• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.11-25
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• 2010

Green Growth was declared as a national development agenda in 2008. There are many contributing concepts and factors in the process of molding the agenda, such as climate change, sustainable development, globalization, the so-called 747 campaign pledges by President Lee in 2007, and the hunger for economic growth in Asia and the Pacific. Green Growth is rather growth-oriented and pays less attention to environmental conservation and social justice. Green Development would fit better as the name of the agenda, dealing with the weaknesses of Green Growth. Climate change itself is a testing ground for geographic knowledges, whose demand is growing rapidly. The contemporary issue increasingly bears complexity that Earth System Science and Sustainability Science have emerged as a research and applications program. Geography is widely recognized as a portal to these programs, where inter- and trans-disciplinary studies are required. Regional potentials should be evaluated from a holistic view so that proper development goals are chosen. Different development trajectory should be taken, depending on the amount of potential a region bears. Material loop should be closed for environmentally sound regions. Green way of life is essential for low carbon society. In the circumstances of climate change in Korean Peninsula and needing of energy efficiency, geographic insight or imagination is urgent for Green Development.