• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.77-90
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• 1999

This paper aims to understand the changing characteristics of the Kumi region as a locality in Korea through the regional geography of the world-system approach. To illustrate the changing regional characteristics, we analyzed the economic characteristics or position of the Kumi region within the world-economy and its spatial structure with three divisions of Korean capitalist periods: the Japanese colonial period ($1910{\sim}1945$), the social chaos period ($1945{\sim}1960$), and the economic development period ($1960{\sim}$present). In the Japanese colonial and social chaos periods, as Korean society was incorporated into the peripheral zone within the world-System (world-economy), Kumi also was made into a peripheral agricultural area. As a result, the Kumi region shaped the rural spatial structure without an urban center or regional dominant center. In the development period, influenced by the manufacturing-centered economic policy which boosted Korea as a semi-periphery within world-economy, Kumi also was developed into an industrial region(or semi-periphery) with the establishment of the Kumi electronic and textile industrial complex. This industrialization transformed the rural spatial structure of Kumi into a core (urban center)-periphery (rural area) structure. As we identified above, the regional geography of the world-system approach turned out to be a useful methodology to study a locality or internal region. Therefore we should make efforts to study such regions through the regional geography of the world-system approach.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.115-134
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• 1997

We now live in the new era of globalization which implies the functional integration or increase of inter-dependency between internationally dispersed economic activities. As globalization impacts our various activities and daily lives, social sciences, including, geography, attempt to approach social phenomena from a global perspective. From this point of view. new regional geography, which has been articulated in recent social theory since the 1980s, also must adjust to these new world realities. This paper aims to search for a suitable methodology or approach to area study or regional geography in the era of globalization and to suggest the field of area study that Korean geographers should be concerned with in the future. This paper has reviewed the existing various methodologies of regional geography such as the ecological approach, the landscape approach. the areal differentiation approach, the system approach, the structuration theory, the spatial division of labour, and the world-system, which have deviced in the traditional and new regional geography. Peter Taylor's regional geography of world systems among them has an appropriate rationale of area study in the globalization era, because world-systems theory explains well globalization. However the regional geography of world-systems must be revised to become more suitable to the area-study approach in the globalization era. Firstly, the regional geography of world-systems explains that regions(historical regions) are made by general mechanisms of the capitalist world-economy that operate through social, economic, and political agents within regions such as individuals, households, social classes, economic enterprises, states, political movements, and many other organizations. But these mechanisms can also act through other regional agents of geographical location, natural conditions, and cultural characteristics. Therefore, the generating process of regions needs to be explained by locational, natural, and cultural elements in addition to social, economic, and political elements within regions. Secondly, Taylor's world-systems approach does not express composite characteristics of regions, because it focuses on the economic characteristics or position of regions within the world-economy. Regions incorporated into world-economy systems are not only changed economically, but also changed spatially, socially, culturally, and politically. Hence the world-systems approach must try to analyze these composite characteristics and their change of regions. Thirdly, The world-system approach proposed that the geography of regions within world-systems could be divided and analyzed as three regional types at the geographical scale such as international regions, state regions, and intra-state regions. However such a regionalization is usually not identified distinctly, because the geographical range of regions in world-systems shaped by economic boundaries of the general mechanisms of the world-economy is fluid and also occasionally overlaps with other political regions. Hence I propose that the world-systems approach should choose political boundaries of states and local autonomies in addition to economic boundaries for objective regionalization and systematic areal study. The revised regional geography of world-systems that I have suggested in this paper can be more effectively and properly applied to regional geography or area study in the globalization era. Globalization intensifies competition between states and also between local autonomies in the world. Therefore we must make efforts to study such areas or regions through the revised regional geography of world-system.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.150-160
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• 2002

The purpose of this study is to introduce the new regional geography approaches that have been lively discussed in English speaking countries since 1980s. The discussion of the new regional geography is based on intellectual interchange between geographers and social theorists. The new regional geographers regard a space as a more active thing. A space is not a merely passive container. It is not a outer settings, but a essential dimention of the human being. The new regional geography has been discussed in four perspectives: structuration theory perspective, spatial division of lavour theory perspective, world-systems theory perspective, and post-poststructuralism perspective. The new regional approaches well provide a new direction to regional studies. However, it is so abstracted in concepts for the empirical examinations that it is necessary to introduce a meso-level of concept.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.461-475
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• 2007

To understand the changing regionality of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture(YKAP) in China within the world-economy, this paper examined the spatial division of labor in agriculture and industry with three divisions of period through the regional geography of world-system In the Japanese colonial period(l909$\sim$1949), the YKAP was made into a typical peripheral agricultural and industrial region which was exploited by the Japanese empire. In the socialist period(1949$\sim$1978) which China separated from the world-system, the YKAP was transformed into a socialistic agricultural and industrial region. In the reform and open-door period(1978$\sim$present), the YKAP still plays a role as a peripheral region due to the late open-door policy in 1992 of Chinese government on the border land and else, while most littoral areas of China are developed into a semi-peripheral region. Therefore if the YKAP continues to exist in the future, it is a critical matter to raise the position of the YKAP within the world-economy into a semi-periphery as soon as possible to increase the ratio of Korean ethnic in the YKAP.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.16-30
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• 2006

