The Korea Local Administration Review

This study analyzes the paradoxical phenomenon that occurs when a large-scale national project is carried out in a small village. Unlike previous studies, this study does not focus on issues such as population decline when dealing with the problem of local extinction. Instead, the case of the disappearance of the village is analyzed as the concept of placeness. In this study, Daehang Village in Gadeok Island, where the construction of a new airport in the southeastern region is being carried out, is analyzed as a case. Interview and observation methods were applied while conducting field research in the village. According to the analysis, the small villages that were about to disappear due to large-scale national projects were rather paradoxically becoming more prominent. Specifically, four paradoxical phenomena occurred. These include the improvement of the disappearing village’s external presence, the active discovery of place assets in the village, the strengthening of the villagers’ place attachment, and the increase of placelessness.
Two implications can be derived from these results. First, it is necessary to minimize problems caused by the difference in scale between the project and the place where the project is conducted. Second, when the village disappears, paradoxically, the place stands out more, but the place is different from the one that gives birth to the sense of place. This analysis provides useful information when conducting large-scale national projects such as the ongoing southeastern airport project.