And, a separate name has been created, calling it the Bukmyun City Sports

Festival (면민체육대회). Bugu 2 Leader, Bu Ha Kim explains the formation of the city sports

festival:

Elementary school students no longer have sports festival anymore. Students are

spending so much of their time studying. So, preparing for a sports festival for one month

is absurd for many parents. These students have to attend various different afterschool

activities that they don’t have one month to spare. That’s why the sports festival

disappeared. It is only after the nuclear power plant came and the economy got better that

they started the Bukmyun City Sports Festival again.87

The hosting time and date are also different from the sports festival in the past. Instead of hosting

the festival every year during the elementary school sports festival, the Bukmyun City Sports

Festival happens once every two years and is hosted in Bugu Middle School field or the Nuclear

Power Plant Apartment field. Most of the fund for the sports festival comes from the county and

Hanul Nuclear Power Plant donations. In other words, the sports festival has become a large,

official, government-sponsored festival. The city mayor still encourages villages to come out and

85Interview with Bu-Ha Kim and Young-So Kim, July 31, 2016. 86 Ibid. 87Interview with Bu-Ha Kim, July 6, 2016.

24

compete amongst each other. However, there has been decreasing participants. So, to counter

this, past village leader Kim states,

[after the nuclear power came in] we do not compete based on each individual village

[like we used to]. Instead, the city mayor groups several villages and we enter the sports

festival as a team … About four or five villages become one team and compete in the

sports festival.88

As the growth of the nuclear power plant, the funding of the sports festival has been increasing

each year and the festival has never been more elaborate than ever. But, many of my

interviewees cannot but feel remorse that residents, even those who claim to be original villagers,

are not attending the sports festival of the city. The sports festival is now sponsored and planned

by not the Bukmyun residents and/or elementary school teachers but by the local and county

government. Thus, they feel quite helpless as people stopped participating and they can only

hopelessly watch the once biggest festival die out in front of their eyes.

Figure 5: View of the Nuclear Power Plant Field. It is often used to host the Sports Festival.

88 Ibid.

25

Life Organization #2: The April 13thManse Memorial Ceremony (4.13 만세기념식)

The April 13th Manse Memorial Ceremony is held each year to honor ancestors who

challenged Japanese imperialism during the early twentieth century. In the late nineteenth

century, Japan annexed Korea and this created deep resentment among the Koreans. Around the

early twentieth century, there was a large movement to challenge the Japanese government and

create an independent Korean nation-state. This movement was later known as the Manse

Movement. On March 1st, 1919, thousands of Korean nationalists gathered in Seoul and shouted

“DaehanMinGook Manse!,” meaning “Everlasting to the Great Korea!” At that time, any phrases

or words promoting Korea was dangerous and illegal. This eventually became the famous March

1st Manse Movement that inspired other regions in Korea to shout their own. Eventually, the

story of the March 1st Manse Movement reached to Bukmyun in early April. On April 13th, 1919,

leaders of Bukmyun walked out to the Gu-market (구시장), the busiest market in the city, and

shouted “DaehanMinGook Manse!”

Before the nuclear power plant was built, the villagers celebrated the Manse Ceremony

on March 1st. It was led by the village youth community (which still exists as an official group)

and the village elders. The elders would invite surviving leaders of the April 13th Manse

Movement in Bukmyun. Then, the ceremony would take place in the elementary school field on

March 1st. The entire village, including elementary school students, village elders and leaders,

would join in on the ceremony. The host of the ceremony would recite a short message and

present a small gift to the surviving leaders of the Manse Movement. With the limited funds

from the city, the gifts would be a small bowl of white rice, silver bowls, spoons and chopsticks.

Then, the ceremony would end.

In 1995, after the nuclear power plant was built, the village youth community gathered

funds from the villagers. This fund was used to create a memorial site in front of the Gu-market

that explains the historical setting of the April 13th Manse Movement in Bukmyun. For historical

accuracy, as the tower was built in 1995, the youth community also changed the Manse

Ceremony to be held on April 13th. Gradually, the funding and size of the festival grew as each

year passed on.

In the past, we didn’t have any money to host a festival. [The April 13th Manse Memorial

Ceremony] only started about 14 years ago…. In the past, this ceremony was very small

and simple. So, it couldn’t be called a festival. It was just a memorial. But to continue

this festival, we needed money. We couldn’t host a festival until the nuclear power plant

came in. When it came in, we started this festival. It’s the 14th year we’ve had this festival.

We’ve asked the nuclear power plant to sponsor this ceremony and since then it has been

ever so large.89

Because the memorial site was held next to one of Bukmyun’s major highway, the roads were

blocked and caused inconvenience among the villagers.

89 Interview with Bu-Ha Kim, July 19, 2016.

26

Figure 8 (above): View of the 4.13 Independence Memorial that was built during

1995. Figure 9 (down): This statue, which is the core of the memorial site

describes the events of the Independence Movement in Bukmyun, Uljin County.

27

In 2009 several villagers gathered and created the Heung-Bu Manse Park Committee

(흥부만세공원추진위원회) to facilitate the making of a Manse Park.90 Between November 2009 and

December 2015, the committee was responsible for a three million dollar project to build

General Un-Ryul Kim’s Historical Site and April 13th Manse Memorial Tower in the Heung-Bu

Manse Park.91 All the funds for the project were sponsored by the nuclear power plant and the

county.92 Currently, the total area of the park is 42,473 m2 and was open in 2012 for the first

time.93

Today, the ceremony is led by the Youth Community and Bukmyun’s Independence

Committee (북면독립정신보존위원회) at the Heung-Bu Manse Park. The food is prepared by Village

Women Society (새마을부녀회). Thus, the festival has officially become one of the biggest festivals

with a separate organization, funds and location compared to the past. Unlike before the nuclear

power plant, the festival now stages several events, invites guest speakers and singers, and

partners with the local elementary school to host an arts and poetry competition. However,

despite being one of the biggest ceremonies in the city, April 13th Memorial Ceremony has

become heavily dependent on the nuclear power plant funds– either via through the government

and donations from the nuclear power plant –and garners many complaints from the

neighborhood.