In terms of world system theory, the historical period of Yanbian area was divided into 3 parts: Japan colonial period which was assigned to the periphery of world system, socialist period which escaped from the world system, and the reform-open period that was reincorporated to world system. The cultural character of each period was studied. The conclusions are as follow. During the period of periphery of world system, Yanbian area as an area where the massed Korean people lived, was dominated by Korean peninsular culture. However, Yanbian area was also affected by the Japanese and Chinese cultural assimilation policy. During the period that Yanbian area aparted from the world system, it was affected by the requirement of unique socialist culture assimilation, and traditional cultures were hard to keep. During the period of reincorporation to the world system with lighten of minority policy by Chinese government, traditional national culture begin revived, but due to extend intercourse of Yanbian with China mainland and Republic of Korea, China-Korean culture of Yanbian area was strongly affected by Chinese and Korean culture too.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.161-169
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• 2002

The traditional methodology of Korean regional studies had been shifted by geographic thoughts and philosophy as follows; Environmentalism or Environmental determinism stemming from geomancy were dominant methodology in the Korea era. An idiographic approach was introduced based on the encyclopedic description of geographic factors of villages for the centeralization of power in the Chosun era. A systematic geography that pursues scientific laws of regional differences which results from the interactions of human and nature had emerged through field works of some practical school in the later Chosun era.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.140-157
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• 2012

Most of global citizens in the globalization era want to live peacefully in the symbiotic relationship among each region or locality with its identity. From this perspective, the new regionalist models of development such as new industrial districts, industrial clusters, regional innovation systems, and global city-regions isn't helpful to most of regions because they were developed to increase the global competitiveness of industrial region from a few advanced industrial areas. This study attempts to develop 'regional differential development' as an alternative regional development theory. This theory puts emphasis on the truth that the difference or differential industry between regions in the real world connotes two essential values of development like the symbiosis of global citizens and the regional identity. Regional differential development seeks the development of regional differential industry on the basis of geographical elements with differential advantage, and hence it reviews significantly geographical elements including location, natural environment(landform, soil, climate, etc.), natural resources, population, transportation, culture, and landscape which appear substantially differently among regions. And to realize regional differential development successfully, it is crucial that actors(government, company, related institutions, and regional residents) actively participate and play each complementary role in the relationship of cooperation and conflict. Further study needs to secure the universal validity of this theory through many empirical studies.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.167-180
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• 2006

The Ruhr region used to be a large industrial area, working as an engine of economic growth of the Germany. However, the region has been suffering from economic and social problems originating from de-industrialization. Since the 1970s, various levels of governments have attempted to solve the problems with policies of regional innovation, e.g., establishing technology parks, competence centers, and business incubators to promote start-ups, technology transfers, and networks between governments, businesses, universities, public research institutes, and the public. In this context, this paper attempts to analyse governance of regional innovation policies of the Ruhr area, based on an analytical framework developed by a groups of researchers, i.e.. Bae et al (2006), The paper concludes that the roles of governments are important in creating and implementing regional innovation policies of the Ruhr area, the policies heavily rely on the R&D capacity of local universities and public research institutes; and various levels of governments have different roles to play.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.81-96
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• 2006

The Lorraine region of France is one of the regions in the core of Europe that suffered most from the decline of its traditional industries. Since the 1970s, various levels of governments have attempted to solve the economic and social problems originating from de-industrialization with policies of regional innovation, e.g., establishing technopole, the creation of the technology transfer network, the launch of the RTP project, and business incubators to promote start-ups, technology transfers, and networks between governments, businesses, universities, public research institutes, and the public. In this context, this paper attempts to analyse governance of regional innovation policies of the Lorraine region, based on an analytical framework developed by a groups of researchers, i.e.. Bae et at (2006). The paper concludes that the roles of governments are important in creating and implementing regional innovation policies of the Lorraine region; the policies heavily rely on the R&D capacity of universities and public research institutes; and various levels of governments have different roles to play.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.505-518
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• 2003

The purpose of this paper is to review Post-Fordist urban economic theories that have tackled the recent changes of urban economies in large cities in the world since 1980s, so that we can conceptualise the changes of urban economies in Korean cities. In the perspective of the Post-Fordist urban economic theories, the recent changes of urban economies in the world are deeply related to the transformation of capitalist world economic system from Fordism to Post-Fordism. To see these changes which can be called as the new urbanization process in the economic aspect, we will focus especially such theories as new industrial space (district) theory based on the flexible specialization paradigm, informational city theory based on the information and communication mode paradigm, and cluster and regional innovation theory based on the institution and network paradigm. Also we will consider the social polarization process and dual city phenomena that have been observed for the most part of big cities in the world.