• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.57-75
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• 2019

Soundscapes have the potential to help people experience the historical background and cultural traditions by the scenery of a local area and to be used as a cultural and tourism resource. This concept was first explained in detail by M. Schafer and has been developed as a new way of experiencing landscapes using various senses. This research studied the soundscape of Kyodong Island, the so-called "Island of Peace" and designed new cultural acoustic content for education and tourism. Kyodong Island is located right below the Northern Limit Line and the whole island is in the Civilian Controlled Area. The political and economic status of the island has been changed dynamically by the Korean War and the division of the country. These days, the island needs to realize the vision of the "Island of Peace" in a more creative way using local resources, including its "cold war landscape" and the natural scenery of the region. This research applied the concept of a soundscape to document the island, and to reproduce it in an artistic way. A workshop was conducted to learn concepts and techniques of soundscapes with a sound artist. Listening, recording, conducting interviews, and literature research was used to study the soundscape of the island. After that, this research reconstructed the soundscape of the island through a soundscape composition. The main theme of the composition story was the "Hope and Wish for the Harmony and Peace" to show the vision of the "Island of Peace". The initial sub-theme for the introduction part was "First Encounter with Kyodong Island" arranging the representative soundscape, which could be the first impression of the region. The second sub-theme was "War and Tension" using several soundscapes as a metaphor for the tragedy of the Korean War. The third sub-theme was "Everyday Life of Kyodong Island" which described the energy of the present day, after the wounds of the war have healed. The final sub-theme was "Harmony and Peace" using traditional music and keynote sounds of the region as a reminder of the peaceful past, before the war. The recording files were documented as two types of sound maps. One was a two-dimensional map to show the soundscapes from one point of view, and the other used the online application called "Sound Around You". The final artwork was displayed at an exhibition and uploaded on YouTube to be shared publicly. Through this project, we discovered the potential of soundscapes as a medium to preserve the history and local identity, as well as presenting a new vision. The artwork will be exhibited at historically and culturally meaningful places on the Island to utilize the underused places as local tourist attractions and educational resources.