When starting it, there was a lot of funding. So, we brought in many professionals from

outside the city to host the ceremony and perform in the festival after the memorial.

However, there’s been complain that the performers are artificial or pretense. Although

not perfect as the professional performers, there are local communities that can show

dance performances, etc… Because they are local people, there have been complaints that

we should be incorporating these local community members. Since they are the

descendants of the 4.13 Manse Movement nationalist, they will perform sincerely and not

in pretense like the professional performers.94

As the festival have become more and more reliant on the funds from the county government and

the nuclear power plant, the villagers feel they have lost their connection in celebrating the

actions of their ancestors during the Manse Movement. Because they cannot celebrate one of the

most significant events of the city through their own local resources, many villagers lament that

the festival has become a pretense memorial rather than a sincere memorial to honor their

ancestors.

90 Hyo-Sun Nam, “Place of Struggle, Uljin County’s ‘Heung-Bu Manse Park’ Opens,” Asia News Agency, November 29, 2012,

http://www.anewsa.com/detail.php?number=420883&thread=09r02. 91 Ibid. 92 Ibid. 93 Ibid. 94 Interview with Bu-Ha Kim, August 19, 2016.

28

Figure 6: Outside view of the 2012 Heung-Bu Manse Park.

Figure 7: Inside view of the Heung-Bu Manse Park. The golden tower is the memorial site with

records of the Independence Movement in Bukmyun.

29

Life Organization #3: Village Common Possession (마을공동소유)

In Bukmyun, mountains are legally registered as private lands under one or two person’s

names. However, when closely examining these lands, it is the community that uses the

mountains, not the private owner. This is called the village’s common possessions. Common

possessory right is “the right of a community to commonly dominate private land.”95 There are

three major common possessions that villagers maintained before the nuclear power plant till

now: mountains, vegetable fields, and rice paddies.

Before the nuclear power plant, firewood was important for heating the house and

cooking meals. In fact, electricity and gas were not introduced to the area until 1987. Thus, the

mountains were important sources of firewood for everyone. But, if every household was to

gather firewood whenever they needed, there would constantly be a lack of trees and the

mountains risked sudden deforestation. To prevent such happenings, the villagers appointed

someone from the village to manage and maintain the mountains. This person would be called

the Yoo-Sa (유사) of the village. The Yoo-Sa was a year-long job and one had to be appointed by

the village leaders to become one. Usually, the Yoo-Sa job was given to village male elders and

then rotated after each year to other male elders. In any case, they were chosen on the second day

after the village ancestral worship during the village’s annual meeting.

Before winter, the Yoo-Sa would divide the mountains into necessary areas and each area

was assigned to a household in the village. Each household was then allowed to collect and

gather necessary firewood for a certain period of time. They were not allowed to gather firewood

outside of their designated area and time. The Yoo-Sa also appointed unofficial “guards” in the

mountains. These “guards” would work in shifts to prevent other village households from

entering and their own villagers from gathering wood outside of their designated time or

gathering wood to sell. Shinwha 1 villager Lee-Jung Jun recalls the following:

In the past, the Yoo-Sa and vice Yoo-Sa was responsible for maintaining the mountains.

They dealt with village possessions in general... We needed firewood to fuel our house

and cook our meal. That’s why the village helped each household get enough firewood

between fall and winter. Back then, without wood, we couldn’t do anything… And the

person responsible for arranging to get firewood was the Yoo-Sa. Anything related to the

mountains had to be talked through the Yoo-Sa… You couldn’t go to gather wood

outside of the permitted time. Back then, that was not permitted unlike now. You could

only go in at a certain period of time.96

The village’s common possession was not limited to mountains. Some villages owned

few rice paddies and fields. These rice paddies and fields were also maintained and managed by

the Yoo-Sa. When most of Bukmyun’s livelihood relied on farming and fishing, having a rice

95 Hiroyuki Torigoe, “Life Environmentalism,” 28. 96 Interview with Lee-Jung Jun, July 30, 2016.

30

paddy and a vegetable field to work on was crucial for survival. For those who didn’t own any

agricultural land, they would give a certain percentage of the yield to the paddy and field owners.

This same system was also applied for the village’s rice paddies and field except that the workers

would have to give the “interest” to the village Yoo-Sa. Based on the year, the Yoo-Sa would ask

for the workers to pay by offering a certain percentage of the crops or the money they used after

selling those crops in the market. These fields and rice paddies were popular because the village

charged much lower interest than other land owners. However, they were limited to households

who have exceptional difficulties – such as the breadwinner of a household being sick, etc. But,

if the current household is not able to farm on the land anymore due to illness or other

circumstances, it was given to the next available household. Thus, these fields and rice paddies

were constantly maintained by the Yoo-Sa and the borrowing household.

After the nuclear power plant entered Bukmyun, many of the village possessions in

Bukmyun, in fact, were bought by the nuclear power plant. The compensation money is given to

the owning village in Bukmyun and it is stored to be used for funding village ancestral worship

and hosting small festivals. Of the remaining village land, however, villagers have increasingly

started abandoning these lands. As electricity and gas were introduced in the late 80s, villagers

have stopped relying on firewood from the mountains. Thus, mountains have been un-kept and

un-guarded for decades. In addition, only a minority of individuals still maintain their livelihood

through agriculture in the area. So, the once popular rice paddies and vegetable fields are now

abandoned.

In some areas in Bukmyun, the Yoo-Sa still manages the village possessions. In other

villages, they created a committee, named Livelihood Committee (살림회원), to manage the village

possessions. When I asked Jung what the villagers were thinking of doing with the village

common land, he simply replied, “we are just waiting for the moment that the nuclear power

plant wants to buy the land.”97

Life Organization #4: Village Ancestral Worship (마을재사)

For the village ancestral worship organization, they have additional reasons for their

decreasing participants. One other reason why outsiders do not participate in ancestral ritual lies

on the rise of Protestantism in Bukmyun. Unlike other major religions such as Catholicism and

Buddhism, Korean Protestantism shuns personal and community-wide ancestral worship. Before

the nuclear power plant was established, in fact, ancestral worship was a tradition and custom

that was unrelated to one’s religiosity. However, with increasing number of outsiders who were

Protestants and Protestant Churches, the fate of village ancestral worship has changed.

