Cities 29 (2012) 142–154
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Cities
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cities
City profile Seoul ⇑ Hyung Min Kim, Sun Sheng Han
Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia article info abstract
Article history: Seoul is a major global city with a history of over 600 years. Its development trajectory, current status in Received 13 August 2010 the world economy, and challenges faced in socio-spatial dynamics present an excellent case in the study Received in revised form 25 November 2010 of cities, especially of the Asia–Pacific region. This profile outlines Seoul’s historical development, recent Accepted 12 February 2011 changes and contemporary conditions (in terms of its territory, economy, land and housing market, Available online 13 July 2011 urbanisation policy, infrastructure development, social impact and culture), metropolitan planning, and future development. Keywords: Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Urban history Economic development Housing Planning policies Metropolitan governance
Historical development structure of cities, were adopted as fundamental to the Chosun Dynasty (Kim, 2009). Thus, in line with feng shui and Confucian A significant year in Seoul’s history is 1394 during which Seoul, by principles, the Kyongbok Palace was located in the middle of the the name of Han Yang, was chosen as the new capital of the Chosun (or city2; the ancestor shrine Chongmyo in the east of the Palace, and Joseon) Dynasty (Kim, 2009: p. 194). The first 10 years of Seoul as a the Dynasty Sajic in the west3 (Ko, 2005). The city wall was built capital city were characterised by uncertainty about its status as along the four inner mountains (Fig. 1). At the corner of the city the capital, due to competition between Han Yang and another candi- wall,4 there were four great gates including Nam Dae Moon (the date capital site (the ancient capital city Gaegyeong). In 1405, Han South Great Gate) and Dong Dae Moon (the East Great Gate). These Yang had its capital status affirmed (Ko, 2005). This resulted in a rapid gates are national treasures today. The Sejongno – called Eukjogeory population increase. In the period 1409–1428, the number of house- in Chosun – was the widest road in Han Yang connecting the holds in Han Yang increased from 11,056 to 18,522 (Ko, 2005). Kyongbok Palace to Chongno in Chosun. Chongno, the main business The current urban structure of Seoul was shaped by Han Yang’s axis in Han Yang, played a key role in linking business and adminis- feng shui (literally wind and water) characteristics (Kim, 2009; Ko, trative functions. The Chongno started at Sejongno and ended at Dong 2005). Han Yang was surrounded by four inner mountains and four Dae Moon. The area inside the city wall became the Central Business outer mountains with the Cheonggye stream flowing through the District (CBD) and a political centre of modern Seoul. The Office of middle. Functionally, the Han River offered good accessibility to the President or Cheongwadae (the Blue House) is behind the the rural areas, so that the ruler could easily collect taxes. In Kyongbok Palace and government offices are in front of the Palace. addition, Confucian principles,1 especially those relating to the Han Yang was repeatedly damaged in wars,5 but it was restored and developed as a centre of economy and trade. By the end of the
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 3 8344 7055; fax: +61 3 8344 5532. 19th century, modern service facilities and infrastructure were E-mail addresses: [email protected] (H.M. Kim), [email protected] introduced to Seoul. For example, the first western hospital and (S.S. Han). medical school were founded in 1885 (Cumings, 1997: p. 126). 1 The legacy of Confucian culture remains obvious in contemporary Korean society. For instance, Confucianism is behind the system of government officials’ recruitment in modern Korea (Cumings, 1997: pp. 300–301). As a prestigious position, the status 2 This allowed the Palace to have mountains at the back and to look at water in of government official is awarded to the applicant who is able to succeed in a very front (背山臨水). That is, there was Bookak Mountain in the north of Kyongbok Palace competitive process which includes a rigorous examination. There are overwhelming and Cheonggye stream flew in front of Kyongbok Palace (Ko, 2005). numbers of applicants spending many years solely on preparing for the examination, 3 The influential Confucian text the Rites of Zhou had the principle ‘ancestor shrine known as ‘Gosi’in Korea. A special housing type, known as the Gosi-room, has been in left, ancestral rites right (左祖右社)’. Han Yang followed this rule ordered by the King place for applicants to stay and study whole day. Universities usually organise (Ko, 2005). training courses to help applicants to pass the examination. In more general terms, 4 The city wall was demolished by the Japanese in the period 1906–1910 (Son, Confucianism is well reflected in the Korean aspiration to education. Korea is an 1985). exceptionally well educated country and this contributed to its rapid industrialisation 5 For example, Han Yang was invaded by the Japanese in 1592 and the Chinese in (Amsden, 1989: p. 219). 1636 (Cumings, 1997: pp. 76–78).
0264-2751/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.cities.2011.02.003 H.M. Kim, S.S. Han / Cities 29 (2012) 142–154 143
During the war, 35,000 out of the 190,000 houses were totally burnt and more than 20,000 houses were badly damaged (Son, 2003a: p. 11). Bombing continued for many days in Seoul and se- vere battles were fought for control of the city. As South Korea and North Korea occupied Seoul in rotation, the city was ruined by fires and pillage (Son, 2003a: pp. 41–87). After the Korean War in 1953, Seoul was put on the track of ra- pid urbanisation as the capital of South Korea. Infrastructure investment on highways that connected Seoul with other cities, as well as the development of labour-intensive export-oriented light manufacturing industry were the main forces driving the Kor- ean economy under its powerful military dictatorship. Right after the Korean War, the vital task was to protect South Korea from communism and to help it escape from absolute poverty. In order to build more factories, the ‘Urban Planning Act’ was endorsed in 1962, replacing the former ‘Chosun Civil Area Planning Enactment’. The ‘Land Expropriating Act’ was endorsed in 1962, ensuring the availability of ample land for infrastructure. Large scale concentra- tion of investment and jobs made Seoul a magnet for rural mi- grants and further economic activities. This caused severely uneven development in Korea to the extent that the journalistic term ‘the Republic of Seoul’ instead of the Republic of Korea was created (Hill & Kim, 2000). As such, Seoul soon faced a number of urban problems, such as shortage of land, high housing prices and extensive property speculation.
Recent changes and contemporary conditions
Seoul had about 100,000–200,000 residents in the Chosun Dy- nasty. Today, its population is about 10 million; Seoul is referred Fig. 1. Location of main features in the old Seoul Han Yang. Note: The base map as one of the emerging world cities in the Asia–Pacific region (Bea- Suseon jeondo was drawn by Kim Jeong Ho in 1840s. verstock, Smith, & Taylor, 1999).
