• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.72-86
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• 2013

Industrial agglomeration is an old theme in economic geography and many studies have been devoted to this topic. But only few have empirically looked at the time trend of industrial agglomeration. This study measured agglomeration of U.S. industries over last 29 years and measurement results indicated that industrial clustering has occurred during the study period in all study industries without a common time trend shared amongst the study industries. The agglomeration levels then were plugged in to investigate causalities, i.e. causal relations, around industrial agglomeration. Three variables were selected to see causal relations with agglomeration levels based on literatures, and our focus was given to the causality between transport network and agglomeration. Causal relation from transport to agglomeration was found in various industries and this supports the argument that the development of transportation influences industrial agglomeration. At the same time inverse and bi-directional causalities were also revealed implying more complex relationship between these two.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.10
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• pp.249-257
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• 2021

Industrial agglomeration policy is a strategy that is expected to accelerate economic growth to transform an impoverished region into a prosperous one. However, industrial agglomeration also has the potential to exacerbate development inequality due to the concentration of economic development activities in certain areas. Therefore, this study aims to investigate what strategies are best to minimize the adverse effects of industrial agglomeration. This study uses econometric analysis with panel data covering 38 districts/cities in East Java during the 2011-2019 period. The results showed that the combination of industrial agglomeration policies coupled with accelerated sectoral growth, hard infrastructure development, and soft infrastructure provided the best policy outcome, improving regional inequality and accelerating economic growth in East Java. Based on the analysis, we find that East Java's economic growth characteristics are convergent but relatively long. Therefore, the East Java economic development policy during 2010-2019 should be reviewed due to the relatively long convergence period. Furthermore, this study also found that industrial agglomeration slows down the convergence and economic growth of East Java. In the future, the deployment of Industrial Development Centers (PPI) outside the existing eight districts/cities is needed to accelerate the spread of economic activity in East Java.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.629-650
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• 2013

This study reviews geographical research trends on 'New industrial agglomeration' in Korea and recommends research issues for further studies. Recent studies on industrial agglomeration region have typically concentrated on empirical case studies from new 'perspectives'. As a result, the establishment and theorizing of frameworks for analysis on industrial agglomeration have been given too little attention. To solve this problem research should be conducted to develop frameworks for analysis integrating noneconomic factors and existing economic factors, a strategy emphasized in new industrial agglomeration theory. By doing so, research investigating viability mechanism and generalization will be invigorated. Meanwhile, research focused excessively on social and cultural conditions of region-related networks between actors in economic space at specific scales should be excluded. In addition, academic research on vitalizing industrial agglomeration region, such as cluster policy, should be strengthened. In order to conduct these research objectives effectively, it is necessary to vitalize overall understanding among researchers of industrial agglomeration and provide a place for collaborative learning.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.302-318
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• 2008

As socio-economic paradigms have been moving towards the knowledge-based capitalism from the industrial capitalism, it is obvious that research on industrial agglomeration and regional innovation has been explosively increased. However, there is a contradictory tendency that the terms and concepts, which are related to industrial agglomeration, have became less clear and more fuzzy. In this sense, this paper attempts to tackle and reconsider the concept, typology and theories of agglomeration and (or) cluster in economic geography. The main claims are as follows. Firstly, the terms and concepts related to industrial agglomeration and cluster need to be clear. It seems to be that cluster is received as an umbrella concept of agglomerations all-embracing the varieties of a geographical concentration of industry. However, the authors claim that the cluster concept should be part of the diverse types of industrial agglomeration. Secondly, the tendency of a less clear definition on agglomeration and cluster could make it difficult to identify the types of agglomeration being in the forms of diversity. Such a tendency would result in a misguided understanding and interpretation of a typology of agglomeration. Finally and most importantly, as perspectives or theories that are associated with industrial agglomeration and cluster show increasingly a propensity of convergence, it is problematic that related theories and perspectives lose their own identity and distinctiveness.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.223-237
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• 2023

The Seoul Onsu Industrial Complex, having been completed over 50 years ago, is an old industrial complex, with deteriorating infrastructure and factory buildings. Despite this, there's a current urban industrial agglomeration centered on the machinery industry in the Seoul Onsu Industrial Complex. This study aims to holistically analyze the physical deterioration of facilities in the aging industrial complex and the characteristics of industrial agglomeration to derive the identity of the Seoul Onsu Industrial Complex. Based on the research findings, the complex is seeing an enhanced urban industrial agglomeration due to the influx of small-scale businesses resulting from concentrated trade networks in the metropolitan area and plot subdivision, permission for noise-producing processes, and the ease of securing highly-skilled technicians. However, this agglomeration coexists with a weakening of the complex's production function, limited innovativeness of resident companies, and non-innovative features resulting from weakened competitiveness in the metropolitan machinery industry. In summary, the identity of the Seoul Onsu Industrial Complex is a 'Non-Innovative Urban Industry Agglomeration', an old industrial complex, witnessing non-innovative agglomeration based on a machinery industry network centered in the metropolitan area.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.41-59
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• 2022