97Ibid.

31

Table 2: Established years of churches in Bukmyun that coincides with the nuclear power

plant construction period98

Church Name Established Year NPP in Construction

Bugu Methodist Church 07. 15. 1915 N/A

Samdang Church 03. 15. 1950 N/A

Dukgu Church 03. 07. 1972 N/A

Central Bugu Church 01. 1981 Hanul #1 & #2 (construction

started October, 1982 to 1989)

Sun Rising Church 10. 12. 1981 Hanul #1 & #2

Sa-Gye Church 10. 16. 1984 Hanul #1 & #2

Bukmyun Presbyterian

Church 01. 1986 Hanul #1 & #2

Bukmyun Church 04. 1986 Hanul #1 & #2

Shining Church 02. 18. 2008

Shin Hanl #1 & #2

(construction started June,

2005 and still ongoing).

First Bugu Church* After 1981 Hanul #1 & #2

New Life Church* After 1981 Hanul #1 & #2

Nashil Church* After 1981 Hanul #1 & #2

Table 2 shows that more than half of the Churches were established in Bukmyun after or during

the construction of the nuclear power plant. This increase aligns well with the increase of

outsiders. In fact, this correlation between outsiders and protestant churches can be seen through

my interview with Reverend Kim. In 1982, Reverend Kim came to Bukmyun and built one of the

earliest churches in the area.

Rev. Kim: When I first built this church, I had a hard time… The church was small and

there were very few attendees. I came when the nuclear power plant was about to go into

construction. But during [the construction of Hanul #1 and #2], for years, I suddenly had

many people attending my service. There were about 140 – 150 people per week.

Me: I see. So, were there many outsiders who lived nearby your church?

98 Interview with Chang-Hee Kim, August 21, 2016.

32

Rev. Kim: Yes. They were all outsiders. There were only few original villagers.

Me: Then, did the outsiders come to your church often?

Rev. Kim: Yes. It was all outsiders who came to my church.

Me: So, when you say that you had a big increase –

Rev. Kim: Yes. Yes. It means an increase in outsiders.

Me: Then, when the construction was over, did you see any decrease in your attendees?

Rev. Kim: Significantly. They all left.99

Notice that Reverend Kim built his church prior to the actual construction of the nuclear power

plant. However, when Hanul #1 and #2 were under construction, Reverend Kim stated that a

huge amount of outsiders suddenly came swarming into his church. This indicates that a high

percentage of outsiders were in fact Protestants who shunned ancestral worships. Madame Choi

is an “outsider” who came from Pohang, a city south of Uljin County, to Bukmyun to marry her

husband who was an “original” villager. She actively participated in the village as the leader of

Village Bugu 1’s Women Society and still holds much influence over Bukmyun’s Women

Society. Despite her active participation in the village’s affair, she is a Protestant who refuses to

participate in the village-wide ancestral worship.100 Like Madame Choi, the growth of

Protestantism in the area has stopped even the most active “outsiders” and even “original”

villagers from participating in the ritual. Thus, adding onto the declining participants and

undermining the power and importance it plays within the community.

Aside from the outsiders, many interviewees claim that the younger generations are not

interested in sustaining the ancestral worship. Before the nuclear power plant was built, the main

livelihood was agriculture and fishing. Then, the significance of the ancestral worship was

important for many because they believed that good ancestral worships led to good crops.

Nowadays, however, interviewees claim that ancestral worship has lost its significance because

the younger generations don’t need good crops.101 As the livelihoods have diversified with the

nuclear power plant coming into Bukmyun, only a minority of people sustain their livelihoods

through farming (according to the census in 2012, only 0.3% of the workers in Uljin County

work in the farming industry). In addition, as the ritual loses its significance, younger

generations often face a dilemma between their work and continuing the tradition. In the past,

when a person was chosen as a jegwan, he or she was advised to stay indoors and prepare for the

99 Interview with Chang-Hee Kim, June 24, 2016. 100 Interview with Madame Choi, August 19, 2016. 101Interview with Lee-Jung Jun, July 30, 2016; Interview with Dong-Ick Im, July 31, 2016; Interview with Bu-Ha Kim, July 31,

2016.

33

ritual. Because the jegwan couldn’t work outside, other family members and their neighbors

would work in the fields on behalf of the jegwan. However, the current younger generations are

often stuck in between work and ancestral worship. According to the past village leader of Bugu

1, Kim states, “it’s not easy for the younger generation to stop going to work for a week or more

just to continue this tradition. Their bosses wouldn’t even buy into this excuse.”102

Despite these challenges, ancestral worship has remained an autonomous life

organization that is actively led by villagers themselves. The funds for the village-wide ancestral

worships have been relying on donations from the villagers, selling communal lands, and/or

incomes generated from the community properties. But, although the life organization can rely

on the nuclear power plants for its funding, most village-wide ancestral worship organizations

have relied solely on the villagers and stayed autonomous.

Focusing on Ancestral Worship

1. What is the Village-Wide Ancestral Worship?

How did ancestral worship start in this city and what was its significance? To understand the

importance of ancestral worship, it is important to understand the geography and location of the

city. Geographically, Bukmyun city in Uljin County is an isolated area. To its north and west, it

is surrounded by mountains and to its east lays the East Sea. The mountains and sea prevents

villagers from traveling to and back major industrial cities. Even now, it takes three to four hours

to travel from Bukmyun to Daegu or Seoul, two of the three major industrial cities in Korea.