The tram (or street car) was brought to Seoul in 1899, running from Territorial and Administrative organisation the West Great Gate to the east area Cheongryangni via Chongno (Son, 2005a: p. 152).6 The first train operated in 1889 linking Seoul Seoul has 10 million residents with an urban built-up area of to Incheon (Korea National Railroad, 1999: pp. 47–53). The Seoul– about 605 km2; the population density is 16,840 persons/km2. Pusan railway was also built in this period (Cumings, 1997: p. 126). Over one-fifth of the national total population lives in Seoul, and Between 1910 and 1945 Korea was colonised by the Japanese. In a half of the total population lives in the Capital Region.8 Seoul is order to control the Korean economy and benefit from its resource composed of 25 districts (local government, Gu) and all areas in extraction, the Japanese put a high priority on changing the Korean Seoul are urbanised (Fig. 2). An election has been held every land system (Chang, 1971), conducting land surveys, introducing 4 years for the mayor, the governors of the districts, and city the modern property right system, as well as reorganising land assembly members since 1995 when the nomination system chan- tax under the Governor-General of Korea (Jung, 1995). The Japa- ged into an election system. Table 1 reports some key statistics of nese capital flew into government projects such as transportation, the districts. communication, electricity plants and land development in order As a result of natural and policy constraints Seoul is a city with to make Korea a source of raw material supply and a market for one of the highest population densities in the world. 237 km2 out manufactured products (Chang, 1971). They built residential areas of its total 605 km2 cannot be used for development because of outside Han Yang and brought about urban expansion by establish- geographical features such as rivers and mountains (Seoul Metro- ing the ‘Chosun Civil Area Planning Enactment’ in 1934. The con- politan Government, 2006: p. 166). The Han River passes through centration of foreigners in the south of Cheonggye stream led to the middle of Seoul and many mountains extend across the city. the emergence of an economic centre there. The Japanese army A greenbelt, which was established in 1971 following the example was located in Yongsan, south of the CBD. After Korea gained inde- of London, circumscribes Seoul to prohibiting urban sprawl and pendence from Japan, the US army took over the military base in preserving the natural environment (Fig. 3). The greenbelt has lim- Yongsan. This made Yongsan a unique area where many foreigners ited the availability of land for its expansion (Jun & Hur, 2001). lived.7 A division into two countries – the South and the North – fol- The economy lowed right after independence from Japan in 1945 and the subse- quent Korean War between 1950 and 1953 left Seoul in ruins. The two immediate problems after the Korean War, political instability and absolute poverty, were worsened by government corruption. The year 1960 saw a great movement, known as the 6 The tram in Seoul was demolished in 1968 because the tram was too slow to meet April 19 Revolution, that protested against the corrupted Rhee the increasing traffic volume and the operation was no longer profitable (Son, 2005a: pp. 151–169). Seung Man administration (Cumings, 1997: p. 344). Despite the 7 The US Army base in Yongsan is planned to relocate to Pyeongtaek, outside Seoul, by 2015. The site will be redeveloped into a public park called Yongsan Park. 8 Seoul and its two neighbours – Gyeonggi and Incheon – form the Capital Region. 144 H.M. Kim, S.S. Han / Cities 29 (2012) 142–154
Fig. 2. Population distribution by district in Seoul, 2007. Note: CBD refers to the traditional business district. YBD stands for the Yeoido business district, and GBD stands for the Gangnam business district. These three districts are the main urban centres in Seoul. Source: Seoul Metropolitan Government.
Table 1 Statistics by districts (2007). Source: Ministry of Land, Transport and Marine Affairs and Kim et al. (2008).
District Area (km2) Population (persons) Population Density (persons/km2) Average appraisal housing price (thousand won) Gangnam 39.54 560,958 14,187 603,216 Gangdong 24.58 464,546 18,899 336,663 Gangbuk 23.60 345,478 14,639 178,074 Gangseo 41.42 560,424 13,530 208,951 Gwanak 29.57 535,571 18,112 218,169 Gwangjin 17.05 376,572 22,086 348,909 Guro 20.11 420,542 20,912 188,551 Geumcheon 13.01 249,108 19,147 179,289 Nowon 35.42 616,753 17,413 165,231 Dobong 20.70 375,975 18,163 165,311 Dongdaemun 14.20 376,421 26,509 221,254 Dongjak 16.35 405,967 24,830 301,467 Mapo 23.87 392,650 16,450 298,539 Seodaemun 17.61 348,575 19,794 210,430 Seocho 47.00 405,969 8638 622,950 Seongdong 16.85 333,535 19,794 302,894 Seongbuk 24.57 469,973 19,128 209,062 Songpa 33.88 623,876 18,414 485,901 Yangcheon 17.40 503,650 28,945 350,082 Yeongdeungpo 24.57 408,178 16,613 303,849 Yongsan 21.87 235,832 10,783 530,141 Eunpyeong 29.71 459,196 15,456 180,048 Jongno 23.91 165,846 6936 224,000 Jung 9.96 130,044 13,057 330,732 Jungnang 18.50 427,071 23,085 166,378 Total (Seoul) 605.25 10,192,710 16,840 279,042 national desire for democracy, Park Chung Hee exercised his mili- and the Nam Dae Moon market were both close to the Cheonggye tary power and made himself the president in 1961. stream, they turned into well known textile and cloth markets. President Park had an enormous influence on various aspects of In the 1970s, the Korean government put an emphasis on la- contemporary Korean society, including urban planning. He put bour-intensive heavy manufacturing for export of chemicals, steel, great effort into poverty alleviation, in the hope that this effort industrial machinery and products from the shipbuilding sector might help him justify his Coup d’état. He took export as the best (Shin & Timberlake, 2006). Owing to these efforts, the size of strategy for economic growth. Light manufacturing of products Korean exports increased from 100 million dollars in 1964 to 1 such as shoes, clothes, and textile were adopted as the main eco- billion dollars in 1977. South Korea’s rapid economic growth in nomic sector because Korea had no capital, no technologies, and the 1970s was recognised worldwide, and South Korea was named no resources except cheap labour in the 1960s. The Cheonggye one of the ‘Asian tigers’ (Turner & Kim, 2004). The Korean experi- stream area, Yeongdeungpo, Guro and Sungdong were developed into ence was also called ‘Miracle on the Han’(Cumings, 1997: p. 309). typical industrial areas. Cloth and textile industries were clustered A distinctive approach in developing the Korean economy was in the Cheonggye stream areas. Because the Dong Dae Moon market that the Korean government subsidised conglomerates, known as H.M. Kim, S.S. Han / Cities 29 (2012) 142–154 145
