[Reportage] The revival of South Korea’s era of dam building

Posted on : 2013-07-06 10:33 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Environmentally harmful projects divide residents who are forced to leave their homes
The Soyang River Dam
The Soyang River Dam

By Choi Woo-ri, staff reporter

 which was Asia’s largest multipurpose and rock-fill dam in 1973.
which was Asia’s largest multipurpose and rock-fill dam in 1973.

The golden era of dam building in South Korea is being revived. Across the country, there are 14 regions that are planning to construct dams or are already in the process of building one. According to the “2012-2020 Long-term Master Plan for Dam Construction” presented by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) at the end of last year, 6 dams with reservoir capacities of 100 million cubic tons will be constructed, which include 4 multipurpose dams and 2 flood control dams. 8 dams with the reservoir capacity less than 2000 tons will also be constructed.

It has been 40 years since the construction of the Soyang River Dam, which was Asia’s largest multipurpose and rock-fill dam in 1973. According to MLIT data, there are currently 18,000 dams in South Korea, including multipurpose, flood-control and irrigation dams. There are also 1,200 large-scale dams taller than 15 meters. The density of dams per unit area has already reached the world’s highest.

The golden era of the dam building revived after the Four Major Rivers Project was pushed ahead by the Lee Myung-bak administration (2008-2013). The MLIT (known as the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs at the time) announced the “Long-term Master Plan for Dam Construction”, despite the opposition from the Ministry of Environment in the Strategy Environment Assessment (SEA). The long-term plan, which included construction plans for 14 new dams, was announced two days before the presidential election.

Choi Seok-beom, an engineer who has participated in the planning and supervision of dam construction projects, remarked “There was a public consensus that constructing large-scale dams was no longer necessary after the negative effects of Dong Gang Dam and Hantan River Dam came back into the spotlight. But right now, the golden era of dam building has suddenly been revived.”

The new multipurpose dams that are being planned are large-scale with a vast area of submerging zones and considerable environmental effects. In the SEA, the Ministry of Environment demanded a reevaluation of the dam construction plans. This was because 1.3 billion tons of water resources that were secured for the Four Major Rivers Project had not been utilized properly. They also lacked financial support and risked damaging the environment.

From April 30 to May 2, a Hankyoreh reporter visited three locations that have been designated for dam constructions, including the Jangpa Stream, Daeseo Stream and Odae Stream. The reporters found out that in some of the designated areas, construction plans were being carried out unilaterally without notifying the local residents. Some local residents were planning a “holdout” to receive compensation and there were local conflicts in Yeongyang, North Gyeongsang Province.

 May 30.
May 30.

“It’s the first time I’ve heard of a dam being built.” 

“A dam in the Odae Stream? It’s the first time I’ve heard of it,”said Kim Yeong-su with a puzzled look on his face. He is 69 years old and runs a shop in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province. His shop is located in front of the Baekseok Waterfall and has a magnificent view of the water falling from the 119m-high cliff. Although it was early May, the stream flowed vigorously and birds were singing all around. Gariwang Mountain, which was made inaccessible to people during the Joseon Dynasty to preserve its great ecological environment, and Odae-san National Park are also close by.

Ko, who is 33 years old and has been living in the area for 10 years, also showed a doubtful look. Sookam Village head Kwon Hyun-suk was the only person aware of the dam construction plan and he had heard about it through rumors. He was determined to strongly oppose it along with the local residents if construction actually begins. It was clear that it was only the government that was in control of the construction, not the local residents.

The exact location of a new Odae Stream dam has not been decided yet. There are only rumors and assumptions. But wherever the dam is built, one definite fact is that the local areas will be affected by the vast submerging zones and roads that are cut off.

A Hankyoreh reporter visited the Jangjeon Valley, after passing through the deep gorges that flow along Route 59. In January, local newspaper Kangwon Ilbo reported that the Jangjeon Valley was designated for the construction of Jangjeon Dam. It is a strong candidate for the flood-controlling dam in the Odae Stream. Lim Se-sik, 48 years old, who runs real estate agency in a nearby village, agreed to the construction plan. He commented, “The Four Major Rivers Project used up 20 trillion won (about US$17.4 billion) in taxpayer money. There would have been a justifiable reason for it, wouldn’t there? When the new dam construction plan is confirmed, I will leave the village.”

Hwang In-cheol, the team manager of Green Korea United, who accompanied the Hankyoreh reporter, asserted that constructing new dams would not be able to reduce flood damage. He explained, “There is a SEA report on the Odae Stream Dam by the Ministry of Environment. It points out that building a dam near the national park is not advisable and that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has failed to provide the justification for building a flood-control dam, as well as the specific details on the flood damage in downstream areas. Put simply, it’s tough to say why a dam is needed here.”

The Odae Stream is not the only place with a local conflict caused by vague plans to build dams. There were also signs of a “holdout” phenomenon, which is usually only seen in areas that are slated for redevelopment. On May 1, Park Jong-eup, 66, told of his story in Yeongdeok, where the construction of Dalsan Dam is in progress. In 2011, Park delivered some trees on his truck to the new neighbor who had moved to Yeongdeok from an area close to the Bohyeon Dam in Yeongcheon. He received 100,000 won for doing the favor. However, the local people criticized the new neighbor for planning to gain more compensation money, which was apparently the reason that he needed to plant the trees. Also considering the fact that he had just come from Yeongcheon, the area where the Bohyeon Dam is being built, the local residents suspected the new neighbor to be a speculator who purchases land in regions that are designated for dam constructions.