Many interviewees expressed the hardships they faced when they chose to continue their

education. Villager Jun from Shinwha 1 recalls his experience of commuting to his high school:

I walked to Uljin City to attend [high school]. Then, it took about three to four hours to

get to school. And it took another three to four hours to come back from school… I

would leave to school at 5 am in the morning… When I come back from school, it would

be dark. Because I was always tired, I couldn’t study much.103

In addition, to be developed into an agricultural city, most of Bukmyun’s land is

woodlands. Only 8% of the entire land is available for agricultural use.104 Despite its many

mountains, selling lumber for livelihood was forbidden.105 Since the mountains were village’s

common possessions, the lumbers in the mountains were strictly for the villager’s private use and

not for business. Fishing also stayed as a small-scale livelihood option for the fishermen. Major

ports and thriving fishing business was in Jukbyun, a city south of Bukmyun. Thus, Bukmyun’s

livelihood generally depended on small-scale fishing and farming.

Life was generally harsh within this area. Because of its barriers, there were neither

investors nor any incentives to develop this area before the nuclear power plant arrived. Many

102 Interview with Bu Ha Kim, July 6, 2016. 103 Interview with Lee-Jung Jun, July 30, 2016. 104 Han et al. Bukmyun People and Their Tradition, 16. 105 Interview with Lee Jung Jun, July 30, 2016.

34

interviewees recall this area as probably one of the most isolated and underdeveloped areas in the

nation. With such harsh environment, villagers naturally started depending on each other for help.

Bu-Ha Kim recalled how tight-knit the community was during these time periods.

Me: How was the livelihood of Bukmyun in the past?

Kim: In the past, there was Bori-Gogae.106 In the spring, there were many people who

were starving. To fulfill our hungry stomachs, we often peeled off tree barks and ate the

insides. We also ate leftover barley chaffs. It was a very hungry time for all the villagers

in Bukmyun. White rice was very hard to find… In the morning, we would eat barley rice

and in the evening we would eat barley porridge… We were only able to eat twice a day.

In the porridge, we would put small amounts of barely rice and then lots of herbs for the

households to all eat.

Me: How was the relationship among the villagers?

Kim: Back then, the relationships among the villagers was good. There were no business

transactions between villagers. Most people were self-sufficient, so there were no

transactions between neighbors. There were markets nearby, but nobody spent money to

buy anything. So, there were no business transactions between villagers… In the past,

neighbors exchanged labor. Villagers were willing to help each other. They did hire

someone to do work, but when they were short on labor, they asked many neighbors to

come out and help. The idea is that if you help me first, I will come and help you

whenever you need me. This exchange is called pumatshe (품앗이). So, naturally the

relationship among the villagers had to be good. Back then, villagers were also willing to

share. Whenever a household had their ancestral ritual or a wedding, it is a custom to

invite guests to their homes to celebrate. Because many households did not have enough

food to provide all the guests, they would ask the villagers for help. Then, each household

would bring enough food or materials to help the hosts make a successful celebration…

Also, there were many jung (정), or compassion, among each other. People were not

particular about writing down how many times one helped another person. It was because

everybody was having a hard time and needed help when there were big festivals or

undergoing hardships.107

While living in such harsh conditions, it was necessary for the village to be protected

against unforeseen accidents, such as droughts. Thus, the villages’ ancestral worship became one

of the most critical rituals among the villagers. The history of when the villagers have started

ancestral worship is blurry. However, scholars know that Bukmyun worships deity Sungwhang

106Bori-Gogae, literally translated at Barely Hill, indicates the period of time between the shortage of Bori rice and harvest season.

Between April to June, many of the interviews recalled starving during this period of Bori-Gogae until the Bori was ready to be

harvest in September and October. 107 Interview with Bu-Ha Kim, July 6, 2016.

35

(성황님).108 Thus, the ancestral ritual is called Sungwhang Shrine Gosa(성황당고사).109 For the well-

being of the village, it was important that every villager were participating in the ritual.

Although there are different variations among the villages, the basic format of ancestral

worship in each village is the following:

Few weeks before the ancestral worship, each household send their ‘representative’ to the village

meeting, which is usually held in the village elder’s house. A village elder is the oldest and most

respected individual in the village. During the meeting, the village elder and few older villagers

carefully choose three to five individuals – depending on the village custom – to conduct the

ancestral worship. The person they choose must be spiritually clean and be free of bujung(부정),

or ‘uncleanness.’ Seeing a dead body or blood was believed to cause bujung. Thus, women who

were menstruating or people who visited a funeral were forbidden from being a representative

for the ancestral worship. Villagers also believed that bujung was contaminating. So, even the

chosen person’s household members must not be containing or emitting bujung. For example,

the household must not have a pregnant person, women during menstruation, and conduct any

sexual activities. All these facts were considered when the village elders make a decision. Once

three to five people were chosen, these representatives were called jegwan (재관). These selected

individuals are unable to refuse the offer and must carry on the responsibility.

108Han et al. Bukmyun People and Their Tradition, 285. 109 Ibid.

36

Figure 8: This is picture depicts Wolak village's ancestral worship in Jecheon City, North

Chungcheong Province. With minor differences, village-wide ancestral worship is not unique to

Bukmyun but is followed by many villages around South Korea.110

Once they are selected, the jegwans create geumjul (금줄), a golden straw rope, and hang it

in front of their door. This prevents evil spirits from entering the house and allows other villagers

with bujung to stay away from the house. Because of the fear of catching bujung, jegwans are

not allowed to leave the household for a short period of time. Depending on the village customs,

it lasts from a week to three days. Another jegwan is responsible for preparing the dishes to offer

to the deity. For them, buying groceries itself was also a ritual. When a vendor offers a price for

the ingredients, the jegwans were not allowed to bargain and had to pay the asked price. This is

because they believed that bujung came with negative, harsh, and unsophisticated words. With

the ingredients, only the jegwans are able to touch and prepare the dishes.

110 Naver, “Wolak Villages’ Village Worship.” Digital Image. Naver Corporation Accessed September 25, 2016.

http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=2629247&cid=51893&categoryId=53838.

37

Figure 9: The straw rope that blocks the entrance of the shrine is the geumjul. It informs the

villagers that this area is a sacred place.111

The village ancestral worship happens at midnight on the first full moon of the year

(usually on January 15th). The jegwans must cleanse their body and wear the prepared clothes.

