Fifteen years after Masan, Jinhae and Changwon were merged into a single “megacity”, residents still grapple with the loss of their local identities and autonomy
“Everything was taken away, even my name.” These are the words of Heo Jeong-do, an architect and longtime resident of Masan, one of the cities alongside Jinhae and Changwon that were merged to form Changwon Special City 15 years ago. He’s one of many interviewed in this recent investigative report by Korean media outlet Hankyoreh 21, showing how a top-down decision that promised unity and modernisation has left lasting wounds.
Heo Jeong-do’s words reflect a sentiment shared widely among residents of the former cities. “It felt like Changwon had simply swallowed up Masan, like a successful company had merged with another,” he tells Hankyoreh 21. The merger erased not only administrative boundaries but also the identities and voices of local residents. Masan and Jinhae lost their names, their governments and their ability to shape their own futures, while Changwon, designated the central hub, benefited from consolidation. Fifteen years on, the region’s chronic decline exposes the human costs of centralised planning and the fragility of local identity.
The first casualties were symbolic yet profound. As the names Masan and Jinhae disappeared from official usage, civic organisations like the Masan YMCA became amongst the few reminders of the city. Promises that city hall would now be located in once-Masan and a unifying symbol built in Jinhae fell flat; both went to old Changwon, leaving residents elsewhere feeling betrayed. Local governance structures were dismantled: Masan and Jinhae became administrative districts without elected mayors or budgets, staffed only by appointees from Changwon. The disappearance of infrastructure – from banks and courts to cultural spaces – followed naturally, hollowing out the downtowns and leaving few reasons for residents or visitors to engage with these areas.
Shin Da-eun and Kim Yang-jin’s reporting for Hankyoreh 21 shows how the merger’s political origins reveal the fragility of democracy in top-down urban planning. The decision was made by politicians, including then-President Lee Myung-bak and local mayors, without a referendum. Leaflets circulated proclaiming that merging was the only path to survival, and the Masan City Council voted in favour despite widespread popular unhappiness. As local political leader Lee Yoon-ki notes, the absence of public participation in such a consequential decision has left residents feeling powerless in its wake. Yet this hasn’t stopped similar proposals in other cities in Korea – Jeonju-Wanju and Daejeon-South Chungcheong – from advancing despite opposition, showing that the voices of ordinary citizens are often secondary in regional planning.
The urban planning rationale behind the mergers was to create metropolitan hubs to prevent young people from leaving – but it isn’t working. Masan’s population is aging; and 20,000 young people moved to Seoul from Gyeongnam Province in 2023 alone. Centralised approaches assume that consolidating resources will mimic Seoul’s “top-tier ecosystem”, but Seoul’s success depends on unique infrastructure, innovation and history that cannot be replicated by mere aggregation. Professor Hwang Jong-gyu of Dongyang University emphasises that local solutions must leverage the unique strengths of each city rather than copying centralist models. For Masan, that could mean developing senior-friendly infrastructure, revitalising local industries and creating spaces that encourage residents to return or stay, a far cry from the current youth-centric, Seoul-focused planning.
In the meantime, Masan’s once-thriving downtown has become a shadow of its former self, with abandoned land, declining commercial spaces and minimal public amenities. Residents such as Park Seung-gyu, CEO of the clothing brand Masanai, cling to symbols of their lost identity, using fashion to preserve and celebrate the city’s legacy. Masan is “rife with resident’s dissatisfaction”, Hankyoreh 21 reports. Local leaders and former city council members call the promises made during the merger to be properly fulfilled; or for re-separation be considered as a means to restore local pride.
The Masan-Changwon-Jinhae case offers a lens into universal questions about governance, identity and urban planning. Cities worldwide face pressures to consolidate for economic efficiency, but at what cost to democracy and social cohesion? The story highlights the tension between centralisation and local autonomy, illustrating how political expediency can erode community trust and long-term sustainability. It challenges assumptions that bigger is always better and shows the human consequences of policies conceived far from the people they affect. “What is the purpose of integration?” the article asks.
The cautionary tale suggests the need for urban transformation to be co-created rather than imposed. Infrastructure is not only about buildings or roads, it is deeply tied to culture, memory and civic pride. Masan’s struggle illustrates that without attention to these elements, even well-intentioned megacity projects can fail, producing economic and social stagnation alongside demographic decline
Jessie Lau on the selection:
As a journalist focused on covering identity and the forces that shape our sense of it, it was fascinating to learn the history of South Korea’s Changwon Special City, a “megacity” created 15 years ago through the merging of three cities: Masan, Jinhae and Changwon. It’s a case study depicting how top-down decision-making that prioritises so-called “modernisation” over local autonomy can lead to the loss of intangible cultural heritage; in this case, a sense of identity and belonging of residents of formerly independent Masan. In addition to bringing us powerful voices from the residents reflecting on this sense of cultural erasure, the piece also tracks the tangible deterioration of local infrastructure and civic organisations, and its impact on community life. It made me reflect on the changes happening in my home city, Hong Kong, and how changes in administration and governance can have lasting consequences on social engagement and local identities.
Original article (“다 빼앗기고 이름까지 먹혔다”…통합 15년, 골병 든 마창진”) by Shin Da-eun and Kim Yang-jin was published in Korean on 11 August 2025.
It is available here.
Hankyoreh 21 is a Korean weekly news magazine that is part of the Hankyoreh Media Group. Known for its high-quality, in-depth and investigative journalism, it covers a wide range of topics with a focus on the economy, politics and social issues in Korea and globally.
Summary by TMH.