Fig. 3. The Capital Region: greenbelt and satellite development areas. Source: 2020 Seoul Urban Plan chaebol, for export-oriented industry (Fujita, 2000). A Chaebol is ‘‘a materials and export products (Shin & Ciccantell, 2009). Other fac- family-owned and managed group of companies that exercises tories and plants in Seoul expanded into the surrounding area due monopolistic or oligopolistic control in product lines and indus- to land scarcity and the high price of industrial property in the city tries” (Woo, 1991: p. 149). Examples include Samsung, LG, and (Shin & Timberlake, 2006). Hyundai. Most of these chaebols are now multinational corpora- In the 1980s higher labour costs and shortage of new technol- tions that represent the Korean economy. The top ten chaebols ac- ogy in Korea pushed Korean firms to branch out to foreign markets counted for almost 70% of GNP in the mid 1980s (Amsden, 1989: p. such as Russia, China, and Vietnam (Kim & Choi, 2004). The South 136). The investment in heavy and chemical industries augmented Korean government encouraged outward foreign direct investment the power and influence of the chaebol (Shin & Timberlake, 2006). (FDI) as it was viewed as an important means to earn income from Headquarters of the chaebols are all located in Seoul (Hill & Kim, overseas. The major participants, medium- and small-sized compa- 2000). This allowed the chaebols to forge a close relationship with nies, invested in diverse industries at overseas sites (Kim & Choi, the government (Kim, 1997; Shin & Timberlake, 2006); such a rela- 2004). Outward flow of investment in searching for lower-wage tionship with political power created a favourable business envi- workers and new markets resulted in closures of plants in most ronment for chaebols, by, for example, offering them low interest medium-sized cities (Douglass, 2000). rates (Cumings, 1997: p. 315).9 The majority of heavy manufactur- The Korean economy fluctuated and was restructured in the last ing was located along the south-east coast of the Korean peninsula, two decades. According to the Statistics Korea, the number of as a part of the coastal industrialisation strategy which considered employees in the manufacturing sector in Seoul accounted for the easy access to deep water ports as important to transport raw 28.4% of all employees, in 1993, but this share decreased to 7.2% in 2008. Service sectors grew in contrast to manufacturing. In par-
9 The chaebol leaders began to be involved in politics in the 1990s. Several chaebol ticular, producer services markedly increased from 20.5% in 1993 10 owners and managers have run for National Assembly seats and even for the to 32.6% in 2008. president (Kim, 1997: pp. 199–200). The founder of Hyundai, Mr. Chung Chu Yong, came forward as a candidate for the president in 1992; his son is now a member of National Assembly. In addition, the previous CEO of Hyundai construction corporation, 10 The figures are derived by using the number of employees in Seoul in Sassen Mr. Lee Myung-Bak, became the president in 2008. (2001, Appendix A). 146 H.M. Kim, S.S. Han / Cities 29 (2012) 142–154
Land and housing problem These government interventions brought about changes of land use such as leap-frog development (Jun & Hur, 2001; Kim & Kim, Due to rapid urbanisation, housing supply in Seoul was unable 2000); at the same time, the taxation policy changed real estate to meet the demand. Seoul reacted by constructing more apart- price distribution (Kim et al., 2008). ments (or high-rise condominium). Since the first large apartment The Korean government has built public rental housing nation- park – Mapo apartment – was built in 1962, apartment buildings wide. However, the quality of public rental housing is not as good have become a major housing type in Seoul (Son, 2005b: p. 278). as that of the housing for sale because the public sector has put an According to census in 2005, apartments accounted for 54.2% of to- emphasis on the latter in the last 30 years (Ha, 2007). In addition to tal housing stock in Seoul. In addition, 76.5% of the houses under its poor quality, a frequently mentioned problem is the location of construction in 2006 were apartment buildings. High-rise apart- public rental housing. Because land is scarce and expensive near ments were found to be a suitable form of housing in Seoul, espe- the employment centres, public rental apartments are found in re- cially in urban redevelopment projects. Ha (2010) observed that mote sites far from jobs and services. Consequentially, the low-in- 100% of the housing in the urban renewal areas in Seoul was in come tenants have to bear long distance commuting from home to the form of high-rise apartments. employment and services. In spite of the large number of high density high-rise apartment Metropolitan Seoul has introduced an inclusionary zoning pol- units, property prices soared (Fig. 4). Between 1986 and 2008, icy to new residential redevelopment projects and a long-term ren- housing prices increased almost threefold in spite of Korea’s expe- tal housing programme known as Shift. Inclusionary zoning has rience of the financial crisis in 1997. The extreme example was ob- made it mandatory for developers to include a certain portion served in 1969 when land price increased by 81% in just 1 year (17–20%) of the housing development as social housing (Ha, (Jung, 1995). Huge capital gains were pocketed by private land 2010). This is one way to recoup capital gains from the residential owners. In addition to the strong demand, government regulation development for redistribution. Shift will provide a minimum of on residential development limited the supply of housing. Further, 10-year rental housing with a possible extension up to 20 years speculation in old and new residential developments also contrib- based on Korea’s unique leasing system known as Cheonsei. ‘‘Under uted to property price hikes. Cheonsei, the tenant deposits a lump-sum to the landlord at the The quality of apartments normally surpasses other housing beginning of the contract in lieu of monthly rent. The landlord types in Korea and the apartment is regarded as an expensive invests the deposit and keeps the return but refunds the entire housing type. As such, ownership of an apartment is often a life- deposit to the tenant at the end of the lease” (Kim, 1990: p. 373). time dream of poor and moderate income households. However, The Seoul Metropolitan Government builds apartments and leases high housing prices have caused the affordability problem which them under the Cheonsei arrangement at a lower price (about 80% is still critical in Seoul today. Price income ratio (PIR) was 8.79 in of that charged for private apartments in the same area). As the 2007 according to Korea Housing Finance Corporation (2007), Shift programme is still in its initial stage, it remains a task for which included all housing types in the calculation. If apartment the future to evaluate its contribution to solve the housing afford- price was calculated alone, the PIR was 12.9 in 2007 (Jang, Hur, ability problem in Seoul. In addition to public housing, a Cheonsei Kim, & Kim, 2009). loan programme is being used. This programme lends to moderate In order to alleviate the housing shortage problem and to man- and low-income tenants the lump-sum deposit of up to 6 years age housing prices, the national and local governments introduced (Jang, 2007), with an interest rate lower than that charged by diverse policies. The Korean government developed new satellite private banks. The programme also makes it possible for tenants towns in Bundang, Ilsan, Sanbon, Pyongcheon, and Joongdong. Other to borrow a larger amount for the lump-sum deposit in order to policies, such as price-control for new apartments and land use rent in their preferred location (Jang, 2007). regulations in the Capital Region, were also introduced in order to stabilise housing prices (Kim & Kim, 2000). Taxation was used Urbanisation and decentralisation policy as an additional control measure. For instance, developers were charged a ‘development fee’ according to windfall. Those who Seoul’s population increased from 1.6 million to 10.6 million had more than certain amount of land were levied a special tax between 1955 and 1990 (Fig. 5). From 1990 to 2005, Seoul’s popu- in 1990 but the Act was abrogated in 1998. In 2006, gross real es- lation was reduced by decentralisation efforts to slightly below 10 tate tax was introduced for those household who had expensive million. houses or any property valued at more than 600 million won, Largely as a result of rural–urban migration, Seoul’s population though this remained a debatable issue (Kim, Hur, & Jang, 2008). kept on increasing until the early 1990s. Over-concentration of the
Fig. 4. Housing price index in Seoul. Source: Kookmin bank (www.kookminbank.co.kr). H.M. Kim, S.S. Han / Cities 29 (2012) 142–154 147
Fig. 5. Population change in Seoul, 1955–2005. Source: Census, Statistics Korea (2006).
