• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.50 no.2
• /
• pp.64-75
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this study is to illuminate the meaning of the soundscapes of two bells, Daeheung-dong Cathedral and Sungsimdang in Eunghang-dong, which are landmarks and attractions in the historic downtown of Daejeon. The study was conducted through field research and recordings, as well as literature studies of related documents and soundscape theory. Daejeon city was developed along with Daejeon Railway Station during the Japanese colonial period in the early 20th century. As the Chungnam Provincial Office moved to Daejeon, Daeheung-dong and Eunhang-dong in Jung-gu, located near Daejeon Station, developed significantly and formed the city centre. As major administrative agencies moved to Seo-gu in the 1990s, the downtown area of Daejeon was on a path of decline, and the decline accelerated with the development of Sejong city. Meanwhile, Daeheung-dong Cathedral and Sungsimdang, founded by refugees during the Korean War, firmly protected the historic downtown area of Daejeon, where the natives left. Daeheung-dong Cathedral, established during the Japanese colonial period, is a local landmark with a history of 100 years in 2019. Sungsimdang, which was created with the backdrop of the Korean War, is also a historical and cultural asset with a history of 60 years and a local landmark selected as the No. 1 tourist attraction in Daejeon. This research, which started from the sound of the bells of Daeheung-dong Cathedral, heard even in the neighboring residential areas, led to the discovery of the bells of Sungsimdang in Eunhang-dong, located across the street. In this paper, the bells of Daeheung-dong Cathedral and Eunhang-dong Sungsimdang have characteristics of soundmarks according to R. Murray Schafer's soundscape sound category. Furthermore, this paper attempted to analyze the meaning of the two bells according to the relatively recent EU soundscape definition. These two bells are signal sounds at the surface level, but are the sound marks of the historic downtown area of Daejeon at the deep level. Although there are outward differences in size, scale, frequency, and famousness, these two bells share a meaning in terms of locality and good influence with the historicity and spatiality of a special relationship. The implication of this study is that the two places should be preserved as local historical and cultural assets not only as visual landmarks but also as sound marks in the urban regeneration or urban development of Jung-gu, Daejeon.