The jegwans walk to a nearby river in the middle of the night. The jegwans were required to

wash themselves with cold, January river water. This is because the villagers believed that

running water from the river was the cleanest water of all and helped keep the purity of the

jegwans. After the jegwans cleansed themselves and wore particular clothes, they carried the

food and arrived at the shrine at midnight. There were no spectators or bystanders at the shrine.

Nobody was allowed outside of their house when the ancestral ritual was happening for they

believed it to be bujung also.

111 Han et al. Na-Sil Village Sungwhang Temple. 2006. In Bukmyun People and Their Tradition. Uljin City: Jae-Il Publishing,

2006. Published.

38

Figure 1: Front of the Sungwhang Temple (성황당). This is where Bugu 1 village conducts their ritual

on January 15th.

Once the ritual successfully passes, there is a big meeting the two days after the ritual

between household representatives in the village elder’s house. Within this meeting, the village

leaders discuss the village’s past annual budget and plans. Major information regarding village

possessions and activities are often discussed in this meeting. Then, they nominate new villagers

to fulfill the positions. This is when village leaders and committee members are nominated and

selected to volunteer for the remaining year.

39

2. Reasons for Sustaining the Ancestral Worship

What is the reason for sustaining the ancestral worship? What significance does it have in

the villager and villagers’ daily life? Kim Bu Ha considers himself as the “original” villager of

Bukmyun. He was born in the city and still continues be part of the Bukmyun community. As an

elementary school student, he attended Uljin County’s Bugu Elementary School, which was

established on October 1932. Upon graduation, he started to attend Uljin Middle School,

commuting a twenty kilometer distance from Bukmyun every week. After graduating middle

school, Kim decided to inherit his father’s farm and has been farming till now.

Living in village Bugu 2, Kim has served as the village leader for ten years between 1984

and1993. He is still one of the most important and powerful elders of Bugu 2 and also in

Bukmyun city. Aside from being a village leader, Kim is also involved in the Bukmyun Branch

of the ‘Living Civilly Movement.’ Since 1984, he has been the member of this national

organization. He served his time as a secretary-general of the committee for six years and the

chairman of the committee for eight years. As of 2016, he has resigned these positions and

actively participates in the organization as one of the core council members.

As an elder and village leader of Bugu 2, Kim pushes himself and his fellow villagers to

conduct the ancestral ritual regularly in ‘traditional’ ways. There are two reasons for his

underlying logic of continuing the ancestral ritual. The first reason is because Kim believes that

spirits exist and protects the village and their predecessors from harm. When I asked why he

believed in spirits, after much silence, Kim spoke:

Kim: When I was young, I worked as a miner… Near Taebaek Mountain… for five years.

Then, I had some financial difficulties, so I went to earn some money. Then, the money

from mining was pretty good. It was as much as a government official.

Me: Was it not dangerous?

Kim: Of course it was. There were many accidents. Many people died because the wall

collapse… I did that about five years. There, my daughter died… I eventually buried her

somewhere near. When I came down, I drank a lot and caused a lot of trouble. There

were many times that I fought with my wife. When this happened, because I was young, I

would drink and become even angrier than necessary. So, if my relationship with my wife

wasn’t good, my daughter would come.

Me: Who would?

Kim: My dead daughter would come… To home… Her spirit would come. Using her

mother’s body, she would talk to me. She would possess my wife’s body and talk to me.

So, my wife wouldn’t know… She knows all the things I’ve done to anger my wife. So, I

would usually apologize and then she would leave. This happened several times. This is

why I believe spirits exists.112

112 Interview with Bu-Ha Kim, August 19,2016.

40

Due to his personal encounter with spirits, Kim became fully aware of the importance of

sustaining the ancestral worship. If spirits exist, then spirits do listen and heed to the ancestral

worships. Thus, if an unfortunate incident occurs in the village, Kim stated that he would

automatically think there was something wrong with the village’s ancestral worship.

The second reason of continuing the ancestral ritual was to sustain the bond between

community members. In other words, ancestral ritual was a time for all the villagers to gather

and reflect on their bonds between one other. As Kim states,

In the past, everything had to be done with the village because nobody can do things

alone. That’s why social connections and bonds between villagers were very important.

In the past, your village and neighbors were like your family. Ancestral worship and

other important things were done by gathering all the villagers together. The rich would

help the poor in the village. Sometimes, we would just help for nothing back. We were

like relatives in the past. We all knew deep down inside about the importance of keeping

the village together and the bond between together… There’s a saying of ‘your neighbors

are better help to you than far relatives.’113

The idea of sustaining community bond was a crucial topic among every one of my interviewees.

When I asked what the change between now and then was, all my interviewees would point to

the changes in the community bond. They would all lament that the bond between community

members have been diminishing with the increasing influx of “outsiders.”

Why is it important for community members to sustain the bond between one another? It

is because for many of the villagers, they received valuable help from community members

during critical and non-critical accidents or events. Kim remembered a number of incidents –

during normal days or critical accidents – that he received help from his neighbors and villagers.

In the past, to make fire, we would gather firewood and dry them at a certain place in the

house. But, sometimes, ashes would fly to these firewood places and ignite them.

Because of this, mine and my neighbors houses were caught on fire. But, the villagers all

helped me and my neighbor to stop the fire soon enough. There were many instances that

happened in our village like this.114

As various experiences accumulate, for Kim and other villagers, partly because of

gratitude and partly because of one’s own survival, sustaining the community bond became an

important task for him. Thus, by continuing the ancestral worship, Kim believes that it

strengthens the social connections between the villagers. The ancestral worship gathered

villagers. It gave a common goal of preparing the ritual to the villagers to strive for at the

beginning of the year. It required all the villagers to participate. Some of the villagers would be

113 Ibid. 114 Interview with Bu-Ha Kim, August 20, 2016.

41

conducting the rituals, some would be setting up necessary ritual materials beforehand, and other

would silently participate by not doing anything that may cause bujung to the neighborhood. In

any case, through the ancestral worship, the whole community reminiscences and reaffirms their

social bonds and responsibilities amongst each other.