population caused problems of poor services in cities and inequal- Infrastructure ity among regions. Public services such as hospitals, schools, roads, and parks were not able to meet the demand of the increasing pop- Seoul was motorised in the last 40 years, with the increase of a ulation. Uneven development among Korean cities and regions registered car population from 27,000 in 1967 to 2.9 million in caused social concerns as from the decline in economic activities 2008 (Son, 2003c: p. 19, Seoul Statistical Yearbook, 2009). The ra- in rural areas, as well as the ageing local populations as a result pid increase in the number of private cars required a matching of the outflow of youth from these regions. A decentralisation pol- road network. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, icy was adopted to resolve the over-concentration problem. At the the total length of roads in Seoul was 8093 km in 2008. Elevated national level, the Capital Region Readjustment Act (CRRA) was en- roads extended 82 km and the length of underground roadways dorsed in 1982 to control growth. The main feature of CRRA was to was 38 km. In addition, Seoul had 34 tunnels (Seoul Statistical disperse population-attracting facilities (Kim & Kim, 2000), e.g. by Yearbook, 2009). The layout of the roads was shaped by Seoul’s limiting the establishment of new factories using a quota system, geographical attributes such as rivers and streams (Fig. 8). Along and by prohibiting new university establishment in the Capital Re- the Han River there are two highways – Gangbyenbukro and Olym- gion (Kim & Gallent, 1998). At the city level, decentralised urban picdaero – on both north and south sides. In addition, highways development was promoted through the building of sub-centres. such as Dongbu Gansun highway and Seobu Gansun highway extend Yeoido, a 8.48 km2 island in the middle of the Han River, was devel- along the streams that flow into the Han River. oped in 1968 (Son, 2003b: p. 37). Apartments, financial institu- The subway has been in operation since 1974 and at present, tions, and broadcasting stations were built in Yeoido after that. there are nine lines and 270 stations in total, with a total length Gangnam was developed in the 1970s as new residential and com- of 312 km (Sohn & Shim, 2010). The subway network is laid in such mercial areas with well-established infrastructure such as wide a pattern that 64.4% of Seoul’s land area is within one kilometre roads, subways, bus terminals, and highways. In addition, a good distance to a subway station (Jang, 2008). Recently the Seoul education environment supported Gangnam’s development. As a Metropolitan Government integrated a bus system into the sub- result, Gangnam became the most expensive residential area, the way in order for passengers to have an easy inter-mode transfer. most dynamic business area, and the most active entertainment At the same time, a bus-only lane at the centre of the road has been area (see Fig. 6). developed. These measures have been referred to as parts of the One core CBD and two new sub-centres, Gangnam and Yeoido, successful transportation policies that boost public transportation serve as commercial centres and provide a large number of jobs usage in Seoul. In terms of airports, there was Gimpo airport near (Fig. 7). About 50% of Seoul’s total employment in 2008 was found Seoul, but its capacity fell behind the demand to support an in the above three areas (Statistics Korea, 2009).11 The CBD has increasing international travel volume; in response, the Korean grown with a number of historically significant landmarks, with government filled in the west sea between two islands and built preservation considerations preventing the redevelopment of the Incheon international airport. Starting operations in 2000, the many tall buildings in the district. For instance, the headquarters latter is about an hour away from Seoul (50 km). In order to of Hyundai Construction is next to Changduk Palace and Unhyeon connect the international airport with Seoul and other areas, a Palace. This fourteen-storey building, built in 1986, cannot be rede- new highway and a bridge were constructed at the same time. A veloped into a taller building under current regulations (though new high speed railway was opened in 2007 to further improve Hyundai Construction builds some of the tallest buildings else- accessibility of the airport. where all over the world!). Because of these regulations, the speed The acquisition of land for road development and widening of change in the CBD has been outpaced by the emerging centres – used the approach of land readjustment (Tojiguhwaekjongni)as Gangnam and Yeoido - as well as other sub-centres in Seoul, despite Seoul did not have enough money to compensate land owners the long historic advantages of the CBD in terms of its well-estab- (Son, 2003a: p. 122). Yeoido and Gangnam development also lished infrastructure and business environment. Accordingly, ur- adopted this method. In the land readjustment project, the govern- ban regeneration has recently become a main planning issue in ment appropriated land and prepared it with basic infrastructure. Seoul. Then part of the serviced land was redistributed back to the land owners. The government kept part of the land for public use such 11 The three areas include six districts (gu): Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa, Jongno, Jung, as roads and parks. The land owners gained in this process even and Yeongdeungpo. though they lost net land area, because serviced land committed 148 H.M. Kim, S.S. Han / Cities 29 (2012) 142–154
Fig. 6. Gangnam business district, Teheran Street (left) and residential areas (right). Source: The promotion centre of the Korea World Trade Center (taken from the Korea World Trade Center).
Fig. 7. Location of command-and-control functions: head quarters of multinational corporations and producer services. Source: Plotted by author. Data are from Fortune 500 Global company in 2009 and Statistics Korea for producer services in 2008 (the number of employees).
