• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.683-695
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• 2004

It is generally found that geography majors' progression in society has a very limited scope in Korea and this is one of the causes of lessening geographers' job market. As an attempt to draw a solution to this problem, this paper, by a close examination of the French case, tries to discuss the possibility of geographers' participation in the public sector. Geographers' participation in political and social issues has long history. They acted as providers of geographical knowledge on human and physical features of the world and also as counsellors for effective administration and politics. French geographers evaluate that it is the characteristics of geography that enable geographers to progress into the public sector. They also perceive that such fields as regional development, environment, economy, tourism, international politics are possible ones for geographers. Some implications can be drawn from this case study to extend geographers' participation in the pubic sector in Korea; it is required to sustain open mind to every field of social sciences, to improve specialized as well as generalized knowledge on geographical features, and to provide practical knowledge on spatial analysis and management.