A Phased Landscape Conservation Planning Framework for the Coexistence of Memory and Ecology: The Case of Sorokdo and the Demographic Transition of Its Resident Community

Background and objective: Sorokdo has functioned for almost a century as a forced isolation site for individuals affected by Hansen's disease, thereby embodying a history of human rights violations as a "negative heritage." Paradoxically, the long-term restriction of external access has helped preserve an outstanding island ecosystem. As the resident community approaches its natural demographic decline, planning the transition from a "place of residence" to a "place of memory and ecology" has become an urgent task. This study proposes a phased landscape conservation planning framework that treats this demographic transition as the temporal axis and minimizes conflict between the memorial and ecological values.Methods: A literature review, three rounds of field surveys, consultations with relevant stakeholders and residents, and Geographic Information System (GIS)-based spatial analysis were combined. Through these methods, humanistic-social, historical-cultural, and natural-environmental values were identified, and the zones in which the three values mutually reinforce, conflict with, or are reintegrated through restoration were analyzed. The analysis was then coupled with the demographic transition of the resident community.Results: A three-phase plan grounded in a "Restore and Remember" approach was derived. Phase 1 (within 15 years) focuses on enhancing residents' living conditions and restoring Mallyeongdang Memorial Park and fallow-paddy wetlands. Phase 2 (15–30 years) pursues a staged opening through special-interest tourism and closed-village restoration. Phase 3 (after 30 years) aims for a prudent island-wide opening and inscription of the island on the UNESCO World Heritage List.Conclusion: The anchoring of planning to demographic transition offers a means to reconcile negative heritage and unintentional ecological conservation. The study emphasizes cross-ministerial governance grounded in "coexistence without discrimination" and offers transferable principles for conservation spaces originating from forced isolation facilities.