What Makes 'Special Citizens' Special?

The author recounts two instances where deeply valued, seemingly permanent aspects of his rural life were unexpectedly disrupted, prompting reflection on the nature of "specialness" and change. The first involved his rice paddies in Gokseong, South Jeolla Province, which relied on water from the Seomjin River. He had assured visiting friends that water would always be available for irrigation, a routine he had followed for six years.

However, on the day preparations for transplanting rice seedlings were to begin, the paddies were bone dry. The water pump, essential for drawing river water into the irrigation channels, had broken down and remained unrepaired for three days. This failure left the farmers staring at the cracked earth, unable to proceed with their work, illustrating how a single mechanical failure could shatter a long-held certainty.

Similarly, a beloved dirt path leading to Ta Ann Temple, a route unchanged for over 1300 years, was suddenly paved over. The author had planned to share the sensory experience of walking this path with schoolchildren, but found it transformed into a concrete surface. This transformation underscored for him the difficulty of preserving beauty and tradition against the forces of modernization and external decisions.

These personal experiences lead the author to question the designation of "special citizens" in the context of a proposed "great transformation" for the Jeonnam-Gwangju region. He contrasts his deliberate move from the bustling metropolis of Seoul to the rural tranquility of Gokseong with the imposition of a new administrative structure. The author expresses a desire for this transformation to foster a unique regional identity rather than simply mimicking urban models, emphasizing the need to understand what truly makes this region "special."