Does the industrial complex of Korea leading the growth in manufacturing industry play the role of intensifying agglomeration effects? To answer this question, this study empirically analyzes the moderating effects of industrial complex on the relation between agglomeration externalities and regional productivity, which has not been covered by previous researches. To do so, analysis of panel data has been conducted using the regional level data for the period of 2010 to 2019. Empirical results are provided at different levels including the whole country, capital region and non-capital region. As a result, it was found that in non-capital region, environments to strengthen positive agglomeration externalities stemming from specialization and diversity in manufacturing through industrial complex whithin the region are built up. However, moderating effects of industrial complex is quite limited in capital region. This implies that the role of industrial complex needs to be importantly reconsidered in the perspective of maximization of agglomeration effects in manufacturing, revitalization of non-capital area and manufacturing innovation.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.375-388
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• 2008

The early studies on the cultural industries had mainly emphasized the viewpoint of "efficiency" based on the "flexible specialization" theory, but they have gradually shed light on the viewpoint of "creativity": creative human resources and various networks generating creative energies. Despite the importance of these studies, it is impossible to explain every cultural industrial agglomeration phenomena from specific and few viewpoints due to the diversity of each cultural industry. This study describes the dissimilarity of agglomeration factors between the Japanese animation and home video game industries which form salient agglomeration in the same region. Both industries share similar characteristics with industrial agglomeration of SMEs in Tokyo and close inter-firm relationships. However, they differ in their historical development paths and each firm's behavior and strategy because of their own distribution systems and production processes. In particular, the difference in distribution systems clearly affects whether a company values "efficiency" factors of agglomeration advantage or "creativity" factors of that in case of locational choice. The distribution sector of the cultural industry, compared with the production sector, has a tendency to value profitability rather than creation itself. Therefore, a cultural industry with the strong distribution sector tends to form the industrial system emphasizing profitability. The Japanese animation firm is apt to choose its location from the perspective of efficiency, which easily contributes to profitability, because television broadcasting stations are strong distribution sector. Conversely, the Japanese game firm chooses its location from the perspective of creativity due to the absence of strong distribution sector.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.688-701
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• 2014

This article is focused on the agglomeration and decline factors of the footwear industries in Busan metropolitan area from the industrial cluster point of perspective. For the research, 'the components and network of industrial cluster model' are presented which is restructured of M. Porter's cluster model. Moreover, this research have examined the agglomeration and decline process of the footwear industries in Busan area and conducted a survey targeting footwear enterprises in Busan area. In the late 1980's, the footwear industries in Busan area formed the largest footwear industrial cluster in the world. However, the industrial cluster started to decline from early 1990's and now it is reduced in to 1/10 size of the past. The growth factors of Busan footwear industrial cluster include cheap and plentiful labours, penetration of OEM production, entrepreneur spirit, human resources network, government's support and so on. Moreover, the agglomeration of relative companies also created high competitiveness in this cluster. The decay factors are pointed out sudden rise of labour cost, shortage of factory site, rise of land price, alteration of government policy, international relocation of footwear production and growth of overseas industrial cluster. Busan footwear industrial cluster nowadays has declined in its size, but it is the only footwear industrial cluster in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.55-71
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• 2017

This paper points out the semantic unclearness of the jargon "cluster" and suggests the substitution of "industrial cluster" for "cluster". Industrial cluster is the intersection of industrial agglomeration and cluster phenomenon while the actual concept of cluster includes not only industry cluster but also political administration cluster, science research cluster, art cluster, religion cluster, education cluster, etc. Partially reconstructing the concept and significance of industry cluster, industrial cluster is a geographic agglomeration of interconnected productional businesses in a particular industry, forming close industrial networks. The advantage of the agglomeration includes reducing the transaction cost between the businesses, promoting technological innovation and dispersion, facilitating the utilization of the professional workforce, sharing and connecting the external customer. Moreover, this paper discusses the range of the industrial cluster and its distinctness from the other similar concepts. There is a need to discriminate it from the other related jargons and to clarify their relationship. In particular, there is a task to eradicate the mixed usage of industrial cluster with the jargons related to space for learning and innovation.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.93-109
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• 2021

Purpose - The logistics industry is often featured by its location relevance and industrial concentration. Industrial concentration is conducive to the effective transmission of information by reducing transaction costs and improving transaction efficiency, thus promoting the development of trade. The main purpose of this paper is to measure the spatial total factor productivity and location quotient of the logistics industry in Korea, and to study the impact of the logistics industry efficiency and agglomeration effect on import and export trade in Korea. Design/methodology - First, used the spatial stochastic frontier method to measure the spatial total factor productivity of the logistics industry in Korea, this serves as the efficiency index of the logistics industry in various regions of Korea. Second, calculated the location quotient (LQ) of the logistics industry to measure the industry's concentration degree. Third, employed a spatial econometric model to analyze the impacts of factors such as the efficiency and concentration levels of the logistics industry on import and export trade in Korea. Findings - This study's main findings can be summarized as follows: this study found that the overall efficiency of the logistics industry in Korea needs to be improved, even though it showed an upward trend in all regions of the country; Moreover, the agglomeration level of Korea's logistics industry needs to be improved; Finally, the positive spatial correlation and industrial agglomeration effect of Korea's logistics industry had a positive impact on the country's import and export trade. Originality/value - This study is innovative in terms of research perspective and methods. Most of the previous studies have measured the development level of the logistics industry using the logistics performance index (LPI), Fewer studies have assessed through the spatial total factor productivity and location quotient of the logistics industry in Korea to measure the efficiency index of the logistics industry in various regions of Korea and concentration degree, as well as there was almost no study on the impact of logistics industry efficiency and agglomeration effect on import and export trade in Korea. This study addresses this limitation by analyzing the impacts of the efficiency and agglomeration effect of the logistics industry on import and export trade in Korea.