• The Korean Journal of Archival Studies
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• no.35
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• pp.161-206
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• 2013

'Maeul' is a concept connoting a community. As a place where ordinary people's lives are planned and realized, Maeul is the foundation of their daily lives as well as a place where they work, rest and enjoy pastime activities. In Korea, however, most Maeul communities are dismantled while going though the modern period representing colonization and developmental dictatorship. Growth-oriented industrialization and urbanization turned into such adverse effects as individualization, a sense of loss and a sense of alienation. Recently, through innovations from below, Maeuls are restored, and through Maeul communities restored this way, every Maeul and many researchers carry out activities to build a healthy civil society. This study was conducted on such a background. For a healthy restoration of Maeul communities and a sustainable operation of those communities, it is necessary to establish archives where record the trace of Maeul members' daily lives and relations between those members. The archive of Maeul communities is a place that contains each Maeul's local characteristics as well as human relations as well. It is because this place can be space where Maeul members can record their history, communicate with each other and make a better future. The archive of Maeul communities can be made into various different models, which can be operated by reflecting the identity of a community such as main agents and characteristics, objectives and orientation of objects recorded. Rather than when Maeul communities exist as individuals, they can display more important functions and better effect when they form a network. Therefore, it is needed to provide various and creative methodologies different from the existing government-led record management. Not only on the form of archives, but also all over their functions, such as collection, arrangement, classification, evaluation, management and utilization, Maeul and Maeul residents' norms, orientation and realistic conditions should be thoroughly reflected. Starting from a chance to look back at individuals' lives, the archive of Maeul communities will be a new chapter to restore and build a healthy community in our society and overcome social contradictions from below. Moreover, the archive of Maeul communities has a great significance that it will broaden its prospect creatively with a new paradigm, not only mechanically turning the existing public sector-centered record management into a non-governmental sector.

• The Korean Journal of Archival Studies
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• no.45
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• pp.51-82
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• 2015

Maeul-making, which is to restore inherent characteristics of maeul as a living community has been proceeded by local communities themselves since the 1990s when political democracy and local government in Korean society has been progressed in full-scale. Although New Maeul Movement has been done in the 1970s before and after, it is different from maeul-making because it was focused mainly on improving physical environments of rural communities and initiated by government. The development of maeul community archives in Korea has been related closely to such a maeul-making since the 1990s. Maeul-based community archives, maeul community archives had been begun to build as part of maeul-making and grass-root movement by the 2000s. Initiated by self-motivated communities, maeul community archives were carried out through cooperations between civic activists and residents in maeul communities and voluntary professional archivists from outside. Although records about the maeul community has been collected by mainstream cultural institutions such as public archives, museum, local historical association, and local cultural center, it was at this time to collect records of the maeul community by self-motivated local residents. This tendency of 'independent' maeul community archives, however, is currently entering upon a new phase with the city of Seoul's project (2012) to support making a maeul community, that is, the governance phase based on private-government partnership. At this point of time, it is important for maeul community archives to be built on privately-led governance model that guarantees their autonomy and at the same time bring government's knowhow and supports into them, as opposed to the way captured or driven unilaterally by government. This article explores the growth of maeul community archives and collections in Korean society through a range of self-motivated bodies; the interaction with government; and as a result of those interactions, the creation of maeul community archives based on governance. To introduce and explicate the motivations behind maeul archiving endeavors, this article will first sketch something of the historical, social, and political context in which 'maeul' communities have arisen, collapsed, and restored. It will then examine in more detail some specific examples of maeul community archives as grass-root movement of maeul community. The third section will attempt to identify the governance model of maeul community archives under the auspices of the city of Seoul and its limitations. Finally through these activities, it will suggest the ways in which maeul community archives commit themselves to their duty of grass-root movement of community and at the same time, secure sustainability, that is, concrete ways of privately initiated governance model.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.237-249
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• 2011

