| Saemangeum | |
| Hangul | 새만금 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 새萬金 |
| Revised Romanization | Saemangeum |
| McCune–Reischauer | Saeman'gŭm |
Saemangeum (Korean pronunciation:[sɛmanɡɯm]) is anestuarine tidal flat on the coast of theYellow Sea inSouth Korea. It was dammed by thegovernment of South Korea'sSaemangeum Seawall Project, completed in 2006, after a long fight between the government and environmental activists, and is scheduled to be converted into either agricultural or industrial land. Prior to 2010, it had played an important role as a habitat formigratory birds.
The completion of this seawall is likely to be a major contributor to the decline of many species. Around 400,000 shorebirds depended on the Saemangeum estuary mudflats as an important feeding ground on the 24,000 km migration between Asia and Alaska and Russia,[2] including the two endangered wadersNordmann's greenshank andspoon-billed sandpiper (each species with fewer than a thousand surviving birds).[3] A conservation organisation has accused authorities of having failed to monitor the project's impact on local wildlife in a transparent way, and carried out an independent monitoring program in 2006.[citation needed]
The Saemangeum lies at the mouths of theDongjin andMangyeong Rivers, on the coast ofJeollabuk-do. It is just south of the estuary of theGeum River. Neighboring districts includeGunsan City,Buan County, andGimje City.
The project of filling in the estuary began in 1991, but was slowed by a series of court actions by environmentalists. The completedseawall is some 33 kilometers long, and replaces a coastline that was once more than 100 kilometers long. After the estuary has been completely filled, an area of about 400 km2 (roughly two-thirds the size ofSeoul) will have been added to theKorean peninsula, making it one of the biggestland reclamation projects in history.[4]
The estuary was originally called "Mangeum" (萬金). This name was probably formed from combining the firstcharacter of "Mangyeong" and that of "Gimje."[5]
Saemangeum was completed on April 27, 2010, officially becoming the longestseawall ever built with the length of 33.9 km, breaking the record ofZuiderzee Works from 1932.[6]
On August 2, 2010, Saemangeum was certified byGuinness World Records as the longest man-made sea barrier in the world.[7]
Saemangeum was the venue of the25thWorld Scout Jamboree, hosted by theKorea Scout Association.[8]
Moores, N.; Battley, P.; Rogers, D.; Park M-N; Sung H-C; Van de Kam, J.; & Gosbell, K. (2006).Birds Korea – AWSG Saemangeum Shorebird Monitoring Program Report, 2006. Birds Korea publication: Busan.
35°49′00″N126°37′20″E / 35.81667°N 126.62222°E /35.81667; 126.62222