Fig. 8. Road system changes in Seoul. Source: Kang (2001). higher value. In the 1960s and the 1970s, the land readjustment for green space. Land zoned as such promised a cheap price, even project reached its peak. From the 1980s, conversion of green field though the land was close to the urban areas. Following this, the into satellite towns was defined as the main land acquisition ap- government rezoned the land for residential use and consequently proach in the Housing Site Development Promotion Act (HSDPA). developed apartment parks and/or satellite towns. Typical exam- By this approach, the government purchased land that was zoned ples of satellite towns include Bundang, Ilsan, Sanbon, Pyongcheon, H.M. Kim, S.S. Han / Cities 29 (2012) 142–154 149
Fig. 9. Gini coefficient and unemployment rate in Korea, 1990–2008. Source: Statistics Korea (1990–2009). and Joongdong. Another method involved redeveloping old apart- As South Korea is getting richer, the youth no longer get a job in ments that were built in the 1970s and the 1980s. The government the so called 3D – that is, the difficult, dirty, and dangerous – designated a ‘redevelopment zone’, in which the density parameter industries, even though manufacturing remains a strong sector. was modified to allow higher density redevelopment and thus a The shortage of labour in manufacturing factories has created larger profit margin for developers. opportunities for labour import from other Asian countries. In the Capital Region there were only 46,000 foreign labourers in Social impacts 1992, but the number reached 570,000 in 2009 (Statistics Korea). International marriage between Korean and foreigners is also on Korea’s rapid industrialisation was accomplished partly on the the increase. These changes move Korea towards a multi-cultural basis of exploitation of labourers. In the 1960s and the 1970s, society. workers – a large portion of whom were peasant migrants who Rapid urbanisation in Seoul was made possible by attracting a had come to cities for employment – suffered from excessive work- large number of migrants to the city, creating a constant struggle ing hours and poor working conditions in textile factories and shoe to provide sufficient housing. In the 1950s and the 1960s, these mi- manufacturing plants. Protests were organised to demand better grants illegally occupied empty land and created squatter settle- working conditions; these were further framed into demands for ments and slums. Ha (2007) estimated that slum and squatter democracy and human rights. These protests were met with gov- settlements accounted for 20–30% of the urban areas in Seoul in ernment suppression from the military dictators in control. Ex- the 1960s and the 1970s (Fig. 10). Housing redevelopment projects treme events followed. One example was Chon Tae Il’s self- were carried out to remove the substandard housing and replace immolation at the Dong Dae Moon market where the textile facto- these by building more formal housing. However, the formal hous- ries were. He committed suicide on the street burning himself ing was found too costly for the relocated tenants without a sub- while shouting ‘Obey the labour standard act!’ (Cumings, 1997: sidy; as a result these tenants were forcibly evicted from their pp. 367–377). Despite the repression by the military leaders, the homes (Ha, 2004, 2007). Clearly, the regeneration projects were South Korean people continued to express their desire for a demo- designed extract profit for developers and speculators rather than cratic society and opposed the state riding over liberty. These pro- to help the ordinary urban poor (Ha, 2007). Tenants forcibly tests and struggle brought about major changes in the political evicted, often ended up in another squatter settlement in vacant system, including the general presidential election in 1987 (Cum- hillsides or open space (Ha, 2007). In the sense, the recent Asian ings, 1997: pp. 386–393). Economic Crisis has created a new housing type to meet the needs Inequality in Seoul was not so serious in 1993 according to Hill of the abruptly unemployed. This new housing is very small in size and Kim (2000). However, as Korea experienced economic restruc- but close to the business districts. Tenants pay a daily rent rather turing, inequality was on rise in the late 1990s. The increasing Gini than being committed to a long-term lease (Ha, 2002). coefficient shows the polarisation trend in Korea (Fig. 9). Since the Income inequality and housing varieties have brought about so- Asian Economic Crisis in 1997/1998, the middle class has been cial polarisation and segregation in Seoul. Past studies show that shrinking whilst the sizes of the lower and high income classes homeowners possess a higher level of social capital than tenants have been on an increase. This has been partly attributable to the in the short-term public rental housing (Ha, 2010). In addition, globalisation process that augmented both professionals and homeowners prefer not to live close to public housing in the same unskilful workers (Sassen, 2001, chap. 8; Shin & Timberlake, apartment park. Despite government efforts to develop socially- 2006). Also, huge scale layoffs in corporations took place during mixed housing in the apartment parks, it remains a major chal- the Asian Economic Crisis. Under pressure from the state and cap- lenge for residents to mutually accept each other. ital to make sure that there was labour market flexibility, the gov- ernment deregulated the dismissal laws and legal constraints for Cultural development hiring casual workers. As a result, recent times have seen an increasing number of irregular, socially unstable workers with a Seoul has emerged a significant cultural centre among Asian decreasing average tenure period. The seniority-based wage societies. The Hallyu (Korean wave) fever well represents the status scheme that prevailed in Korea began to change to a perfor- of Seoul’s cultural development. Korean pop culture, embodied in mance-based one following the economic crisis. As a result, the such facets as its film, pop music, and TV drama industries, has job instability of long-tenured workers has significantly increased been popular in Asian countries since the late 1990s. Thus cheobols (Cho, 2004). invested in the media industry and Korea began to export dramas 150 H.M. Kim, S.S. Han / Cities 29 (2012) 142–154
the Capital Region. Both the National Land Plan and the Broad Metro- politan Plan are vision-oriented. City plans established at local levels are more detailed and project-oriented (Fig. 11). Another key document that has shaped the planning system in Korea is the National Land Plan and the Utilisation Act, endorsed in 2003. Applying the same set of standards to both urbanised and rural areas, the Act has removed the use of double standards and the application of different planning laws in urban and rural areas.12 Two types of plan are defined by the National Land Plan and the Utilisation Act: basic urban plan and urban management plan. A basic urban plan is a comprehensive plan that sets basic spatial structures and the long-term development direction. It is reviewed every 20 years. In practice, it is observed that the making of a basic urban plan is gradually moving away from comprehensive plan- ning to strategic planning. The Seoul Metropolitan Government published its 2020 Seoul Urban Plan in 2006. The plan was the first trial of the transition from comprehensive planning to strategic plan making. While the basic urban plan is long-term and vision- oriented, the urban management plan is aimed short-term tasks and is updated every 5 years. It includes the designation and/or alteration of the zoning plan and the installation of infrastructure such as the greenbelt, urban parks, development projects, and Dis- trict Unit Planning areas. The District Unit Planning area was introduced in 2003 to sup- plement