"Map Books Disappearing"... 2,000 People Rise Up Here Against Dam Construction

Rally Against Construction of Suipcheon Dam in Yanggu, Gangwon Province
2,000 Attend with Some Participants Shaving Heads
Island in the Mainland Faces Crisis as Dam Construction Threatens to Erase It from Maps

At the Yanggu County Sports Complex on the 9th, during the rally opposing the construction of Suipcheon Dam, Yanggu County Governor Seo Heung-won, Provincial Assembly Member Kim Wang-gyu, Deputy Chairman of the County Council Shin Cheol-woo, county council members, heads of various organizations and institutions, related personnel, residents, and members of social organizations urged the Ministry of Environment to completely cancel the project.
[Photo by Yanggu County]

Residents of Yanggu County, who have opposed the construction plan of the Suipcheon Dam, held a “Yanggu County Residents’ Rally Against the Construction of Suipcheon Dam” at Yanggu Sports Complex from 6:30 PM on the 9th.

The rally, hosted by the Yanggu County Suipcheon Dam Construction Opposition Promotion Committee, was attended by about 2,000 people including Seo Heung-won, Yanggu County Governor, Jeong Chang-su, Chairman of the Yanggu County Council, as well as various organizations and local residents. The rally proceeded with a report on the progress and explanation of opposition opinions related to the Ministry of Environment’s announcement on the construction of Suipcheon Dam by Yoo Seung-cheol, Secretary General of the Opposition Promotion Committee, followed by rally speeches and struggle speeches by Seo Heung-won, Yanggu County Governor, and Jeong Chang-su, Chairman of the Yanggu County Council, who serve as co-chairs of the Opposition Promotion Committee, a head-shaving ceremony, speeches by resident representatives, and the reading of a resolution. Six people, including Woo Dong-hwa, President of the Yanggu County Village Chiefs Association, Kim Seon-mook and Jo Don-jun, members of the Yanggu County Council, and Kim Wang-gyu, member of the Gangwon Provincial Council, participated in the head-shaving.

On July 30, the Ministry of Environment announced 14 candidate sites nationwide for climate response dams, including Suipcheon in Yanggu. Yanggu County has been continuing its struggle to completely cancel the construction of Suipcheon Dam. Suipcheon Dam, with a total storage capacity of 100 million tons (supplying water for 700,000 people daily), is the largest among the 14 candidate climate response dams. Yanggu County has faced difficulties in regional development due to various damages such as relocation caused by the submergence of some villages from the construction of Hwacheon Dam in 1944 and Soyanggang Dam in 1973, traffic inconvenience, health damage to residents due to fog, and crop damage over the past 50 years. The Gangwon Research Institute estimated the damage around Soyangho Lake caused by the construction of Soyanggang Dam over the past 50 years to be about 10.15 trillion won. Bangsan-myeon and Dutayeon, where Suipcheon flows, are known as the largest habitats of the endangered first-class species and natural monument No. 217, the Korean goral, and the endangered wild species, the Korean trout. Dutayeon is also designated as an ecological tourism area and a national geopark.

On August 9, Governor Seo Heung-won issued a statement titled “A Letter to the Residents Regarding the Construction Plan of Suipcheon Dam in Bangsan-myeon.” Governor Seo said, “Our county has been surrounded by Soyanggang Dam, Hwacheon Dam, and Peace Dam, turning into an ‘island within the land.’ Building another dam now is an act that accelerates regional extinction and seriously threatens the survival rights of the residents, which is absolutely unacceptable.” He added, “At this time when regional extinction is accelerating, dam construction will undermine the survival rights of Bangsan-myeon residents and further shake the foundation of the region’s existence, resulting in Yanggu County disappearing from the map.”

Governor Seo continued, “Just as the entire county united over 20 years ago to cancel the Bamseonggol Dam in Bangsan-myeon, we must once again show the strength of ‘small but strong Yanggu.’ Only by the unity of all residents can the dam construction plan be canceled. I earnestly ask for the active cooperation and participation of all residents for the survival rights of the residents and the existence of Yanggu County.”