Economic Stagnation and Urban Development on the Korean Peninsula Custom Essay

MFCO 312 Urban ICT Presentation:

Economic Stagnation and Urban Development on the Korean Peninsula

Lucy: INTRODUCTION

DEFINITIONS: what we are talking about – Economic Stagnation, digital divide smart cities etc

“Understanding the phenomenon of the post-industrial global city using the theoretical frameworks of David Thorns and Saskia Sassen and applying them to some case studies from North and South Korea to

highlight the effects that the divergent political ideologies and economic policies have had on the region”

IDENTIFY STAKEHOLDERS:

National and local governments

The companies that provide Korea and the rest of the world with ICT – Most well-known examples are Samsung, LG, and Hyundai

Most importantly are the 75 million citizens of both countries.

Meme showing North Korea militarism vs South Korea – ‘Gangnam Style’ (with music)

We all know this song ‘Gangnam Style’ and this has a great relevance as a microcosm of the stark differences between North and South Korea.

– We will come to explain this but first of all Dan will give you a quick lesson in the history of Korea and introduce some of the key areas where urban transformation is linked with economic policies and ICT.

-Pai will explain the different economic systems used in the two countries with a focus on the Samsung Electronics corporation.

– Charlotte will explain the role of the global media with some statistics that highlight the digital divide

-and Lucy will discuss a new industrial region near the border which is a cooperative effort between the two governemnts and points towards a more positive and globalised future for the North Korean

people.

Dan: CASE STUDY: History of Korea and the “Miracle on the Han River”

INTRO: The fact that a Korean language song is the most viewed video on YouTube is a testament to the success of South Korea’s globalisation and their importance as a global leader, especially in the

Information Technology sector.

HISTORY: Japanese occupation until the end of WW2 when the country is divided roughly in half at the 38th parallel with the United States controlling the South and the Soviets controlling the North. This sets

the stage for the Cold War and is the first of many proxy wars that would take place between the ideals of capitalism and communism.

1950 Korean War – North push South until America commits boots on the ground and pushes the North back to the Chinese border. China gets involved and pushes back until an armistice is reached near the

original 38th parallel border. The DMZ is established and becomes a de- facto international border.

The split resulted in a more heavily populated South with better land for agriculture and a mineral rich North. They described the Soviet Union as “dangerously liberal” which shows the extreme far right

ideology

With support from the communist Soviet Union, North Korea is quite prosperous and GDP per capita was equal to that of South Korea as late as 1976. However, by the 1980s the economy had begun to

stagnate, and almost completely collapsed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Due to over-reliance on dirty, low tech industries especially coal mining.

While the North dug its heels in and regressed into becoming an isolated totalitarian regime by holding on to its communist ideals (Which Pai will explain actually had good intentions) the South on the other

hand chose to embrace international trade and poured money and resources especially the steel industry which has allowed South Korea to become and remain one of the leaders in automotive and

shipbuilding.

Ideologically opposed national governments who are technically still at war with each other and both claim to be the sole legitimate government of the entire Korean Peninsula.

CASE STUDY: Seoul is the capital city of South Korea and is one of the world’s great post-industrial, global cities. In terms of size, with over 25 million residents (half the total population of the country) in the

metropolitan area, it is second only to Tokyo.

Panorama Photo – showing size and scale of the city and its growth

Green belt as a way to contain the urban sprawl. Dunedin’s town belt was one of the world’s first cities to introduce this.

Photo of aerial view of green belt

Yeouido Island is a large island in the Han River in Seoul, South Korea. It is Seoul’s main business and investment banking district. Its 8.4 square kilometres are home to some 30,988 people. The island is

located in the Yeongdeungpo-gu district of Seoul, and largely corresponds to the precinct of Yeouido-dong. The island contains the National Assembly Building, where the National Assembly of South Korea

meets, Korea Financial Investment Association, the large Yoido Full Gospel Church, the 63 Building, and the headquarters of LG, KBS, and MBC, and the Korea Exchange Center. Being a vacant spot

convenient to the national capital of Joseon, Yeouido was used as a national pasture for sheep and goats, according to a 16th-century geographical record. When the Han River flooded, only a small patch of

high ground remained above river level: the name of the island means “You can have it”. Yeouido remained for the most part an uninhabited sandbar prior to the construction of Seoul’s first airport in April 1924.

The airport served international, domestic, and military flights, and was also the site of a flight school. At that time the island was part of Goyang. The six-lane bridge connecting it to the mainland of

Yeongdeungpo was constructed in 1970 as part of Han River development project led by President Park Jung-Hee, after which time development took place rapidly. Yeouido-dong was formed as a separate

entity in

CONCLUSION: So that is a brief history of the region. Now Pai will explain some of the differences in economic policy between North and South and see what effect these two different policies have had.

