A STUDY ON URBAN CONSTRUCTION PROCESS OF THE FOREIGN SETTLEMENT AT GUNSAN OPENED PORT IN 1899

Abstract

 Gunsan is located in the west coast of South Korea, there had been the Foreign Settlement at Gunsan from 1899 to 1914.

 This study is aimed at clarifying the urban construction process of the Foreign Settlement at Gunsan. And main analysis elements are urban construction policies, a building regulation and construction situation.

 Preceding study focused on Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) and big port cities (Busan and Incheon). However, this study is important to show the process of urban construction from 1899 to 1914, the period during which ‘the Foreign Settlement at Gunsan’ actually existed. Also, this study shows one method of modernization by the actual construction and it can be used as an important component of the Gunsan urban regeneration project. This study concludes followings;

 1) The urban construction policies in the Foreign Settlement at Gunsan were ‘Regulations for the Foreign Settlements at Kunsan, Masanpo and Songchin’ promulgated in 1899 and ‘Building regulation of Gunsan’ promulgated in 1907.

 In ‘Regulations for the Foreign Settlements at Kunsan, Masanpo and Songchin’, the initial settlement lands were classified as A(Village, rice-field, or low-lying lots not requiring further filling in to raise them above high-water mark), B(Hill lots), and C(Foreshore lots requiring further filling in). In addition, it sought rapid construct urban district (urbanization), and stipulates the urban beauty, urban sanitation and noncombustiblization of the building roof. And, ‘Building regulation of Gunsan’ is a more detailed regulation than ‘Regulations for the Foreign Settlements at Kunsan, Masanpo and Songchin’. This regulation specifies high control, secure of road width and rules for toilets and building ventilation for urban sanitation.

 2) From 1899 to 1914, when the Foreign Settlement at Gunsan existed, urban construction and urban infrastructure facilities except harbor facilities were mainly carried out by the ‘The Municipal Council in the Foreign Settlement at Gunsan’. And then, from 1907, ‘The Japanese Residents Association in Gunsan’ took charge of some of the consignment projects.

 In other words, from 1899 to 1914, including after the Korea-Japan annexation in 1910, the urban construction centered on the ‘The Municipal Council in the Foreign Settlement at Gunsan’.

 3) The construction sequence of the Foreign Settlement at Gunsan was executed gradually, from the flat land near the coast to the inland. Using the topography of Gunsan, the western hill’s district was wider than other areas, and custom office, major administrative agency building, post office and police station were located.

 And, on the eastern hill, a road constructed that connecting the existing Korean village and the Foreign Settlement. This was not in the initial plan and strictly controlled the approach of Koreans in ‘Regulations for the Foreign Settlements at Kunsan, Masanpo and Songchin’. This means Korean village has influence on the foreign residents’s life in the settlement. Also, the construction of the harbor facilities of Gunsan started six years after sign a ‘Regulations for the Foreign Settlements at Kunsan, Masanpo and Songchin’. In other words, the construction of the urban area preceded the construction of the port.