3. Changes in the Ancestral Worship

Ancestral worship was not immune to the changing external environment. To adjust to

the decreasing participants, villages made four different changes to sustain the ancestral worship.

First, was changing the nominating system of the jegwans. Before the nuclear power plant,

nominating jegwans was based on how clean the person and his or her household was that year.

However, with decreasing amount of people participating in the ancestral worship, there are

fewer available villagers and bigger burdens for each jegwan. Thus, some villages adopted the

rotation system. The rotation system divides the village into sections by grouping several

households together. The jegwan is then nominated by rotating around these sections. The next

section must nominate a jegwan within their section and so on. One example is Na-Gok 6 village:

The way they nominate the jegwans is different from the past. Originally, they

would pick a jegwan based on their luck, yin and yang, and cleanliness. But, one

time, when we picked a jegwan, that person did not prepare for the ancestral ritual

and did not host it as they should have. Even though chosen, jegwans started

refusing to host the ritual. Around that time, the village fishermen, Mr. Yong-Jin

Won, visited a nearby village and asked how they select jegwans. After seeing

other villages adapting to the same problem, he brought it back to Na-Gok and

changed the nomination process. Every year, instead of looking at the bujung and

various other qualities of a person, five households are grouped to be responsible

for the ancestral worship. Of the five households, one household is responsible for

conducting the ancestral ritual and the other four households provide the

funding.115

This rotation system lessens the burden for village leaders and elders to find an appropriate

jegwan when there are so few people residing in their village.

However, the most common type of nominating jegwans is through a hybrid rotating

system. Each village selects about three to five jegwans before the ritual and these jegwans have

different roles in the ritual. The ones we call “side” jegwans are responsible, for example,

cooking the dishes while another may be responsible for preparing materials to take to the

ancestral shrine. The “main” jegwan, however, is responsible for conducting the ritual on the

night of January 15th. In other words, anyone other than the “main” jegwan may be called the

“side” jegwans. The hybrid rotating system follows the traditional way of choosing the “main”

jegwan. The “main” jegwan is nominated through the traditional method of looking at their yin

115Han et al. Bukmyun People and Their Tradition, 326 – 327.

42

and yang, luck, and cleanliness. However, the “side” jegwans rotate their responsibilities by

sections or grouping households. The hybrid system allows fewer burdens on the village as they

will only need to select the “main” jegwan and rotate the responsibility for the “side” jegwans. It

is often more preferred because this system ensures that the village is sustaining the core

practices of deciding the cleanliness of the jegwans but also incorporating the rotation system in

the midst of declining participants.

The second decision that helped sustain the ancestral worship was decreasing the

ancestral worship to once a year. Originally, ancestral worship was conducted at least twice a

year: one on January 15th and another on October 15th. In addition, based on the traditions and

histories of the villages, every village had additional ancestral worships throughout the year apart

from the Sungwhang ancestral worship. For example, Lee, one of the remaining “original”

fishermen in the city, stated that there were other ancestral worships in his village.

Lee: In Nagok 1 village, in the beginning of the February – although it is disappearing

nowadays – as a village we hold an ancestral worship to Yong-Dong Grandmother.

According to legends, if Yong-Dong Grandmother came with her daughter, there would

be favorable waves and wind. But, if Yong-Dong Grandmother brings her daughter-in-

law, then there would be a hurricane.116 Back then, every household on Nagok 1 would

make steamed rice cakes and hold an ancestral worship. Even the poor people did it too!

They would wish for favorable wind and waves, and abundant fishes.

Jang: So, this was only done in Nagok 1 village?

Lee: Yes.117

However, with fewer options of jegwan and the financial burdens it placed on the villagers, most

villages have decided to abandon all other village-wide ancestral worships. Instead, to mark the

start of a good year, Bukmyun villagers decided to keep the ancestral worship on January 15th

and stopped the ritual in October.

The third decision was incorporating modern facilities into the ancestral worship and

loosening the side rules. One of the important roles of the jegwanin the ancestral worship was to

maintain their cleanliness for a certain amount of period before the ancestral worship. One of the

crucial methods to maintain their cleanliness and be free of bujung was washing themselves in

running water. Past villagers strongly believed that running water from the mountain was the

cleanest water. But, once this running water is taken away from the stream, villagers believed

that there is a possibility that it might have caught bujung. Thus, it was crucial for the jegwan to

cleanse themselves with the cold, running water in January at night. However, nowadays modern

facilities such as bathrooms are incorporated to help facilitate the ritual. The core idea of

cleansing oneself is not dismissed. In fact, many jegwans take extra care to make sure that “not

116 Yong-Dong grandmother was a deity closely related to the sea and often worshipped by fishermen. For more information,

please visit, http://folkency.nfm.go.kr/sesi/dicPrint.jsp?DIC_ID=744&xslUrl=dicPrint_Pop.jsp&printYN=Y (Korean source). 117 Interview with Young-Bok Lee, July 6, 2016.

43

even a single hair is not-cleaned” or purposefully visit the hot springs for a “cleaner”

experience.118 But, by incorporating modern facilities in the ritual process, it lessens the time and

physical burdens that the jegwans must make for the village.

In addition, in the past, jegwans were required to wait at the ancestral shrine for hours

sometimes. According to Dukgu 1 past jegwan, Mr. Lim, he heard from his grandfather about the

ancestral worship timing the following:

When I was young, I heard a lot of stories from my grandfather. My grandfather studied

Chinese literature and was the village teacher. In the past, as a teacher, you not only teach

literature, but you also taught manners and traditions. According to him, in the past,

because there are no clocks, you time the ancestral worship based on the position, shape,

and brightness of the moon. Once you know it is the time, the adults would walk up the

mountain to the village shrine. When they arrive, they would wait in the middle of the

winter. While waiting, you would hear the running water and the cold, icy wind blowing.