the rigid zoning system. Zoning has been an important planning tool in Seoul to manage urban land use. However, zoning is not only too rigid to keep pace with rapid urban changes, but also very much limited in its ability to create a diverse and creative urban landscape. Hence flexibility in land use and density has been introduced through the designation of District Unit Planning areas in the urban management plan. This flexibility applies to a range of parameters/aspects, such as infrastructure layout, building height, the shapes of individual buildings, an environmental plan, a trans- port plan as well as land use and density. Seoul’s basic urban plan is formulated following the guidance of the mayor of the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The mayor Fig. 10. Shanties along Cheonggye stream in 1967. Source: Seoul Development works with officials of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Marine Institute (2000), p. 236. Affairs to formulate the plan which then is presented to the Seoul Urban Planning Committee for deliberation. The Committee re- as one of its export strategies after the Asian Economic Crisis views the formulation and alteration of the urban basic plan, (Shim, 2008: pp. 17–18). Some countries found that Korean including the District Unit Plan and the Urban Management Plan. cultural products were more affordable than those from other Formulation of the basic urban plan is supported by the research countries and imported Korean media products (Huat & Iwabuchi, institutions such as the Seoul Development Institute. A compulsory 2008: p. 4). The export of Korean television programme rapidly public forum is held during the planning process to ensure that increased from US$ 5.5 million in 1995 to 100 million in 2005 public opinions are heard and incorporated in the planning (Shim, 2008: p. 27). Popular recipients were China, Hong Kong, process. Taiwan, and Vietnam (Shim, 2008: p. 25). In addition, there was evidence that Hallyu attracted foreign tourists (Hirata, 2008; Kima, Planning issues in Seoul Agrusab, Leed, & Chon, 2007). The media development is shown physically in Seoul’s urban landscape. For example, multiplex The fourth National Land Plan was formulated in 2000 and re- theatres were built in major shopping centres in the late 1990s, vised in 2006 to incorporate the idea of capital relocation. For offering more comfortable viewing conditions (Shim, 2008: p. 21). the purpose of balanced regional growth, former President Roh The proposed Digital Media City project is based on the growing Moo Hyun made the pledge to transfer the capital from Seoul to strength of the cultural industry (see ‘future development’ section). Chungnam Province. He pushed the plan forward ambitiously in 2003.13 Despite the judgement by the Constitutional Court of Korea Metropolitan planning
12 Urban planning system For example, the floor area ratio (FAR) was defined using a double standard before the endorsement of the National Land Plan and Utilisation Act. The ‘semi-agricultural and forest area’ in rural areas was allowed a much higher FAR, which was very The Korean planning system is strictly hierarchical. All sub-re- generous as compared to that applied to the adjacent urban areas. Double planning gions are planned and developed according to the higher level plans. standards led to leap-frog development, which was accompanied by inadequate The National Land Plan covers the whole country and is hence at the public facilities and infrastructures (Kim & Kim, 2000). 13 top level. If necessary though not compulsory, the Broad Metropoli- The consideration of capital relocation to Chungnam is not new. The idea was found in the early stage the Chosun Dynasty for feng shui considerations. Under tan Plan can be established to coordinate development in two or President Park Chung Hee, capital relocation was discussed for national defence and more adjacent cities. The Capital Region Plan was introduced as also for preventing population concentration in Seoul (Ko, 2005; Son, 2003a–c: pp. the Broad Metropolitan Plan in 2007 to systematically consolidate 177–266). H.M. Kim, S.S. Han / Cities 29 (2012) 142–154 151
Fig. 11. Planning hierarchy in Korea. in 2004 that the proposed capital relocation was unconstitutional, The Capital Region Readjustment Plan (CRRP) and the associ- the Roh Moo Hyun administration decided that the majority of the ated Capital Region Readjustment Plan Act (CRRPA) were both en- administrative offices and public corporations needed to relocate dorsed in 1982. CRRP is more regulative than a long-term vision to Chungnam Province, even though the capital remained in Seoul. plan, whilst CRRPA restricts concentrated development in the Cap- The new city was called Administration-centred Mixed City.14 3.6 ital Region for the purpose of a nation-wide even development. trillion won was spent on land acquisition.15 Capital relocation This plan is based on a zoning system that divides the Capital Re- was treated as a hot topic. It was debated especially on issues asso- gion into three regions: the over-concentration control region, the ciated with economic efficiency and even regional development. Re- growth management region, and the nature preservation region. cently, on 29 June 2010, the national assembly decided to continue According to the CRRPA, no new facilities that could lead to popu- the development of the Administration-Centred Mixed City project. lation growth in the Capital Region, such as factories, public office Seoul is envisioned a first-class city in the world in the fourth buildings, and universities, are allowed to locate in the Capital Re- National Land Plan. This first-class city status is to be reflected gion. CRRPA also introduced over-concentration charges and a fac- by Seoul’s leading role in the North-East Asian economy and its tory-quota system that limits the new establishments and the uniqueness in cultural, environmental and social-welfare develop- extension of factories in the over-concentrated areas. This is re- ment. The key directions assert that a polycentric urban structure garded as a barrier to the development of Seoul because of its is necessary, which can be built by creating international nodes inflexibility in introducing new functions (Kim & Kim, 2000). such as CBD, Yongsan, Gangnam, Yeoido and Sangam. These interna- As a basic urban plan, the 2020 Seoul Urban Plan has five objec- tional nodes articulate Seoul to the global network of production tives: to develop Seoul into a world city, a cultural city, an eco city, and markets by accommodating critical economic functions such a welfare city, and the capital city in a united Korea in the future. as command-and-control functions and producer services, as well Four main urban problems in Seoul are recognised in this planning as by providing a cosmopolitan culture. document. First, the rapid growth has caused urban problems such The Capital Region has become more functionally significant. as pollution, poor landscape, traffic congestion and uneven devel- Whilst the population growth in Seoul has stopped or decreased opment. Second, the lack of identity is another problem as the de- since 1990, growth has occurred in those remote areas 40 km from sire for economic growth has overwhelmed cultural development. Seoul that are inhabited by people who work in Seoul. In addition, Third, consideration for the disadvantaged is lacking, and public a large amount of farm land has been converted for urban use participation in decision making is absent. Finally, poor competi- within the Capital Region. Urban land use in the Capital Region in- tiveness is acknowledged as a problem at the global level. As such, creased 1.6 times from 673 km2 to 1092 km2 in the period 1980– the five planned objectives provide solutions to the four problems. 