Fifty years of economic geography in Korea:research trends and issues

한국경제지리학 반세기:연구성과와 과제

The purpose of this study is to review research trends and issues of economic geography in Korea for the last fifty years by sub-fields of agricultural geography, industrial geography, commercial and service geography, and transportation geography. Research in Korean economic geography has progressed significantly in terms of the scope and the number of papers published during the last a half a century. Agricultural geography was a leading field of economic geography in Korea before mid-1970s. Since the mid-1970s, however, agricultural geography has turned over the leading role in economic geography to industrial geography. Classification and structure of agricultural region has been the most popular research theme in Korea, even though diverse topics has been dealt in the research of agricultulal geography in Korea during the last fifty years. In recent years, emphasis is given to study on the dynamics of agricultural region and regional differentiation of part-time farming. It is suggested that the future issues of research in agricultural geography in Korea are agricultural restructuring and changes in agricultural space under the WTO system, changes in rural area and agricultural region with the progress of informatization, changes in agricultural structures and rural society by the increase of part-time farming, governments agricultulal policy and its impacts, competitive advantages of Korean agricultulal products, and environmental impacts of agricultural restructuring. Research in industrial geography has remarkably progressed since the 1980s. Locational changes, regional industrial structure and formation of industrial region were the major topics of interest in the research of industrial geography in Korea before 1980. Since the early 1980s, in addition to the topics which were interested in before 1980, changes of industrial organization and industrial location, changes of production systems and industrial space development of high technology industries and science parks, industrial restructuring and regional economy, foreign direct investments, industrial linkages and industrial districts, and industrial policy and regional development have been the major research themes of industrial geography in Korea. Considerable number of papers has been published both in Korean journals and in foreign journals during this period. Considering global changes in the organization of industrial space, future research should be more focused on firms strategy for regaining competitive advantages, local and global perspectives of industry, industry and environmental changes, in addition to the topics which have been dealt in recent years. Research in commercial and service geography and transportation geography was negligible in Korea before the late 1970s. These two sub-fields in economic geography have begun to develop since 1980s. Periodic markets, structure of commercial area, and distribution of products were the major topics of interest in the 1980s in the commercial and service geography in Korea. In the 1990s, however reserch in producer services has been active with growth of producer services in Korean economy. It is suggested that regional changes with progress of informatization and technology, changes of international trade and regional changes, development of efficient distribution system, role of producer services in regional development, and network of producer services are the major issues to be studied in the future in the field of commercial and service geography in Korea. Commuting, distribution of products, and transportation networks have been the major topics of research in transportation geography in Korea. Diverse quantitative techniques have been applied in the most of the researches in transportation geography. It is required that future studies in transportation geography should also focus on societal and behavioral issues, policy issues regional impacts of new transportation facilities, an analysis of transportation system at the global or international level. Since the 1980s economic geography in Korea has considerably progressed with publication of papers and books. The progress can be regarded as successful in quantitative aspect, but not in quantitative aspects. For the development of Korean economic geography in both quantitative and qualitative aspects, it is necessary to promote international collaborative researches and interdisciplinary cooperations. Attention should also be given to the research on changes in competitive advantages and economic restructuring, changes of economic space with the development of high technology and the progress of informatization. economic development and culture. and foreign regional studies.

한국 경제지리학은 지난 반세기동안 연구의 범위나 양적인 면에서 상당한 변화를 겪어왔다. 본 연구에서는 편의상 한국경제지리학을 농업지리학, 공업지리학, 상업,서비스,유통지리학,교통지리학으로 나누어 각각 연구성과와 과제를 검토하였다. 농업지리학은 1970년대 중반이전에 한국경제지리학의 발전을 주도하였으나 1970년대 중반이후 연구활동이 타분야에 비하여 상대적으로 활발하지 못하였다. 연구주제도 1970년대 중반 전후간에 큰차이가 없으나 다만 최근들엇 농업공간의 변화나 겸업 지역분화 등 농업활동과 농업지역의 동태성을 더욱 강조하고 있다. 공업지리학은 1980년대 이후 연구가 가장 활발히 전개된 분야인데 최근에는 전통적으로 연구되어온 입지변화나 공업지역구조뿐만 아니라 기업조직의 변화 생산체계와 산업공간의 변화 첨단기술산업발전과 과학단지개발 산업구조조정과 지역경제, 해외직접투자, 산업지구와 산업공간연계 등 다양한 주제의 연구가 이루어졌다. 상업,서비스,유통지리학에서는 1980년대까지 정기시장, 상가구조, 상품별 유통에 관한 연구가 주로 이루어졌으나 1990년대에 들어서는 생산자서비스를 중심으로한 서비스산업과 고나련된 연구들이 많이 이루어졌다. 교통지리학에서는 그동안 지속적으로 통근, 화물운송체계, 교통망 등에 대한 연구가 중심을 이루고 있는데, 이중에서 통근에 대한 연구가 가장 활발히 이루어졌고 최근에는 통근연구의 주제도 다양해졌다. 본 연구에서 각 분야별로 앞으로의 연구과제를 지적하였는데 경제지리전반에서 볼때 지역경제 또는 국가경제의 경쟁적 우위의 변화와 경제구조재편 및 그에 따른 지역구조변화, 경제지리학에서의 환경문제, 첨단기술의 발달과 정보화에 따른 산업공간조직의 변화. 문화와 경제발전. 해외지역연구 등이 앞으로 중점적으로 다루어져야할 주요 연구과제이다.