Pai: CASE STUDY: Economies and ‘Samsung Town’ in Seocho, Seoul.

Definition and advantages and disadvantages of Centrally Planned Economy vs Free Market Economy

Korea’s economy moved away from the centrally planned, government-directed investment model toward a more market-oriented one. In 1990, South Korean manufacturers planned a significant shift in future

production plans toward high-technology industries. In June 1989, panels of government officials, scholars, and business leaders held planning sessions on the production of such goods as new materials,

mechatronics—including industrial robotics—bioengineering, microelectronics, fine chemistry, and aerospace. This shift in emphasis, however, did not mean an immediate decline in heavy industries such as

automobile and ship production, which had dominated the economy in the 1980s.

With hindsight the communist policies adopted by the North have had a terrible humanitarian toll on their citizens but they did have the opposite intentions as they thought they could create a social utopia where

everyone was equal and worked together for the common good of the state as described by North Korea scholar Andrei Lankov:

“North Korea should become a country where all of the people would work hard on huge state-owned farms and factories, breaking records of productivity while being motivated by unwavering ideological

zeal and love for country. Everybody would be issued roughly the same ration of subsidized food and consumption goods, and no selfish profiteering would be tolerated, so money would gradually deemed

useless.. Many North Koreans did not find this ideal unattractive” ( Lankov, p.17)

“The foreign aid was increasingly important: in spite of the frenzy of ideological campaigns, from the late 1960’s the North Korean economy, once the most advanced in continental Asia, was sliding towards

stagnation. Without a constant influx of foreign aid, North Korea would have become economically unviable” ( Lankov, p.19)

Time has proved that communism is a flawed system that has not really worked as it seems to be at odds with natural human nature. People are selfish. This is way the North’s regime has become increasingly

authoritarian in order to keep its population under control

Samsung – Now Samsung is one of the world leader electronics and mobile communications manufacturers. Samsung Town in Seocho district of Seoul. Is the neighbouring district of the infamous Gangnam

area. A lot of Europeans live in this well to do area.

Other: CASE STUDY: Statistics of the Digital Divide

– Compare North and South Korea with New Zealand as a reference point

Link Stats to ICT – Samsung accounts for about 20% of GDP and exports

World’s fastest broadband speeds – Seoul has the world’s highest fibre-optic broadband penetration, resulting in the world’s fastest internet connections with speeds up to 1 Gbps.Seoul provides free Wi-Fi

access in outdoor spaces. This 47.7 billion won ($44 million) project will give residents and visitors Internet access at 10,430 parks, streets and other public places by 2015.

Benefit from having access to ICT but also by controlling the production of the hardware that is needed to connect: especially Computers, smart phones etc.

Charlotte: CASE STUDY: Media Framing + ‘Gangnam Style’

News Headlines and Satellite pictures

Urban spaces that house many multi-national corporations, cultural facilities

Until the early 1980s Gangnam and its neighbouring areas had remained the least developed in Seoul, but a prodigious development over the last 30 years has earned it a reputation of being one of the most

affluent, dynamic, and influential areas in both Seoul and South Korea as a whole.

“The structure and form of the city has become much more highly differentiated. The growth of new forms of wealth generation has led to the restructuring of the spatial structures within the former industrial

and administrative cities. Manufacturing has declined as the key engine of growth to be replaced by a new set of activities more centred around information” (Thorns, 2002, p. 69)

The traditional, labour-intensive manufacturing industries have been continuously replaced by information technology, electronics and assembly-type of industries.

Lucy: CASE STUDY: Kaesong Industrial Region & the Future

The Kaesong Industrial Park, operated as a collaborative economic development with South Korea (ROK). The park is located ten kilometres (six miles) north of the Korean Demilitarized Zone, an hour’s

drive from Seoul, with direct road and rail access to South Korea. The park allows South Korean companies to employ cheap labour that is educated, skilled, and fluent in Korean, whilst providing North

Korea with an important source of foreign currency.

Summary

Bibliography & References:

http://www.newgeography.com/content/002060-the-evolving-urban-form-seoul

Korean Urban Sprawl

http://www.newgeography.com/content/003468-dispersion-worlds-largest-urban-areas

http://www.demographia.com/

http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/844/south-koreas-sustainable-urban-planning-and-environmental-technology

*** summarised these article as a bullet points in the powerpoint presentation