2000. On the basis of these changes, the Korean government tried Seoul’s goal of being more competitive faces great challenges in to integrate the Capital Region and develop it into an incorporated implementation because the control measures proposed in the global-city region. The Capital Region Plan16 was formulated in CRRP reject the provision of additional space for such a develop- 2007 and revised in 2009 to loosen the strict greenbelt policy. In this ment. Even though Seoul plays a pivotal role in Korean economic plan it is envisioned that the Capital Region will be a globally com- development, the CRRP prohibits further growth of global city petitive mega-region making full use of its advantages, such as its functions such as command-and-control and producer services in excellent infrastructure for knowledge-information generation, the city. For example, prestigious universities and hospitals pursu- international connectedness, key location in linking the South and ing a profit in the world cannot establish their branches in the North Koreas, and concentration of command-and-control functions. Capital Region. Indeed, balanced development over the whole country is a dominant value, thus any further development in Seoul is in contradiction with the goal of regional equity. This 14 Now it is called Sejong new city. 15 US $1 was 929.2 won in 2007 on average. Thus, 3.6 trillion won was further explains the difficulty in deregulating the land use regula- approximately 3.9 billion US dollars. tion in the Capital Region. Even in the Free Economic Zone of the 16 The planning was collaboratively established by the Ministry of Land, Transport Capital Region, the process of acquiring a development permit is and Marine Affairs, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Incheon metropolitan so complicated that inward foreign investment would not be government and the Kyonggi provincial government. But the practical planning effective (DongA Business Review and Monitor group, 2010). process had been carried out by the research institutions - the Korea Research Institute For Human Settlements, Seoul Development Institute, Gyeonggi Research There has been criticism about the rigidity of the planning sys- Institute, and Incheon Development Institute. tem in Korea, in which the Korean government intervenes heavily. 152 H.M. Kim, S.S. Han / Cities 29 (2012) 142–154
For example, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Marine Affairs a stronger link with major urban centres both domestically and provides the detailed guideline for the basic urban plan. The guide- internationally. Another strategy is to develop Yongsan and Sangam line defines how to survey and predict the future population, and as strategic places for globalisation. Sangam Digital Media Centre is specifies what should be included in sectoral activities. Thus the under construction in the west of Yeoido. Yongsan is being devel- basic urban plan could easily turn into a comprehensive plan oped as a new office area. For future interaction with North Korea, rather than a strategic plan. Despite the fact that the basic urban the strategic plan is to build logistic/interaction parks in the ex- plan is supposed to be a long-term plan, it happens that the pected South-North development corridor, such as Sangam and long-term plan has changed to cater for the needs of urban devel- Cheongryangni/Wangsimni. opment projects in specific areas (Choi et al., 2009). The Capital Re- gion Plan and the Capital Region Readjustment Plan are other examples to show the heavy hand of government intervention. Future development The Korean government formulates these plans and the Seoul Metropolitan Government has to follow them up. Seoul’s future development is characterised by its firm progress The distribution of activities on a regional scale has led to long in the direction of becoming a first-class city in the world, but also distance commuting. There is an increasing number of commuters by the uncertainties it faces related to its urban functions and land from both outside and inside Seoul as a result of job concentration use. The first-class city efforts are reflected in its urban regenera- in certain business districts. Thus the 2020 Seoul Urban Plan has tion programme and new projects that host global city functions. set up the goal to develop a ‘‘polycentric mega-city”. Since exces- The restoration of Cheonggye stream in 2005 is an excellent in- sive development around Seoul and high car dependency are caus- stance of CBD regeneration (Fig. 12). This project demolished the ing traffic congestion and pollution, the plan puts a focus on the multi-dimensional road that covered the Cheonggye stream and fringe areas to provide new jobs and improve the quality of life. created a new streetscape incorporating river side features with In addition, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is being dis- modern office and commercial buildings. cussed. Combined with a distributed compact urban form, TOD is Seoul’s vision to develop into a more competitive city in North- expected to reduce the travelling time in Seoul (Sohn & Shim, East Asia leads to several new projects. The Sangam Digital Media 2010; Sung & Oh, 2010). These efforts will hopefully reduce the City (DMC) development aims at building Seoul into a gateway city dependency on the existing urban centres in Seoul. to East Asia and beyond. The DMC utilises the advanced Korean IT On a larger scale, Seoul is envisioned to host a number of func- sector and tries to integrate urban development with digital tech- tions that promote the interaction between South Korea and North nologies (Fig. 13). The DMC project area is 569,925 m2 and the con- Korea, as well as with other Asian cities. One strategy is to struction will be completed by 2015 (Digital Media City website, strengthen the role of Incheon international airport so that it has http://dmc.seoul.go.kr). Yongsan international office park develop-
Fig. 12. Cheonggye stream: before and after restoration. Source: Doosan Corporation (http://www.encyber.com/cheonggye/41_new.html).
Fig. 13. Artist’s impression of Sangam Digital Media Centre. Source: Digital Media City website (http://dmc.seoul.go.kr). H.M. Kim, S.S. Han / Cities 29 (2012) 142–154 153
Metropolitan Government, 2006: p. 327). It seems that this trend will continue in the future.
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank Dr. Kyoung-Seok Jang and Professor Jong Hwa Park for reading an early version of this profile, the two anonymous referees for their constructive comments, Irene Canmon Han for her proofreading and editing, and the University of Melbourne and the Australian Research Council (ARC2009-DP1094801) for partial funding. The authors are responsible for any remaining er- ror in this profile.
References
