South Korea's tidal flats, called getbol, are muddy and grayish coastal wetlands under the tidal influence that constitute the predominant landform of South Korea's west and southwest coasts. Today, getbol is appreciated for its biological and geological diversity, for which it recently earned UNESCO's World Heritage status. Yet, throughout the 20th century, more than 50% of getbol areas were lost due to coastal reclamation, a civil engineering practice of enclosing and filling in getbol. This paper closely examines the history of getbol from the 1900s to the 1980s. While being messy and complex, the history shows a tendency for reclamation to have evolved from small to large in terms of scale and from private-led to state-led initiatives. In popular imaginations, the reclamation of getbol is thought to have been driven top-down by governing authorities, particularly by the “developmental state” that roughly governed from the 1960s through the 1980s. While this explanation aligns with the general trend, this paper highlights that the state did not act solely upon its own will but responded to the desires of those that the state had to satisfy to gain political legitimacy. Ultimately, within the context of South Korea's uneven geography of development, this paper argues that the reclamation of getbol transitioned from a project for the entire nation to a project for the rural populations and the agricultural sector, which lagged behind the country's tantalizing economic growth.

韩国的潮滩，名为getbol，是受潮汐影响的泥泞和灰色的沿海湿地，构成了韩国西部和西南海岸的主要地貌。如今，格特博尔因其生物和地质多样性而受到赞赏，最近还因此获得了联合国教科文组织的世界遗产地位。然而，在整个 20 世纪，超过 50% 的 Getbol 区域因沿海填海工程（一种封闭和填充 Getbol 的土木工程实践）而消失。本文仔细研究了 getbol 从 1900 年代到 1980 年代的历史。填海造地虽然混乱复杂，但历史显示出规模从小到大、从私人主导到国家主导的发展趋势。在大众的想象中，getbol 的回收被认为是由政府当局自上而下推动的，特别是从 20 世纪 60 年代到 80 年代大致由“发展型国家”统治。虽然这种解释符合总体趋势，但本文强调，国家并不是仅仅按照自己的意志行事，而是对国家为获得政治合法性而必须满足的那些人的愿望做出回应。最终，在韩国发展地理不平衡的背景下，本文认为，填海造地工程从面向全国的项目转变为面向农村人口和农业部门的项目，落后于该国诱人的经济增长。本文强调，国家并非仅仅按照自己的意愿行事，而是对国家为获得政治合法性而必须满足的那些人的愿望作出回应。最终，在韩国发展地理不平衡的背景下，本文认为，填海造地工程从面向全国的项目转变为面向农村人口和农业部门的项目，落后于该国诱人的经济增长。本文强调，国家并非仅仅按照自己的意愿行事，而是对国家为获得政治合法性而必须满足的那些人的愿望作出回应。最终，在韩国发展地理不平衡的背景下，本文认为，填海造地工程从面向全国的项目转变为面向农村人口和农业部门的项目，落后于该国诱人的经济增长。