1.6
Restructuring Design for the Korean Peninsula in New Regional Economies of Northeast Asia
동북아경제와 한반도 구조개편 전략(RR98-18) Won-Bae Kim, Young Sub Kwon, and Young-A Lee
1998. 12․133 pages․Korean
Background and Purpose
At the end of the 20th century, Korea faces unprecedented challenges of renewing its economic basis and of readjusting to changing political and economic environment of Northeast Asia. How Korea faces up to these challenges in a coming decade or so will shape the future of not only Korea but also the whole Korean peninsula. Despite many proposals and suggestions regarding Korea's internal reform and external relations, there has been no coherent set of strategies to deal with the restructuring of the Korean peninsula in a shifting geo-economic environment of Northeast Asia.
Recognizing this deficiency, the present study has made a first-cut attempt at reformulating the management strategy for the Korean peninsula. While discussing the current situation and prospect for the political and economic dynamics of Northeast Asia, the study focuses on the geo-economic strategies of Korea for the 21st century.
Methodology and Major Areas of Analysis
Specifically, the study sets out three objectives. First, it attempts to explore Korea's territorial development strategies, taking into account of changing urban and industrial landscapes of Northeast and Southeast Asia. Second, it seeks to integrate the North and the South in terms of economic geography. Third, it aims to provide a sketch design of physical structure for the Korean peninsula.
For the first objective, the study has analyzed the hierarchical structure of city-regions in East Asia and its likely changes in the future. At present, Japan's
growth regions such as Tokyo and Osaka are regional motors of growth, whereas China's and Korea's city-regions are of secondary importance. In the near future, however, a golden triangle of Hong Kong-Taipei-Shanghai could emerge as a core growth center of East Asia, pulling economic gravity towards China. The possible strategy for Korea is to form closer linkages with China's north and northeast region as well as with Japan. Through this way, Korea can avoid the situation, where it is completely left out from the main axis of development. The scenario of Japan forming an alliance with China and Southeast Asian countries would be detrimental to Korea's survival.
In this regard, it is almost imperative for Korea to build the regional alliance and collaboration with the countries around the peninsula. The geo-economic perspective should guide the construction of the physical and knowledge bases for Korea to fulfill its role as a critical link in the region. The construction of land bridge between Northeast China and Japan is the most important task in territorial planning. Opening-up its coastal areas is also important to form the basis for international exchange and cooperation. Building the world-class airport, port and ground transport system and providing quality business services are essential for Korea to become a business center and logistics hub in Northeast Asia. The priority areas for forging external linkages are first the Yellow Sea region and second the Korea-Japan strait zones encompassing Korea's Southwest and Japan's Kitakyushu region.
For the second objective, Korea has to readjust its internal physical structure to achieve the goals of national integration, efficiency, and environmental sustainability. Given almost half a century of physical separation between North and South Korea, it is urgent to build linkages and common bases between the North and the South for joint development. Considering the unpredictability of North Korea's policy changes, a gradual, step-by-step approach is a must for Korea's territorial integration.
In the first stage of limited exchanges, South Korea has to utilize opportunities provided by North Korea. For example, South Korean firms can actively participate in the development of Rajin/Sonbong special economic zone, other open areas, and tourist zones in North Korea. Physical linkages can be built mainly through port-to-port connection.
In the second stage of mutual cooperation and full-scale exchange, linkages can be built up in and around the newly opened areas, major ports, and border areas. At this stage or earlier, the Korean land bridge can be negotiated with the North Korean government for possible opening. Certainly, the Mount Kumgang tourism project can be expanded into a joint development project for a wider area covering both Mount Kumgang and Sorak. It is also possible to make a few land connections between the South and the North for limited traffic.
In the third stage of national integration, a unified transportation system can be built and the Korean land bridge can be upgraded with a high-speed rail and necessary logistics facilities. In conjunction with revamping transportation system, North Korea's industrial structure and distribution system have to be rearranged, taking into account of industrial complementarity between the unified Korea and neighboring countries. Of course, land system and urban structure of North Korea have to be modified to become integrated with those of the South.
For the internal readjustment of urban system, the present study suggests an alternative of network cities (or urban clusters) instead of large urban sprawl with a single core. This concept, which integrates both economic and ecological perspective, is expected to provide more benefits than the current city system dominated by large cities. As large city-regions are likely to lead the national economy of a unified Korea in the 21st century, the study proposes a new policy scheme to deal with potential conflict between national efficiency and regional equity as well as between economic growth and environmental quality.
Dividing the 9 major urban regions into three types; congestion relief, improvement, and development, the scheme provides an opportunity for restructuring Korea's city-region system in response to both processes of globalization and localization.
Conclusion and Policy Implications
Given with this broad strategic direction, Korea has to find ways to strengthen alliance and collaboration with its neighbors. Unfortunately, the division of the Korean peninsula limits the space in which Korea can maneuver itself. This is
why unification of two Koreas is the most urgent and important task.
Considering the interests in regional stability of major powers surrounding the Korean peninsula, no other options than a peaceful unification seem viable.
South Korea, thus, should reformulate its strategy toward an active engagement with North Korea. The role of the unified Korea, if a peaceful unification is achieved, can be substantial. It can play a role of mediator of differential interests of major powers in political terms. More importantly for our purpose at hand, the unified Korea can become a center for economic and cultural exchanges among the countries in Northeast Asia.
However, to realize this potential role of Korea as a mediator and integrator, it is necessary to make the unified Korea's institutional and physical environment to become more open and flexible. More specifically, globalization for Korea and turning the peninsula into a global business magnet mean that Koreans will have to become open-minded about foreigners and other cultures, especially about Japan, China, and Russia.