Amsden, A. H. (1989). Asia’s next giant: South Korea and late industrialization. New York: Oxford University Press. Fig. 14. Artist’s impression of Yongsan development. Source: Seoul Metropolitan Beaverstock, J. V., Smith, R. G., & Taylor, P. J. (1999). A roster of world cities. Cities, Government website (http://www.seoul.go.kr/info/organ/subhomepage/urban_- 16, 445–458. new/special/business_1_01.html). Chang, Y. (1971). Colonization as planned changed: The Korean case. Modern Asian Studies, 5, 161–186. Cho, J. (2004). Flexibility, instability and institutional insecurity in Korean labour market. Journal of Policy Modeling, 26, 315–351. ment is another initiative to boost Seoul’s global function (Fig. 14). Choi, M.-C., Choi, B.-M., Lee, Y.-J., Yun, W.-G., Seo, S.-T., Lee, C.-S., Lee, S.-S., Kim, T.- Yongsan has the potential to develop because it is located in the K., Yun, H.-J., Jang, N.-J., & Moon, C. (2009). The reform of land use management system. Urban information service. Seoul: Korea Planners Association (Korean). middle of three main business districts along the Han River, and Cumings, B. (1997). Korea’s place in the sun: A modern history. New York: W.W. it is currently occupied by a large number of old and low-rise Norton&Company. buildings. The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to build com- DongA Business Review & Monitor Group, 2010. Free economy zone: Future growth base. Seoul, Dongailbosa (Korean). mercial office skyscrapers, hotels, and residences, totalling Douglass, M. (2000). Mega-urban regions and world city formation: Globalisation, 2 566,000 m , by the waterfront of the Han River in this area (Seoul the economic crisis and urban policy issues in Pacific Asia. Urban Studies, 37, Metropolitan Government website17). By introducing some high le- 2315–2335. vel activities in the northern part of the Han River, the Seoul Metro- Fujita, K. (2000). Asian crisis, financial systems and urban development. Urban Studies, 37, 2197–2216. politan Government intends to even out the developments between Ha, S.-K. (2002). The urban poor, rental accommodations and housing policy in the north and the south of the Han River. Korea. Cities, 19, 195–203. The Administration-centred Mixed City poses uncertainties to Ha, S.-K. (2004). Housing renewal and neighbourhood change as a gentrification process in Seoul. Cities, 21, 381–389. Seoul because the major functions that will be relocated to Chung- Ha, S.-K. (2007). Housing regeneration and building sustainable low-income nam Province are from Seoul. They could be administrative institu- communities in Korea. Habitat International, 31, 116–129. tions, head quarters of big companies or educational institutions Ha, S.-K. (2010). Housing, social capital and community development in Seoul. Cities, 27, s35–s42. currently in Seoul. Land use in the greenbelt presents another Hill, R. C., & Kim, J. W. (2000). Global cities and developmental state: New York, uncertainty. The Korean government has recently announced a Tokyo and Seoul. Urban Studies, 37, 2167–2195. plan for large residential developments in the greenbelt area in or- Huat, C. B., & Iwabuchi, K. (Eds.). (2008). East Asian TV dramas: Identifications, sentiments, and effects. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. der to provide more decent apartments. At the time of writing this Hirata, Y. (Ed.), 2008. Touring ‘Dramatic Korea’: Japanese women as viewers of Hanryu profile, the plan is still being debated. dramas and tourists on Hanryu tours, Hong Kong. On a broad regional level, the Gyeonggi government is trying to Jang, K. S. 2007. Cost-effectiveness analysis of low-income housing programs in Korea: Comparing the cost of the national rental housing and chonsei loan program. PhD. introduce Great Train eXpress (GTX) across the Capital Region. The Seoul National University (Korean). average train speed is expected over 100 km/h and the express Jang, K. S. 2008. Calculation for capital gains caused by high-density development train extends 145.5 km with 15 stations at the main nodes so that around subway stations. Seoul: Korea Appraisal Board. (Korean). the moving time within the Capital Region may be drastically Jang, K. S., Hur, Y.-K., Kim, H.-M., & Kim, S.-J. (2009). The spatial distribution and changes of affordable housing in Seoul. Journal of Korea Planners Association, 44, shortened. The GTX is still in its planning stage, with an expecta- 87–99 (Korean). tion to operate by 2016 (www.gtx.go.kr). In addition to the trans- Jun, M.-J., & Hur, J.-W. (2001). Commuting costs of ‘‘leap-frog” new town port development, there have been large development projects in development in Seoul. Cities, 18, 151–158. Jung, H. N. (1995). The evolution of Korean land policies since liberalization, 1945– Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ). The new Songdo city is under 1995. The Korea Spatial Planning Review, 23, 127–145 (Korean). construction in IFEZ. It is the largest private development project Kim, K.-H. (1990). An analysis of inefficiency due to inadequate mortgage financing: in world history (Kim, 2010). Though it is too early to evaluate The case of Seoul, Korea. Journal of Urban Economics, 28, 371–390. Kim, E. M. (1997). Big business strong state: Collusion and conflict in South Korean the investment success in the IFEZ, it is certain that developments development, 1960–1990. Albany: State University of New York Press. in the Capital Region consolidate the region’s status as a global-city Kim, H.-S. (2009). Disputes on the Capital transfer in the early stage of the Joseon region. Dynasty. Journal of Korea Planners Association, 44, 21–36 (Korean). Kim, C. (2010). Place promotion and symbolic characterization of New Songdo City, Last but not least, the demographic changes may deeply impact South Korea. Cities, 27, 13–19. future urban development in Seoul. One of the major concerns is Kim, H. -M., Hur, Y. -K., & Jang, K. -S. 2008. Property tax capitalisation effects in very low birth rate and an ageing population. The fertility rate in Seoul. In 2009 Housing Researchers Conference, Sydney. Kim, K. S., & Gallent, N. (1998). Regulating industrial growth in the South Korean Korea was 1.19 in 2009, which was the lowest among the OECD Capital region. Cities, 15, 1–11. countries. The number of those who are older than 65 years is on Kim, Y.-C., & Choi, Y. (Eds.). (2004). The theory of Korean foreign direct investment. a rapid increase. In 1991 the portion of the elderly accounted for England; VT: Ashgate. 3.62% of the total population; in 2003 it reached 6.36% (Seoul Kim, C.-H., & Kim, K.-H. (2000). The political economy of Korean government policies on real estate market. Urban Studies, 37, 1157–1169. Kima, S. S., Agrusab, J., Leed, H., & Chon, K. (2007). Effects of Korean television dramas on the flow of Japanese tourists. Tourism Management, 28, 1340–1353. 17 http://www.seoul.go.kr/info/organ/subhomepage/urban_new/special/busi- Ko, D.-H. (2005). The Hanyang’s establishment and urban structure in early Chosun ness_1_01.html. Dynasty. Journal of Local History and Culture, 8, 67–103 (Korean). 154 H.M. Kim, S.S. Han / Cities 29 (2012) 142–154
Korea Housing Finance Corporation, 2007. MPIR (Median Price to Income Ratio) by Son, J. M. 2003a. Seoul urban planning story 1. Seoul: Hanul (Korean). Region. Housing Finance Monthly. Seoul: Korea Housing Finance Corporation. Son, J. M. 2003b. Seoul urban planning story 2. Seoul: Hanul (Korean). Korea National Railroad, 1999. Korean railroad 100 year-story. Seoul: Korea National Son, J. M. 2003c. Seoul urban planning story 5. Seoul: Hanul (Korean). Railroad (Korean). Son, J. M. 2005a. Korean city stories of six decades 1. Seoul: Hanul (Korean). Sassen, S. (2001). The global city: New York, London, Tokyo. Princeton University Son, J. M. 2005b. Korean city stories of six decades 2. Seoul: Hanul (Korean). Press, NJ: Princeton. Sung, H., & Oh, J.-T. (2010). Transit-oriented development in a high-density city: Seoul Development Institute (2000). Seoul, twentieth century: A photographical Identifying its association with transit ridership in Seoul, Korea. Cities, 28, history of the last 100 years. Seoul: Seoul Development Institute. 70–82. Seoul Metropolitan Government (2006). 2020 Seoul urban plan. Seoul: Seoul Turner, J. A., & Kim, Y.-C. (Eds.). (2004). Introduction: Interpreting the idea of a global Metropolitan Government (Korean). economy. England; VT: Ashgate. Shim, D. (Ed.). (2008). The growth of Korean cultural industries and the Korean wave. Woo, J.-E. (1991). Race to the swift: State and finance in Korean industrialization. New Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. York: University Press. Shin, K.-H., & Ciccantell, P. S. (2009). The steel and shipbuilding industries of South Korea: Rising East Asia and globalization. Journal of World-Systems Research XV, 167, 192. Additional resources Shin, K.-H., & Timberlake, M. (2006). Korea’s global city: Structural and political implications of Seoul’s ascendance in the global urban hierarchy. International Digital Media City.