Then, at one point during the wait, the wind would stop, you can’t hear the running water,

and there would be absolute silence. The past villagers believed that it was exactly during

this moment of silence that the ritual must be conducted. Nowadays, we have clocks so

we go up at midnight and do the ritual.119

Just like the interview describes, the past jegwans idea of when and how the ritual should be

conducted was very time-consuming and physically challenging to many. But now, the modern

technologies such as flashlights, clocks, and cars have helped elders like Mr. Lim to conduct the

ritual with less burdens. If the ritual required two to three hours of waiting, washing oneself with

cold water, and walking in the deep forests while carrying ten or more dishes, it is easy for the

aging generations to quit the ancestral ritual. However, clever adaptations to use modern

facilities while not compromising the core faith of the actions has helped sustain the village-wide

ancestral worship till now.

CONCLUSION

I have examined four different life organizations – The Sports Festival, The 4.13 Manse

Memorial, the village common possession, and the village-wide ancestral worship – in Bukmyun

City, in Uljin County. Unlike the other three, the village-wide ancestral worship has been

increasingly autonomous and is not funded by the nuclear money. Stemmed from the nuclear

power plant, challenges such as increasing indifference from the outsiders, rise of Korean

Protestantism, and changing ideals and vocations of the younger generation have created a crisis

for the ancestral worship and other life organizations. However, the spiritual and social

importance of the ancestral worship as a social bond for many villagers, and three organizational

changes have sustained the autonomy of the practice to this day. These changes include changing

118 Interview with Dong-Ick Im, July 31, 2016; Han et al. Bukmyun People and Their Tradition, 328. 119 Interview with Dong-Ick Im, July 31, 2016.

44

the nominating system of the ritual leaders, decreasing the ritual to once a year rather than twice

a year, and by incorporating modern facilities and loosening the “side” rules.

The decreasing participation of ancestral worship is not a unique phenomenon. In fact, it

is happening all around the country whether the village has a nuclear power plant or not.120 Thus,

one may simply disregard it as the effect of nuclear power plant and label it as a national, or even

natural, phenomenon. But, to ignore the contribution of the nuclear power plant in bringing in the

outsiders, changing the physical and social landscapes of the area in a short amount of time, and

creating a new economic platform is also not the right thing to do in examining the local

ancestral worship. To think that a multi-million dollar government project has no effect on the

area’s ancestral worship would be taking out a huge slice of the villages’ distinctive challenges

and even identity.

Because of the time restrictions, there are many areas of improvement in this paper. In

the near future, I would like to return back to the village and attend the ancestral worship and see

the dynamics that play during the preparation and conducting of the ritual. In addition, I would

like to see whether these organizational changes have been successful and encouraged outsiders

to participate in the worship. Lastly, I would like to interview a variety of people. My study has

been limited to older, male, insiders. However, if time permits, I would like to interview more

females, outsiders, and younger generations on their input of the impact of the nuclear power

plants on the ancestral worship.

120 For example, see Bong-Ho Son, “Ancestor Worship: From the Perspective of Modernization,” in Ancestor Worship and

Christianity in Korea, ed. Jung-Young Lee (Lewiston: E. Mellen Press, 1988).

45

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APPENDIX

Appendix A: Names and basic demographic profiles of interviewees and participants

Name/

Pseudo

names

Age Range Sex Occupation(s) Insider or

Outsider

Associated

Village

Kim, Chang

Hee(김창희) 62 ~ 63 Male Reverend

Outsider –

originally

came from

Daegu City.

Bugu 2

Shin, Yong Ja

(신영자) 50 ~ 55 Female

Housewife &

current head

of Bugu 2

Womens’

Society

Insider Bugu 2

Hwang,

Byung Kwan

(황병관)

50 ~ 55 Male

Soybean

farmer &

previous Bugu

3 village

leader

Insider Bugu 3

Lee, Young

Bok (이영복) 50 ~ 55 Male Fishermen Insider Bugu 2

Kim, Bu Ha

(김부하) 80 ~ 85 Male

Farmer &

previous Bugu

2 village

leader

Insider Bugu 2

Park, Gwang

Gyu (박광규) 50 ~ 60 Male Mailman

Outsider –

married into

the area.

------

Kim, Gyeong

Ha (김경하) 80 ~ 85 Male

Previous

Bukmyun’s

National

Agriculture

Cooperative

Federation

president, and

retired

elementary

school teacher

Insider Bugu 2

Jang, Gi Soon

(장기순) Mid-50s Male

Current Bugu

2 village

leader &

mailman

Insider Bugu 2

Jang, Hyun Mid-50s Male CEO of Insider Dukgu (now

49

Gyun

(장헌견)

construction

company &

leader of the

Bukmyun

Progression

Committee

taken over by

the NPP)

Jun, Lee Jung

(전이중) 80 ~ 85 Male

Farmer &

regional

scholar

Insider Shin-hwa 1

Kim, Young

So (김영소) 80 ~ 85 Male

Car wash

owner,

previous city

mayor, and

leader of

Heung-Bu

Manse Park

Committee

Insider Bugu 3

Kim, Sung

Joon

(김성준)

Mid-50s Male

Regional

scholar and

president of

Uljin County’s

Ulimye

Committee

Outsider None. From

Uljin City

Im, Dong Ick

(임동익) Late 70s Male Farmer Insider Dukgu 1

Jang, Sae

Jung

(장세정)

Mid-50s Male

Current

Bukmyun’s

National

Agriculture

Cooperative

Federation

president,

Insider ----

Choi,

Madame Mid-50s Female

Farmer &

Housewife

Outsider –

married into

the area

Bugu 1

Kim, Chang

Ho (김창오) Mid-50s Male

Uljin County

council

member

Insider ----

Jang, Shi

Won

(장시원)

