Introduction
With 1 underground and 3 above-ground floors, Saemangeum Project Office details the history of the coastal levee technology and the Saemangeum Embankment project.
Can humans triumph against the force of nature? At the time of the project, Saemangeum Embankment was thought to be an exercise in the hubris of the humankind, with its goal of turning an area of nearly 400 km2 into land. It took preparations from the 1970s and a 19-year-long construction period from 1991 until its opening in 2010. Today's Saemangeum Embankment has scarcely any evidence to its past as a sea. Plants have started to grow in the wide plains of Saemangeum, supplied by roads and buildings opening to the public: it is truly an amazing sight to what humans can achieve with their two hands.
Saemangeum Embankment is the world's longest manmade embankment, stretching over 33.9 km from Daehang-ri, Byeonsan-myeon in Buan to Seonyudo Island and eventually to Bieunghang Port of Gunsan. A drive along the embankment brings one to the beautiful sunset of the West Sea.
Saemangeum Project Office is located at the starting point of the embankment, in Buan. Visitors arriving from Buan can stop by the Project Office before resuming their drive toward Gunsan, while visitors from Gunsan can choose to enjoy the drive first before making their way to the office.
Saemangeum Project Office has a large parking lot, which along with the entrance to the exhibition is offered free of charge. The office offers an overview of Saemangeum's past and present. With 1 underground and 3 above-ground floors, the exhibition within the Project Office covers a wide range of topic from the technological development of embankments in Korea, problems that led to the Saemangeum Embankment Project, water quality problems and solutions, problems caused by the embankment on coastal water quality, environmentally friendly development technologies, migratory birds and their sanctuaries nearby, the model and satellite photographs of Saemangeum Embankment, the tidal flats formed after the project, period-specific photographs and models of Saemangeum Complex and the embankment, and the effects and the future of the project.
The exhibition starts at the 3rd floor of the building. The observation deck offers a great view of the Saemangeum Embankment, sometimes with the view of paragliders crusing in the air. The exhibition space, which starts from the 3rd floor of the building, details the history and the ongoing story of Saemangeum.
The Saemangeum Project began in 1971. After nearly 50 years, today's Saemangeum is an arable and livable land that can host a Jamboree. This would not have been possible without corresponding developments in Korean embankment technology. During the 19-year construction period, the engineers had to face many problems given by the western coast of Korea, which has one of the largest tidal ranges in the world. But world-class technology and an unbending spirit helped to realize the Saemangeum Project into reality.
In 2016, he shot BTS 'SAVE ME' music video with Saemangeum as the background, and in 2019 he also took a photo of 'Love yourself 轉 Tear' album jacket.
