Fukushima residents exploring move to North Jeolla Province

A man washes a door in a bathtub, in an attempt to remove radioactive contamination, at a private house in Hirono, outside nuclear exclusion zone around the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, in northeastern Japan Feb. 20. Dozens of Japanese residents are seeking immigration to South Korea after their region was devastated by a nuclear disaster last year. / AP-Yonhap

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By Lee Hyo-sik

A group of Japanese residents in Fukushima Prefecture where a nuclear power plant exploded a year ago had explored the possibility of moving to a rural county in North Jeolla Province.

A representative of Jangsu County, located in the eastern part of the province, said Tuesday that a pastor running a church in a small farming village within the radiation-contaminated prefecture visited on Feb. 16.

The Japanese man was searching for a new home for his villagers who want to leave their homeland following the series of explosions at a nearby nuclear plant in March 2011. The pastor expressed the intent to have the villagers move to and settle down in the county famous for apples and Korea's homegrown beef "hanwoo".

"A 70-year-old Japanese man who identified himself as a pastor from Fukushima Prefecture visited the county office last month. He told us that he and other adults want children in his village to grow up in a safe place without a nuclear power plant", said Ryu Ji-bong, manager of the county's policy planning division. "The pastor said he would discuss the matter with fellow residents and inform us of whether they want to come here or not. But we have not heard from him since".

The pastor said his Japanese hometown and Jangsu County have a lot in common.

"After touring the region, he said the natural environment is very similar to his rural town. He also said both areas produce similar types of agricultural goods, including apples, and raise horses, dairy cattle and other livestock", Ryu said.

But the manager said the county office has been pressured by some residents not to accept the Japanese people from the radiation-tainted area.

"Nothing has been decided yet", Ryu said. "But some of our residents disapprove of the mass emigration of Japanese from the Fukushima Prefecture. Also, our website has been loaded with messages containing anti-Japanese rhetoric".

Jangsu was designated as a leisure area for horse-related activities last year. It plans to invest 100 billion won to build facilities, including a horserace track on 710,000 square-meters of land by 2024.

충격받은 일본인들 "한국서 살겠다"

" 우리 아이들은 원전 사고에 대한 불안감 없이 안전한 곳에서 자랐으면 좋겠습니다" 지난해 3월 원전사고가 발생한 일본 후쿠시마(福島)지역의 주민이 전북 장수를 방문, 집단 이주 가능성을 타진한 것으로 알려져 성사 여부에 관심이 쏠리고 있다.

장수군은 5일 후쿠시마현 고리야마(郡山)시 '예수사랑 복음교회(Christ Loving Gospel Church)'츠보이 에이히토(70ㆍ坪井 永人) 목사가 서울의 개발회사 관계자와 함께 지난달 중순 장수군청을 방문, 집단 이주 가능성에 대해 진지하게 문의했다고 밝혔다.

츠보이 목사는 장수를 방문한 뒤 곧바로 귀국, 지역 주민 40여명과 이주 문제를 협의한 뒤 장수군에 이주 여부를 전달할 계획이다. 츠보이 목사는 장수군 관계자에게"어린이들이 원전사고로 고통 받지 않았으면 좋겠고 부모들은 안전한 지대에서 아이들이 자라기를 희망하고 있다"고 강조했다.

목사 일행은 장수 나들목과 가까운 계남면과 천천면 일대를 둘러보았으며 이 지역 중 한 곳을 골라 90만㎡를 사들여 벼농사나 말 사육 등을 희망하고 있는 것으로 알려졌다.

장수군은 승마장과 한국마사회 장수목장, 한국 마사고교, 승마체험장 등 말 관련 인프라를 갖춰 지난해 '말 레저문화 특구'로 지정됐다. 따라서 이들이 이주해 이곳에서 말을 키울 경우 자연스럽게 생계문제도 해결될 것으로 장수군은 관측하고 있다.

장수군 관계자는 "일본인들은 후쿠시마와 장수군이 산업이나 생활 유형이 유사한 것으로 생각하는 것 같다"며"그러나 이들의 집단이주는 아직 구체적으로 결정 것이 없어 더 상황을 지켜봐야 할 것"이라고 말했다.