Abstract
This study begins with a question of what spatial impact international trade policy would have following the Uruguay Round, particularly focusing on agricultural trade liberalization in Korea. Based upon the neoclassical urban economic model, it first identifies the channel in which agricultural market opening can ultimately affect both rural and urban are as; $\circled1$ Free trade will depress domestic price of agricultural products, $\circled2$ which will in turn depreciate agricultural land price. $\circled3$ The decrease in marginal supply cost for urban land will then facilitate urban sprawl, provided that the government relaxes restrictions on urban-rural land conversion. Theoretical analysis is further refined by empirical considerations that distinguish agricultural land value solely for production purpose from that for future urban, uses, and that distinguish the urbanization effect caused by the fall in the supply cost of urban land from that caused by the existing high level of demand. Utilizing the estimate of bid-price for paddy field derived from the revenue-cost relationship of rice production, simulation results show that the urban-rural boundary under trade liberalization can expand outward up to 70-85km radius in the Seoul metropolitan area, suggesting the emergency of a metropolis or even a megalopolis which extends from Seoul to the central part of the country. Since the geographic extent of urbanization effect can vary depending upon the urban spatial structure, however, it is recommended that the redevelopment option in the built - up area should always be tied up with the issue of whether to deregulate rural-to-urban land conversion.