`Haesuyokjang` and `haebyeon`

The Korean word “haesuyokjang (beach for bathing)” came from Japan. Japanese call it “kaizuiyokusho” but use the same Chinese characters (海水浴場) as Koreans do. Chinese call it “haiwichang (海浴場).” Though one character (水) is missing in the Chinese word, the term retains the same meaning: a place for swimming in the sea. The English term “beach,” however, does not connote swimming and is translated into “haebyeon” in Korean. The Japanese uses the same Chinese characters (海邊) for the term but read it “umibe.” So why do Koreans use the term “haesuyokjang?” This is because the term`s meaning includes convalescence or playing, something which haebyeon lacks.

From modern times, people began to recognize the sea as a place for convalescence or playing, not a place for fishermen’s livelihood. They went the beach for rest or fun as the bourgeois began to lead society in the mid-18th century. Scarborough Beach, Europe’s first, opened in Britain in 1740. Four years later, a seawater therapy training center was set up in Brighton near Dover, England, and grew famous. In 19th-century Japan, Kamakura and Enoshima near Yokohama were part of foreigner districts in the Edo era. Foreigners playing in the sea in the two districts caught the eyes of Japanese.

All haesuyokjangs at national parks such as Hallyeohaesang (Hallyeo Sea), Dadohaesang (marine archipelago), Taeanhaean (Taean coast), and Byeonsanbando (Byeonsan Peninsula) will be changed into “haebyeon.” Korea National Park Service said Tuesday, “Beaches at national parks are highly valued as a place for ecotourism but they’ve been recognized as a place for swimming in summer because of their name ‘haesuyokjang.’ To stress that these places are not just for summer but for all seasons, we will change their names to ‘haebyeon’ before July.” For example, Mallipo Haesuyokjang will be changed to Mallipo Haebyeon and Byeonsan Haesuyokjang to Byeonsan Haebyeon.

Many haesuyokjangs at national parks boast beautiful scenery though people cannot swim there. If one considers a haesuyokjang as part of a haebyeon, this could help enrich the meaning of the latter term. If haesuyokjang is replaced with haebyeon, nuances can be lost. The English word “beach” does not refer to the seaside but to one with sand. The fear is that the term “haebyeon” could lose the meaning of sand on a beautiful seashore.

Editorial Writer Song Pyeong-in (pisong@donga.com)