Mid-50s Male

Uljin County

vice council

member

Insider -----

Jang, Yoo

Duk (장유덕) Mid-50s Male

Uljin County

vice council

member for

Bukmyun

Outsider ------

50

Appendix B: South Korea’s nuclear power plant’s output, first operation date, and

construction period

Nuclear Power Plant Output (MW) Construction Period First Operation Date

Kori #1 587 1968.10 – 1978. 04 1978. 04. 29

Kori #2 650 1977. 03 – 1983. 07 1983. 07. 25

Kori #3 950 1978. 02 – 1985. 09 1985. 09. 30

Kori #4 950 1978. 02 – 1986. 04 1986. 04. 29

Shin Kori #1 1,000 2003. 06 – 2011. 02 2011. 02. 28

Shin Kori #2 1,000 2003. 06 – 2012. 07 2012. 07. 20

Shin Kori #3* 1,400 2007. 09 - present (2017. 03)

Shin Kori #4* 1,400 2007. 09 - present (2017. 03)

Shin Kori #5* 1,400 2012. 09 – present (2021. 03)

Shin Kori #6* 1,400 2012. 09 – present (2022. 03)

Wolsung #1 679 1973. 11 – 1983. 04 1983. 04. 22

Wolsung #2 700 1991. 10 – 1997. 07 1997. 07. 01

Wolsung #3 700 1993. 08 – 1998. 07 1998. 07. 01

Wolsung #4 700 1993. 08 – 1999. 10 1999. 10. 01

Shin Wolsung #1 1,000 2002. 03 – 2012. 07 2012. 07. 31

Shin Wolsung #2 1,000 2002. 03 – 2015. 07 2015. 07. 24

Hanbit #1 950 1981. 02 – 1986. 08 1986. 08. 25

Hanbit #2 950 1981. 02 – 1987. 06 1987. 06. 10

Hanbit #3 1,000 1989. 12 – 1995. 03 1995. 03. 31

Hanbit #4 1,000 1989. 12 – 1996. 01 1996. 01. 01

Hanbit #5 1,000 1995. 12 – 2002. 05 2002. 05. 21

Hanbit #6 1,000 1995. 12 – 2002. 12 2002. 12. 24

Hanul #1 950 1982. 10 – 1988. 09 1988. 09. 10

51

Hanul #2 950 1982. 10 – 1989. 09 1989. 09. 30

Hanul #3 1000 1992. 05 – 1998. 08 1998. 08. 11

Hanul #4 1000 1992. 05 – 1998. 08 1999. 12. 31

Hanul #5 1000 1999. 01 – 2004. 07 2004. 07. 29

Hanul #6 1000 1999. 01 – 2004. 07 2005. 04. 22

Shin Hanul #1* 1,400 2010. 04 – present (2019. 02)

Shin Hanul #2* 1,400 2010. 04 – present (2019. 02)

Shin Hanul #3+ 1,400 2010. 11 – present (2022. 12)

Shin Hanul #4+ 1,400 2010. 11 – present (2023. 12)

Provided by the Nuclear Power Plant White Paper, 2015 editionby Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Company.

Notes:

* indicates nuclear power plant units that are being constructed. +indicates planned nuclear power plants.

( ) are expected or planned dates of the first operation.

52

Appendix 3a: Number of establishments and workers by industry in Uljin County in 2013

Industry

Total

Establishments Workers

Total Male Female

Agriculture, Fishery, and Forestry 10 64 55 9

Mining 18 203 183 20

Manufacturing 204 1,106 496 610

Electricity, Gas, Steam, and other Municipal Services 6 1,715 1,580 135

Waste Management 13 150 128 22

Construction 251 1,759 1,578 181

Wholesale and Retail 1,138 2,137 1,034 1,103

Transportation 178 327 289 38

Accommodations and Restaurants 1,304 2,937 959 1,978

Communication and Publications 21 121 97 24

Finance and Insurance 59 525 265 260

Real Estate and Rental Services 46 137 91 46

Professional Science and Technological Service 41 236 167 69

Business Facilities and Services 32 196 115 81

Public Administration, National Defense, and Public

Service Administration 47 1,185 920 265

Education 162 1,171 516 655

Non-profit and Public Good 108 983 245 738

Arts, Sports, and other related services 119 249 137 112

Committees, Organizations, Repairs, and other Individual

Businesses or Services 492 992 565 427

Total 4,249 16,193 9,420 6,773

Provided by the 2013 Statistical Year Book of Uljin by Uljin County.

53

Appendix 3b: Percentage of workers in each industry in Uljin County in 2013

Provided by the 2013 Statistical Year Book of Uljin by Uljin County.

Agriculture, Fishery, Forestry, and Mining

2%Manufacturing

7%

Electricy, Gas, Steam, and other

Municipal Services11%

Others15%

Construction11%

Wholesale and Retail13%

Accomodation and Restaurants

18%

Finance and Insurance

3%

Public Administration,

National Defense, and Public Service

Administration7%

Education7%

Non-profit and Public Good

6%

54

Appendix 4: Number of establishments and workers by industry in Bukmyun City in 2013

Industry Total

Establishments Workers

Agriculture, Fishery, and Forestry - -

Mining 1 1

Manufacturing 11 40

Electricity, Gas, Steam, and other Municipal Services 1 1,648

Waste Management 1 58

Construction 13 566

Wholesale and Retail 81 175

Transportation 7 9

Accommodations and Restaurants 210 526

Communication and Publications 2 10

Finance and Insurance 6 34

Real Estate and Rental Services 3 38

Professional Science and Technological Service 2 2

Business Facilities and Services - -

Public Administration, National Defense, and Public Service

Administration 3 39

Education 17 100

Non-profit and Public Good 10 71

Arts, Sports, and other related services 12 17

Committees, Organizations, Repairs, and other Individual Businesses or

Services 53 186

Total 433 3,520

Provided by the 2013 Statistical Year Book of Uljin by Uljin County.

55

Appendix 5: Nuclear power plant fund allocation for the host community between 2011

and 2015 in Uljin County

(based on hundred thousand dollars)

Year

Types of

Programs 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Educational

Scholarships 21 16 16 11 13

Regional

Economy

Collaboration

57 62 65 31 51

Regional

Environment

Development

9 11 3 23 3

Regional

Public Service 40 46 56 15 31

Local Culture

Promotion 32 23 13 13 20

Miscellaneous 18 18 15 51 36

Total 177 176 168 144 154

Provided by Hanul Nuclear Power Plant Headquarters.