• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.110-122
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• 2010

This article is to study the characteristics of Chungju geographical names using the concepts which are the place identity, the politics of scale, and the competition of place names' territory for the diverse study methods of geographical names. According to this results, the new name of 'Suanbo-Myun' revealed the place identity, because it has not only the property of 'Suanbo hot spring' but also the three conditions called 'the numerical solitary', 'the qualitative identity', and 'the self-identity' which are the conditions for the place identity. In relation to the politics of scale through place names, the example of scaling up is 'Yian-Myun' which is former name of 'Chungju city Yiru-Myun', and the cases of scaling down are 'the up and down of Chungju Up Ho', the reductional change from 'Chungju-Gun' to 'Chungju-Myun' and the change of Chinese name of the 'Wolak Mountain'. Lastly, the examples of place names' territory change are two types. One is 'Chungju Yongdu-Dong' and 'Yiru-Myune Geumgok-Ri' for the cases that the place name and its territory were changed. The other is 'Dalchon river' that the place name's territory was only changed. In conclusion, this study suggested that place names are useful in order to represent and construct the place identity.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.599-619
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• 2008

Korean peninsula has a long history and a geopolitical location as a buffer tone, which has provided the conditions for cultural dynamism and diversity across space and time. The changing processes of place names in Korea is considered to be better suited to the study on cultural politics that is interested in the culture wars over the meaning of culture among different social subjects. In order to ensure the legitimacy of cultural politics for the study of place names in Korea, this study attempts to make a theoretical construction based on the concepts of place identity, territorial contestation, and the politics of scale. Cultural and linguistic theories to be best applied to the study of place names in Korea are the theories on Angehm's and Castells' identity, $P{\hat{e}}cheux's$ identification, Hall's decoding, and Voloshinov's ideological sign. Power relations involved in the inclusion and exclusion are necessarily concerned with the process of constructing a place identity or territorial identity by means of a place name, which represents identity and ideology of a social subject. In the examination of this process, it is necessary to take the elements of identity, ideology and power relations into consideration. In this study, therefore, the politics of scale is experimented for its applicability in the study of place name in Korea, which is expected to accommodate concepts of boundary, territory, territoriality and territorialization. In the end, it is suggested in this study that a series of basic and interdisciplinary studies on the cultural politics of place names in a range of area should be undertaken along with the enough theoretical knowledge of cultural politics.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.56-77
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• 2021

Toponyms are located not only in the site between human cognition and the physical environment but also in the name of cultural heritage. Accordingly, certain identities and ideologies for which human groups and community have sought, their holistic way of life, and all cultural symbols and cosmos, such as sense of place and genius loci, are included in their toponymic heritage. Denoting, symbolizing, integrating and representing the culture and nature belong to the human community. Based on these perceptions of the toponymic heritage, the aims of this article are to examine the values of a toponym as an Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) and to suggest the application methods using the toponymic functions for governing of tangible cultural heritage. This article discusses the multivocality, diversity, and non-representational theory of landscape phenomenology intrinsic to the terms of culture and cultural landscape and then the domestic and international issues on the toponymic heritage in the first chapter on the values of toponym as a part of the ICH. In particular, it analyzes the preceding research in the field of toponymy, as well as the Resolutions of UNCSGN and UNGEGN on "Geographical names as culture, heritage and identity" including indigenous, minority and regional language names since 1992, which is related to the UNESCO's Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003. Based on this, I suggest that the traits of toponymic cultural heritage and its five standards of selection, i.e., cultural traits of toponyms, historical traits, spatial traits, socio-economic traits and linguistic traits with some examples. In the second chapter discussing on the methods using the toponymic denoting functions for creating and governing of the tangible cultural heritage, it is underlined to maintain the systematic and unified principle regarding the ways of naming in the official cultural heritage and its governing. Lastly, I introduce the possible ways of establishing a conservative area of the historical and cultural environment while using the toponymic scale and multi-toponymic territory. Considering both the spatial and participatory turns in the field of heritage studies in addition to the multiple viewpoints and sense of cultural heritage, I suggest that the conservative area for the cultural heritage and the historical and cultural environment should be set up through choosing the certain toponymic scale and multi-toponymic territory.