• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.330-342
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• 2016

The aim of this article is to explore some issues on the uneven regional development in the Republic of Korea. Along with this, case studies on the United Kingdom and Italy are conducted in terms of their wealth, inequality and regional development. In the period of 1995~2003, the UK experienced the intensified uneven regional development and continuous increase of its index due in the main to the delayed revitalization of industrial decline regions, neo-liberalistic local labour market and industrial policies, and institutional instability of regional policies. In the case of Italy, it seemed to experience relatively stable regional convergence. However, this was caused by the continuous decline of major metropolitan areas such as large cities, Milan, Turin, Genoa, to name but a few. The Republic of Korea experienced 'economic growth with spatial and social disparities.' Since 2003 the uneven regional development has intensified. Towards regional convergence, new engines of regional development, the investment in the specialization of small and medium cities, and supportive policies for industrial restructuring regions are required.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.34-52
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• 2004

This paper aims to examine the construction of the new administrational capital planned by the current government in terms of uneven regional development, and consider important tasks and prospects of the development of the Capital Region. The over-concentration to the Capital region and thereby ever-increasing socio-spatial problems since the 1960s seems to be a crucial aspect of uneven regional development inherent in the process of capitalist development. The construction of the new administrational capital hence can be seen as a version of what Harvey calls 'spatio-temporal fix'. On the other hand, some tasks and prospects of the development of the Capital region can be suggested to become a world city-region. Therefore, it fan be argued that the construction of the new administrational capital would produce its maximum effects, when it will conducted with policies of regional decentralization to overcome or reduce the ongoing uneven geographical development and those of economic and spatial restructuring of the Capital region to resolve or mitigate its socio-spatial problems and lead to a further development as a world city-region as well as a systematic planning of the new administrational capital itself.

• Proceedings of the KGS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.229-234
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• 2003

본 논문에서는 지역발전에 관한 다양한 개념이나 이론들(특히 포드주의적 축적체제 이후에 나타난 새로운 축적체제에 대한 논의로서 정치경제학이나 조절이론과 직, 간접적으로 관련된 개념이나 이론들)을 열거하고 이들을 재검토하고자 한다 (한국공간환경학회,2000; 최병두, 2002). 우선 전통적 지역발전론으로 지역 간 균형상태와 발전단계를 강조하는 주류 이론과 지역 간 불균등발전에 초점을 두고 원인을 규명하고자 하는 정치경제학적 이론을 살펴보고, 다음으로 정치경제학의 연장선상에 있지만 부분적으로 주류 (지역)발전론을 결합시킨 중범위 이론으로서 조절이론 또는 (포스트) 포드주의론에 근거한 지역발전론을 검토할 것이다. (중략)

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.312-334
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• 2010

This paper examines the process of Gyeongbu Highway construction from the standpoint of political economy, which was pursued by President Park Jeong-Hee in the 1960s, focusing on the politics of mobility and demarcation implied in it. As results of examination, it can be argued that Gyeongbu Highway was seen as a powerful element to promote a socio-spatial integration of population and hence to enforce an authoritative political power of the Park regime through creation of mobility; that it has had an strong impact on changing the physical landscape of national space and the spatio-temporal rhythm of everyday life by extending the 'machine space' as a non-place; that it has provided a physical infrastructure on which the period of capital circulation could be reduced through its effect of space-time compression. But Gyeongbu Highway has led serious problems such as uneven regional development, expansion of non-place or alienated place, ecological destruction and pollution. In conclusion, a sustainable politics is suggested to overcome this kind of 'tragedy of highway' and to develop the highway as a true way of political and spatial balance and integration.

• Proceedings of the KGS Conference
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• 2002.11a
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• pp.29-32
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• 2002

일반적으로 경제개혁과정은 생산활동을 위한 공간구조의 재편을 초래한다. 중국의 지역경제의 구조변화와 관련된 일반적인 이해는 사회주의 개발전략에 의한 남북간의 공간구조의 격차가 경제개혁이후 공간적인 불균등발전으로 인하여 동서간 공간구조의 격차구조로 발전하고 있다라는 점이다. 이러한 공간적인 격차구조와 아울러 중국의 경제개혁을 구성하는 중요한 공간적 요인은 바로 지역경제의 등장이다.(중략)

• Journal of Engineering Education Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.47-53
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• 2015

