Gwangju Place Naming Committee 'Ineffective'... No Meetings Held in 4 Years

Only Flashing Interest When Issues Arise? About 1,000 Place Names Subject to Reorganization

Autonomous Districts Explain "Will Actively Operate in Line with 'Second Instance System' Implementation in June Next Year"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The late poet Kim Chun-soo sang, "When I called his name, he came to me and became a flower."

This is interpreted to mean that having a name gives meaning to the subject and allows for complete understanding.

Although the symbolism and importance of names are significant, there are still many mountains, passes, rivers, tunnels, and bridges in the Gwangju area without even the most common names.

This is not unrelated to the criticism that the 'Local Place Name Committee,' which performs the function of establishing or changing place names, is being operated ineffectively.

While it is not necessary to assign names to every unfamiliar or small place, related investigations and data collection activities to make such judgments remain stagnant due to local governments' indifference.

According to Gwangju Metropolitan City and its five autonomous districts on the 1st, 'place names' are finalized through a process where the autonomous district place name committee reviews and resolves the matter, reports it to the city place name committee, and after related procedures, the final decision is made by the National Place Name Committee of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The local place name committee is chaired by the mayor or district head and consists of 7 to 10 members.

Although the place name committees have been formed this way, in reality, they have been revealed to be 'paper committees' existing only on documents.

Gwangju Metropolitan City's Dong-gu last convened a meeting for place name affairs in 2018, while Nam-gu and Buk-gu did so in 2019.

Seo-gu and Gwangsan-gu held meetings most recently between 2020 and 2021.

In cases where two administrative districts overlap, the city place name committee reviews first instead of the district committee, and only one meeting was held this year.

In summary, they have mostly been inactive for several years.

As a result, the number of place names in the Gwangju area requiring reorganization (such as unregistered names or suspected Japanese-style notations) reaches nearly 1,000 cases.

Place names are important information that reflects not only the unique characteristics of the area but also encompasses geographical, historical, and social features, yet they are being managed carelessly.

For example, 'Hwabangsan' located in Songam-dong, Nam-gu, is a Japanese colonial legacy place name that has been incorrectly used since 1961. It was first recognized in 2018, and only recently has the responsible district office begun to address it.

Hwabangsan (花房山) was named by Japanese botanist Nakai Takenoshin in honor of Hanabusa Yoshimoto (花房義質), the first commissioner of the Joseon Governor-General's Office, taking his name.

Looking closely, the Chinese characters are the same as '花房' (Hwabang). Therefore, the process to change Hwabangsan from 房 (bang, meaning room) to 芳 (bang, meaning fragrant or flower-like) is underway.

The 'Yongsan Tunnel,' which has been conventionally called since 2004, has caused confusion due to the lack of an official place name.

With the construction of a 'new tunnel' connecting Bongseon-dong and the Yongsan district nearby, which links the Second Ring Road, the distinction between the existing 'Yongsan Tunnel' and the new one is unclear.

Residents reportedly experience communication difficulties over whether to call it Yongsan Tunnel or Bongseon Tunnel.

Dr. Oh Chang-seok, a geographer, analyzed, "With the rapid increase in the use of spatial information through information devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs, the mayor or district heads, who chair the place name committees, show little interest, so activities at the committee level are inevitably low."

He added, "The place name committee only shows special attention and handles tasks when there is an issue or disputes among local residents."

In response, a local district official explained, "From June next year, the procedure will change to a two-step process where related agendas are reviewed and resolved at the local place name committee level without needing to go to the national place name committee, so we plan to operate more actively."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.