Land-use changes due to the socio-economic environment influence landscape patterns and processes, which affect habitats and biodiversity. This study considers the effects of such land-use changes, particularly on the traditional rural "Maeul" forested landscape, by analyzing landscape structure and vegetation changes. Three study areas were examined that have seen their populations decrease and age over the last few decades. Five types of plant life-forms (Raunkier life-forms) were distinguished to investigate ecosystem function. Principle component analysis was used to understand vegetation dynamics and community characteristics based on a vegetation similarity index. Ordination analysis transformed species-coverage data was introduced to clarify vegetation dynamics. Landscape indices, such as area metrics, edge metrics, and shape metrics, showed that spatial heterogeneity has increased over time in all areas. Pinus densiflora was the main land-use plant type in all study areas but decreased over time, whereas Quercus spp. increased. Over a decade, P. densiflora communities shifted to deciduous oak and plantation. These findings indicate that the impact of human activities on the Maeul landscape is twofold. While forestry activities caused heavy disturbances, the abandonment of traditional human activities has led to natural succession. Furthermore, it can be concluded that the type and intensity of these human impacts on landscape heterogeneity relate differently to vegetation succession. This reflects the cause and consequence of patch dynamics. We discuss an approach for sustainable landscape planning and management of the Maeul landscape based on traditional management.

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.10 no.1 s.25
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• pp.61-74
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• 2001

This paper intends to explore some aspects of space as metaphor for the being of a subject and a subjected state of being. This paper deals with 3 Korean communities. Examples include (1) Yeog-maeul in Honam province (2) Samni village in Youngnam province (3) Bem Island in Seoul. Yeog-maeul is the village of Sannmin's (commoners), which is socially isolated from it's surrounding Yangban's villages. The social life in Yeog-maeul is generally divided two areas : that of men and women. The former is expressed as a life Dorang-Pak(outside of the stream) and the latter as Dorang-Ahn(inside of the stream). The former is a life of formality, sacredness. The latter is a life of informality, profaneness. Samni is a typical Yangban's village. With the support of literature such as Kohyun-Hyang-Yak(古縣鄕約). Yangban has exercised the social control which is widely practiced in various fields ranging from the fetal movement to the location of tombs. Bam Island is located Han river. It's resident had lived on the Island for over 700 Years, until they were forced to move collectively out of the Island, and settle in Chang-chun dong of Seoul. Yet, these people have kept holding Bugundang Kut, ritual for the entire village. The former Bam Islanders whose traditional culture is suppressed by the surrounding postmodern culture, have tried to fill the gap between their ideal and actual lives by symbolically realizing the former in the community ritual. In ritual life, the former Bam Islanders are deemed to sacred, while the rest of citizens of Seoul profane. The residents of Yeog-maeul and Samni village which live a life an their traditional space, has been subjects. But, the former Bam Islanders which moved collectively out of traditional space and settle in the postmodern space experience the subjected state of being.

• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.27-52
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• 2008

This paper tries to interpret the processes of small libraries changing sociological role and its direction of movement in Masan City. The roles of small libraries are changing according to the aspects of the communities. Thus the roles of the small libraries in Masan have also changed with the various changes in Korean society. The periods are divided into three : 1980's : the appearances of civil libraries, 1990's : maeul libraries that the citizens have established and participated, 2000's : small libraries that have established from cooperation of government and private. By the three periods this paper interprets the processes of small libraries changing sociological role and its direction of movement in Masan City.

• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.255-294
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• 1999

This paper tries to interpret the processes of establishing the public libraries in Changwon City and its changing sociological roles. The roles of the public libraries are changing according to the aspects of the communities. Thus roles of the libraries in Changwon have also changed with the various changes in Korean society. The periods are divided into three: before the declaration June 29(1980-1987); the appearances of civil libraries and local community libraries(1988-1998); the maeul (which means small community) libraries that the citizens have established and participated. By the three periods this paper interprets the processes of establishing the libraries and their changing in Changwon City.