Iksan City Publishes Volumes 13 and 14 of the Iksan Studies Research Series

"Translated Iksan County Records" and "Iri, the Forgotten City"

Iksan City in North Jeolla Province, in collaboration with the Iksan Cultural City Support Center, has published volumes 13 and 14 of the Iksan Studies Research Series: "Translated Iksan County Records" and "Iri, the Forgotten City."

According to the city on April 21, the Iksan Studies Research Series is a publication project aimed at remembering and preserving the region's hidden history and culture. It is part of ongoing efforts to academically establish the identity of Iksan as a cultural city.

Iksan City, in collaboration with the Iksan Cultural City Support Center, has published volumes 13 and 14 of the Iksan Studies Research Series: "Translated Iksan County Records" and "Iri, the Forgotten City." Provided by Iksan City

The newly published volume 13, "Translated Iksan County Records," is a Korean translation of "Iksan County Records," which was compiled in 1928 by Kihara Hisashi, a Japanese official at the Iksan County Office during the Japanese colonial period.

The "Iksan County Records" contains detailed information on the economic and social conditions of Iksan County in the 1920s, and is regarded as a valuable resource for understanding the local history of that era. However, as the material was written from a Japanese perspective, it is necessary to approach it with a critical viewpoint.

"Translated Iksan County Records" consists of three parts and was translated by Professor Emeritus Yang Eunyoung of Wonkwang University. Part 1, "Iksan County Overview," covers the urban, social, and economic conditions of Iksan County in the 1920s. Parts 2 and 3, "Status of Each Township," record the situations of 18 townships within Iksan County. Notably, it also includes records on Hwanghwa-myeon, which was incorporated into Nonsan City, South Chungcheong Province, in 1963.

Volume 14, "Iri, the Forgotten City," is a research book written by Shin Guibaek, director of the Iksan Modern Culture Research Institute. Based on works by Japanese authors during the Japanese colonial period, it analyzes the process of Iri's formation as a colonial city and traces the city's identity and historical changes.

The book also reconstructs the realities faced by ordinary people at the time to explore the inner workings of the city, and focuses on restoring the city's memory and sentiment by analyzing representations of Iri in literature and film.

Both volumes comprehensively shed light on the social structure, residents' lifestyles, and the significance of space in modern Iksan. As such, they are expected to provide not only academic depth but also an opportunity for citizens to gain a new perspective on their region.

The Iksan Cultural City Support Center has distributed the Iksan Studies Research Series to over 100 libraries nationwide, and the two newly published volumes will also be distributed sequentially to public and small libraries across the country starting this month.

A city official stated, "The Iksan Studies Research Series is not merely an academic publication, but a cultural asset that citizens can read together to understand the roots of Iksan," adding, "We will continue to promote Iksan's unique history and culture through various research and documentation projects."

Meanwhile, the Iksan Cultural City Support Center has been publishing the Iksan Studies Research Series since 2019. Since being designated as a statutory cultural city in 2022, the center has also been working to establish Iksan Studies through citizen participation forums, basic data research, and discovery projects in addition to publishing the research series.