• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.329-352
• /
• 2017

Since the late 2000s Korean foreign direct investors in North Korea and China border regions have gone through the closure of outward processing trade(OPT) networks and changes in their location due to UN security council resolution and Korean independent sanctions against North Korea's nuclear and missile tests. However, the introduction of new Chinese OPT policy has led to the invigoration of domestic market-based OPT networks towards North Korea. The main aim of this paper is to identify the exceptional characteristics of Dandong in Liaoning province, a North Korea and China border region by analyzing OPT networks towards North Korea. Fundamentally the establishment of OPT networks towards North Korea is likely to be based on the utilization of a plenty of low wages in North Korea. The main reasons for this are fallen into two perspectives: geo-economics and geo-politics. The first perspective is geo-economics centering on the consolidation of economic exchange between North Korea and China, and North Korean economic development. For example, the introduction of Chinese OPT in border region has enabled Chinese local firms based on domestic market to access a plenty of low wage in North Korea in formal and institutional contexts. The second is geo-politics for the stability of North Korean regime based on the means of geo-economics. As the invigoration of domestic market-based OPT networks might make North Korea possible promoting foreign money earning, it enable North Korea to be sustainable as a buffering region between capitalist and socialist regime for China. It shows Chinese geo-strategic attempts to deal with the economic and regime stability of North Korean as a buffering state. In other words, OPT networks in North Korea should be concerned with the discourse practice of geo-economics and geo-politics which might lead to various and contingent spatial economies in border region. As a consequence, North Korea and China border regions could defined as a space in which is applicable to exceptional institutions and policies, and an exploitative space in which create surplus and rents by utilizing a plenty of low wages in North Korea through OPT networks.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.287-306
• /
• 2017

Since the 1990s, political geographers have focused on the study of the process of border construction. They have shifted from the old morphological and functional approaches to boundary that have focused on the types and functions of boundaries. Recent scholarship on border studies understand boundaries and the border regions as entities with overlapping and competing relationships not as manifestation of territoriality. There has been the emphasis on the multidimensional actors and the historical and cultural legacies inherent in the border region as well. Based on these recent discussions, this study examines how the border region has been constructed by various actors and strategies in Dandong China, the border city between North Korea and China. Several sanctions including UN Security Council have been resolved and implemented in accordance with North Korea's nuclear and missile development, which is a relevant example to examine the "border as relationships" in which strategies of various actors are competing. In addition, this paper has a significance as a case study on the construction process of border and the characteristics of its materiality, which is a way to overcome the limitation of discourse-oriented critical geopolitical research.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.438-457
• /
• 2019

The main purpose of this paper is to identify the entry types and locational determinants of North Korean workers in cross-border regions between North Korea and China. More specifically, the paper has attempted to divide the entry type of them in the regions into two; 1) entry via transactions between Chinese traders with North Korea and North Korea trade companies, and 2) entry via transactions between Korean-Chinese middlemen and North Korean trade companies. Also, it has analyzed main factors of their locational determinants in the spatial contexts of the regions. There have been changes in two perspectives in terms of the entry paths and types of them in accordance with the transformation of characteristics of United Nations sanction against North Korea from 'call-upon' to 'decide' after UN Security Council Resolution 2094 in 2013. Firstly, main agents who have dealing with North Korean trade companies which have right to dispatch North Korean workers have been changed from Chinese traders into Korean-Chinese brokers who are specialized in the introduction of North Korean workers with one-stop service from visa administrative to labor managements. Secondly, there has been a transfer of North Korean workers in the regions from formal to informal workers who has been admitted into China with a short stay or a tourist visa, and then remained illegally to be employed in China. Therefore, as demands on service which is able to guarantee the security of North Korean informal workers and their managements have increased, Korean-Chinese brokers have been stimulated in the regions after the operation of real international sanctions against overseas North Korean workers. In addition, the main factors of their locational determinants in cross-border regions between North Korea and China are could be analyzed in three perspectives; 1) an increase in real wages in accordance with the reform of the Chinese social insurance system after 2011, 2) the structural vulnerability of labor markets in the regions, 3) the utilization of stable and manageable workers.

• International Area Studies Review
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.293-321
• /
• 2012

This study aims to examine how institutions has been formed to deepen interdependence and to keep check in trade on the border regions of East Sea Rim between the macro structure and micro behaviors. The transitional nations such as China, Russia, and North Korea adjacent to the East Sea Rim exhibits unique characteristics in terms of transaction governance structure. While the regional economy in northeast China is still overwhelmed by the stated-owned enterprises(SOEs), it strongly encourages the private economic trade to form institutional economy through the border trade port and peddler trade market. Thus trade is shaped by the mixed governance. In far east Russia, whereas the SOEs are in charge of exporting oil, gas etc., private firms and small scale traders are importing household items, so that it can also be called as the mixed governance, while informal social networks simultaneously work. In North Korea, for the trade, since the firms are mainly required to have the permits from the different levels of government, it is regarded as the hierarchical governance. The institutional economics seems to well explain the changing agencies and their influence on the trade among the regions in the East Sea Rim.

• Land and Housing Review
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.79-88
• /
• 2015

North Korean leader Kim, Jung-Il visited Beijing, China, May 2010, when he made a common recognition with Chinese President Hu Jintao on construction of the Rasun SEZ and the Hwanggumpyong-Wyhwado SEZ for development of Economic cooperation between N.Korea and China and accelerating establishment of SEZs in N.Korea. However, after N.Korea's third nuclear test on Feb. 2013, the relationship between N.Korea and China became a little worse. Recently, three nations' border region near Rasun in N.Korea is reconsidered that it is very important place for collaboration between and among 2, 3 or 4 countries, S.Korea, N.Korea, China and Russia. This thesis examined these changes of cooperation and plans among the countries near the border region and proposed some measures for participation of S.Korea on the projects in the Rasun region.