On the same day, another resident assumed to be a speculator was working on a grape vine in the field in front of his house. It was 2 years ago that he moved to the new house by the road. He said the reason he moved close to the road was that he wanted to receive more compensation money. He added, “More compensation money? Sure, everyone wants to get more compensation. They just don’t show it, even though they all think the same thing. We were told that a new housing site would be made for us, so I will move there.” To the question on if the reason for constructing Dalsan Dam was to provide water resources for the industrial Complex that will be built in Pohang City, he replied, “Apparently the Korea Water Resources Corporation said that only the water that is left over from Yeongdeok would be given to Pohang,”

Choi Gwang-hae, 44, is currently youth association head in Dalsan Township. He frowned when the reporter mentioned the man living in the house with the grape vine. Choi commented, “No one knows him and we don’t communicate with him.” He then showed the petition signed by 700 Yeongdeok County residents who opposed the construction of the Dalsan Dam. He added that Dalsan has been inhabited by the same families for three generations, which makes it easy to notice when someone new moves in. According to the preliminary feasibility study in March 2011, the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement predicted that the Dalsan Dam, which will be a large-scale dam that is 582 meters wide and 51.5 meters high, would lose 1.7 billion won annually.

 

Placards set up by residents of Subi Township in North Gyeongsang Province at the entrance of Songha Village opposing the construction of Yeongyang Dam
Placards set up by residents of Subi Township in North Gyeongsang Province at the entrance of Songha Village opposing the construction of Yeongyang Dam
If a dam is built, 56 houses will be submerged

In the afternoon of May 30, the war clouds hung over Subi Township in Yeongyang County. The flags along the bridge and heated rhetoric on the placard showed the conflict within the community. Subi township was designated as the spot where Yeongyang Dam would be constructed. The dam will be 480 meters wide and 70 meters tall. It will have the reservoir capacity of 5700 tons and once built, 56 houses will be submerged. Lee Sang-cheol, 61, head of the residents group that opposes the dam, cannot forget what happened on February 26. It was the day that the service employees subcontracted by the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) came to the village with equipment to conduct a feasibility study.

Lee remarked, “The dog started barking at dawn, so I went outside. Although the officials state that only some young people oppose the construction, many elderly women and men also oppose it. They lied down in front of the car and stopped them.”

The local residents on the opposition side placed a container in front of the bridge that marks an entrance to the village. In groups of three, residents take turn guarding the bridge in 24 hour shifts. Recently, there has been an increasing number of local residents opposing the dam after a current affairs program was broadcasted, which exposed a corruption scandal involving Kwon Young-taek, the county mayor of Yeongyang who was in charge of the construction plans for the Yeongyang Dam.

Lee Sang-chil, 54 years old, represents the local residents who approve of the dam construction. He does not like the fact that residents of such a small village are arguing with each other. He explained, “Mostly, people who have a small amount of land oppose the dam construction. People in the countryside are not concerned about the country’s lack of water resources or about climate change. They just want to live comfortably. If we live on like this, the land value will only be 50,000 to 60,000 won per pyeong (3.3 ㎥ ). If the area is flooded, K-water will pay us more. Farming gets us nowhere. I will move into the new housing site that will be built by the district and cultivate specialty crops in a greenhouse.”

In the preliminary feasibility study, K-water predicted that compensation money for the submerged areas will amount to 40 billion won (about US$34.8 million). Also, once the construction plan is confirmed, Yeongyang will create a new housing site for the local residents with 34.5 billion won, which the district will receive as a maintenance expense.

As the controversy over dam construction continues to exist, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has taken a step back, stating that the construction plans have not been finalized. An official of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport commented on condition of anonymity, “There is still a remaining 70% of evaluation to be done. There are undecided and unconfirmed aspects about the plan.” The “Long-term Master Plan for Dam Construction” was announced only two days before last December’s presidential elections. Some people believed that the Lee Myung-bak administration, which was favorable towards the Four Major Rivers Project and dam construction, was trying to push the project ahead before the end of his term. However, as Park Geun-hye’s government initiated a re-evaluation of the Four Major Rivers Project, the mood has started to change.

MLIT announced that although it may change some part of the “Long-term Master Plan for Dam Construction” later on, it will still proceed with a feasibility study in order to gain a public consensus. However, although the Ministry of Environment clearly demonstrated its opposing view on dam construction through the SEA, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport was apparently planning to carry out the construction anyhow. In response to the questions about this situation, an employee commented, “The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport decides on the feasibility of the construction. We evaluate whether the opinion of the Ministry of Environment is valid or not.” Also to the questions regarding whether the Ministry was secretly planning a large-scale engineering construction without the public consent or not, an employee replied, “It is a regulation of the K-water to propose a long-term dam construction plan every 10 years. We have to make new plans about dams.”

 

Has a “dam renaissance” begun? 

The Yeongyang Dam, which is still a controversial issue, may act as a “litmus test” for dam construction projects in the future. Whether the Yeongyang Dam is actually built will depend on the Ministry of Environment, which holds authority over the construction process. On May 24, Lee Chan-hee, who is Director General of Green Environment Policy Office, said in a phone interview, “There are no changes to the fact that the Ministry of Environment opposes dam construction. The problems with the opposing local residents haven‘t been solved yet and the reasons for requiring water resources are not clear. Even if the construction plans go through an Environmental Effects Evaluation, our views will not change.” In response, MLIT is planning to reevaluate the current construction plans, and reevaluate the whole project from the start.

The social conflict on the issue of dam construction is intesnifying, just like the past. Residents’ expectations to receive more compensation money and the desires to host a national project in a poor region have divided opinions among the angry local residents, who will be forced to leave their homes.

 

Translated by Kang Soo-bin, Hankyoreh English intern

 

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

 

 

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