The aim of this paper is to explore the formation of the Seoul-focused network city for technological commercialization compared with Seoul as a mega city. The growth of Seoul and subsequently, the Seoul metropolitan region as a mega city and mega region has led the uneven regional development in Korea since the 1960s. To reduce a huge gap between the Seoul metropolitan and the non-metropolitan region, the concept of network city can be suggested in terms of the functional and spatial division of labor. More specifically, such division of labour throughout the formation of the Seoul-focused network city concentrates on technological commercialization which is deeply concerned with R&BD (research and business development). For this network city, there are 4 axes such as the axis of South-North Korean cooperation (the axis of R&BD for complex technologies), that of the expansion of a mega city (that of R&BD for green growth technology), that of the linkage of small and medium-sized cites (that of R&BD for life science and technology) and that of megalopolis (that of R&BD for basic technology) with regards to the axis of urban development and technological specialization. It shall be argued that the formation of Seoul-focused network city can be an alternative to the contemporary uneven regional development between the Seoul metropolitan and non-metropolitan region in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.513-528
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• 2002

This paper aims to explore the recent economic restructuring and regional disparity after the IMF crisis in Korea in terms of uneven regional development. The so-called IMF crisis brought about changing Korean society and economy greatly. Although the Korean economy has been almost completely recovered from the IMF crisis, some structural problems remain. In particular, regional disparity has been deepening in the process of economic restructuring for overcoming the IMF crisis. While the Seoul metropolitan area including Kyunggi province has recovered from the crisis relatively fast and industrial production in the area has been kept active, the productive activities of local areas such as Pusan, Taegu, Kwanju and Ulsan province have shrunk significantly. On the contrary, the economic situation of Taejun province is not so bad in comparison with other local areas. The recent deepening of regional disparity after the IMF crisis can be seen as a process of economic restructuring to overcome the crisis. However, it is necessary to point out that production system has already been gradually transformed from Fordism toward post-Fordism since the early 1990s. In this context I argue that the IMF crisis, as an accelerating trigger of such spatial reconfiguration, has deepen regional disparity.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.23-42
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• 2000

This study is to investigate spatial patterns of urban labor market growth driven by marketization process and its implication for understanding regional uneven development in post-reform China. Using a shift share analysis, it shows that the geography of employment growth in China's industrial labor market has closely interacted with the space economy of industrial output, which in turn indicates a deepening of economic reform. By decomposing net employment growth into output and productivity effects, it is shown that the non-state sector holds rapid growth of both output and productivity and contributes to net employment growth through positive net shifts. On the contrary, this study also presents that the state sector with relative decrease in output and productivity holds employment decline effects during the reform period. Since there is a significant spatial dimension for the trend above, it is contended that labor market dynamics together with space economy of industrial production play an important role in determining regional patterns of economic development. In addition, through situating this investigation in the context of structural and institutional changes in the reform period, our understanding of regional patterns of labor market growth will be much furthered.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.359-374
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• 2023

The main purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the transformation of Chinese regional development policy and trends in spatial inequality in mainland China. More specifically, it has attempted to identify the effects of Chinese regional development policies on regional economic inequality by investigating the coefficient of variation and Gini coefficient with GRDP in the province level. Regional inequality in China had increased from 1979 economic reform, but has eased since the 10th Five Year Plan(2001~2005) due to large-scale state investments in the western, central and northeastern regions. However, the analysis is likely to be resulted from the national level. Trends in regional inequality are differentiated in accordance with the eastern, central, northeastern and western regions. For example, regional inequality in the central region has increased, whereas other three regions has decreased since the 10th Five Year Plan. It has played a role in cutting down regional inequality in the national level. In particular, the central region has kept inequality since the 12th Five Year Guideline. It has led to the convergence of the regional economies in the national level. It has stemmed from some limits to greater regional policies in the Central region enforced in the 11th Five Year Guideline(2005~2010).

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.23-43
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• 1995

This paper is the first part of a research which looks into the regional development process and the quality of life of Youngnam area, and which suggests a prospect and tasks for the future development of the region. Youngnam region has grown rapidly on the basis of labor-intensive light industries and standardized Fordist lage-scale heavy industries through the industrialization and urbanization of South Korea from the 1960s; but recently it has shown a relatively downward trend. The recent economic stagnation of Youngnam region can be seen as a result of uneven regional development in the national scale, which has brought out the increasing subcontracting relation within the region, the geographically excessive concentration of firms, the lack of growth potentiality of high-tech industries, the weakness of producer service, and the shortage of financial activities for capital flows. In addition, construction of physical and social infrastructures and management of urban central functions could not meet properly the rapid economic and urban growth of the region. Because of these problematics inherent in the economy of Yougnam region, the occupational status of regional dwellers is more or less unstable, and the wage level of employee as a whole in Youngnam region is lower than those of Seoul, although the wage level of labourers in manufacturing is relatively high. Moreover, the quality of life of dwellers in the region has some difficulties in the use of resources and ecological environment as well as the unequal provision of means of living and welfare facilities, even though it has been improved materially.