• International Commerce and Information Review
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.65-84
• /
• 2017

This paper attempts to investigate FDI Trade have been viewed a power affecting economic growth in Mongolia and five Central Asian countries(Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan) directly and indirectly using the Vector Error Correction Model. The results of empirical analysis based on data from 1995 to 2015 confirmed that FDI had a significant impact on economic growth in the rest of countries expect Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, and Trade was not statistically significant for all countries. Accordingly we've come to below conclusion in consideration of the results of the statistics survey. It is urgently required to implement the policies on promoting foreign investment at first in order to recover economic decline though the international trading is considered important in developing the economics of developing countries. Especially, the landlocked countries, namely the countries having same border should focus on promoting the development of transport and freight forwarding systems between the countries, implementing the policies on trade relationships and foreign direct investments throughout the nation in consideration of the low- level of market economic conditions.

• Korean Business Review
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.87-106
• /
• 2010

North Korea is hoping get more international aids and cooperations with facing serious difficulties in the domestic economies, but it is expected to be hard to induce foreign direct investments due to the lots of existing negative factors in the credibility, profitability, bad images, and so on. On the other hand, in South Korea, the demands of the places and facilities for the leisure & tourism have been skyrocketed with the fast economic growth during the last three decades, especially in marine tourism As the Korea peninsula is surrounded with sea in three sides, North and South Korea must utilize these area qualitatively and quantitatively for advance of entire cooperation. The cooperation through sea has some restraint factors. They may occur unexpected conflict and need enormous infrastructure investment for the further cooperation. In the other side, it has some advantages such as, it can avoid direct contact between both people for North government. Even though inter-Korean relationship is facing temporary cooling time recently, The marine tourism co-development of the South-North Korea is a potential and important factor for enhancement of the reconciliation and cooperation. Furthermore, it can achieve unification of two Koreas. This study reviews many factors and suggests marine policy Support devices for The marine tourism co-development between South-North Korea.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.369-387
• /
• 2017

This research derived sum of light (SOL) for Liaoning and Dandong, China, from DMSP OLS satellite images acquired at nighttime during 1992 to 2012 and investigated its potential association with economic status. The SOLs of Liaoning were found to be continuously increasing and higher than those of averages for the other provinces across the time period. The temporal pattern of SOLs would be interpreted to well reflect the economic status of this region based on real growth rate and average wage per capita. Nevertheless, the SOLs of Dandong were lower than the average of the other prefecture-level cities, which indicated the economic status of this city in China. Meanwhile, the average annual growth rate of SOLs for Dandong turned out to be increase for 1998~2007, compared with the previous years, and temporal patterns in the trade amount between North Korea and China and the export amount of North Korea to China were similar to those of SOLs in the same time period. The political association between South and North Koreas was improved with 'Sunshine Policy' during 1997~2007. Taking it into account, SOL is expected to be valuable spatial proxy index that could explain the geopolitcal and geoeconomic aspects of Dandong.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.77-92
• /
• 2019

As China's economic growth pole has shifted from the coastal area to the Midwest and the inland since the beginning of 2000, construction of China's inland ports was promoted in the coastal area. The inland port functions as offshore port, thereby streamlining import and export logistics and customs clearance and so on. The purpose of this study is to identify the competitiveness and potential of China's inland ports via functional and geographical classification, as well as SWOT-PEST analysis. According to the results of the study, inland ports can be functionally categorized as sea port-based, industrial-based, distribution-based and customs clearance-based. The majority of the sea port-based inland ports are located in the eastern part of China while industry-based and distribution-based inland ports are situated in the Midwest. On contrast, the inland ports in Northwest mainly perform the function of customs clearance to promote international trade with neighbouring countries. The inland ports in the eastern region have high competitiveness owing to a large volume of international trade in the region, whereas those in the Midwest have high potential. The 'One Belt to One Road' initiative proposed by the Xi's Government is expected to play a significant role in promoting the development of inland ports in the Midwest and border areas.

• The Southeast Asian review
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.145-171
• /
• 2018

Laos' 2017 is a year of political "stagnation" and economic "change". In the political arena, despite the achievements such as the improvement of the corruption perception index (CPI), it is necessary to watch the progress of the reform. Diplomatically, the influence of China is expected to increase further. In particular, since November 2017, Xi Jinping's visit to Laos is expected to strengthen the framework of cooperation between the economic corridor and Lanchang-Mekong Cooperation Meeting. And Laos continued to have friendly relations with other neighboring countries, the ASEAN countries. However, the issue of the Laos-Cambodian border issue following the general election in Cambodia may recur. The economic sector maintained a high growth rate due to capital inflows from the construction of large infrastructures and the favorable tourism industry, but structural problems such as deficits in the fiscal and current account should be resolved. Korea and Laos discussed the comprehensive cooperation between the two countries through the Mekong Senior Officials' Meeting in March 2017 and the Ministerial Meeting of the Korean-Lao Foreign Minister in September 2017. Laos is Korea's eighth ODA aid (grant), and ODA will become an important diplomatic cooperation channel between the two countries in the future. In the economic relationship, the trade sector is on a declining trend, but investment and human exchanges are steadily increasing.