• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-24
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• 2016

This paper is to consider trends and issues of regional research in major sub-fields of human geography in Korea, following the previous one which dealt with contexts and general trends of new regional geography in Korea since the 2000s. They include historical and cultural geography on place and landscape, economic geography on industrial districts or agglomerated regions (i.e. clusters) and urban (and social) geography on urban networks and differentiation. Even though researchers in sub-fields have used different terms and concepts to identify region, they are in common to relate specificities of region to general processes such as (de)modernization, (de)industrialization, and globalization, to understand region as social and discursive constitution as well as substantive reality, and to give more attention to socio-spatial networks and relationality than territoriality of regions. These common points seem to reflect the emerging trend of new regional geography, and to get rid of existing traditional concept of region. It is suggested that major tasks for conceptualization of region in future research are to overcome dichotomy of speciality and generality, of substantive reality and discursive constitution, and of territoriality and relationality, and that important issues for empirical research on region include regional synthesis from new perspectives, uneven regional development as relational process in and between regions, and producing practice for alternative regions.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.357-378
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• 2014

The concern on new regional geography in Korea has emerged in the 1990s under the influence of paradigm shift of Western geography, that is, the withering of positivist geography and the introduction of grand social theories into geography. New regional geography in Korea also seems to have developed in the rapidly changing process of glocalization of capitalism which has accompanied with the transformation toward post-Fordism with high-tech innovation, development of transportation and communication technology with time-space compression, and increasing social and cultural mobility with change of identity. But it can be pointed out that discussion on methodology for regional geography in Korea has been shrunken since the mid 2000s, and there has been relatively little empirical research with synthetic approach to region. But more concern on methodology in terms of place, territory, network, scale, etc. rather than the concept of region itself has increased, and empirical researches on regions in specific fields of human geography have been promoted. It is argued that the traditional distinction between synthetic and analytic approaches seems no longer significant. But geographers need to extend the concept of region in relation to other diverse spatial concepts, and to purse simultaneously structural analysis on glocalization process and practical strategies responding positively to the process.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.184-198
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• 2002

Since the mid-1980s there has been an intensive debate on a regional geography in abroad, and its renaissance has been widely expressed. Under the influences of these academic circumstances, many Korean scholars have tried to introduce this trend and at the same time to propose new development lines of the Korean geography with a critical perspective. However, the empirical study of Korean regional geography including area studies is characterized by a quantitative deficit on the one hand and by its peripheral position on the other. The main reasons of this marginalization of Korean regional geography that we can find include a undifferentiated import of new systematic/nomothetic geography in the 1960s and 1970s, a historical interruption with a tradition of old Korean geography, and the practical difficulties of regional geographical approach itself. Now we face with the fundamental changes including globalization/regionalization and an increasing actual demand for the information on different scales of space and place. In order to cope with these challenges, we inevitably need to revitalize various forms and modem characteristics of regional geographical approaches and try to reexamine the basic concepts, methods, and frameworks of regional geography.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.329-345
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• 1996

The purposes of this study are to review research trends of applied geography field, to retrospect geographical works done by Korean geographers in applied geography, and to prospect the future of applied geography. We are in the period where societal problems such as energy, transportation, pollution, environment, health care, and many others, require careful consideration and need throughout strategies for solution. Most societal problems have some geographical dimensions. Because these problems are geographic in nature, there is an obvious implication that geography as a discipline has something to offer in their solutions. In fact, most geographic problems are best presented and analyzed through the applications of geographic theories, concepts and tools. Applied geography is a branch of general geography. It relies on the scientific methods and uses the principles and methods of pure geography. However applied geography is different in that it analyzes and evaluates real world action and planning and seeks to implement and manipulate environmental and spatial realities. Thus, geographic theories and other social theories that have geographic dimensions are fundamental to applied geography. Applied geography has a short history as theme in Korean geography. During the last two decades. Korea achieved remarkable economic growth. We have also encountered widening regional disparity, housing shortage of larger cities, transportation congestion, environmental pollution and many other problems. Applied geographers have tried to analyze and solve such spatial problems during the last 30 years. The research trend of Korean applied geography can be subdivided into 5 categories: (1) land use analysis and efficient utilization, (2) national physical development and planning. (3) regional development and regional planning, (4) tourism and location-allocation, transportation planning. Still the overconcentration of Seoul metropolitan region and unbalanced regional development are perceived to be the serious spatial problems which may induce more works to solve these problems. In Korea new emphasis has to be given to some professional training and experimental learning, including methodology, field techniques data management, statistical analysis, cartography, GIS, and other tools, as applicable and beneficial to problem solving in real world. The growth of applied geography depends on new insights and purposed solutions of future applied geographers in Korea. Applied geographers will contribute to the creation of future Korean geographies.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.160-197
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• 1996

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.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.8-23
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• 2008

This paper aims to introduce paradigm shifts in the development of economic geography and to explore theoretical background and themes of the New Economic Geography discussed recently. Since the 1990s the New Economic Geography has been discussed actively in the field of economics with including the concept of space to the economic theory. The New Economic Geography has also been actively discussed in the field of economic geography with exploring new methodology and theoretical framework based on institutional and evolutionary approaches following a broad trend of "cultural turn". Diverse themes such as innovation, environment, services, feminist, labor market, etc. has been studied along the perspectives of the New Economic Geography in the field of economic geography. It is expected that new theories and methodologies for understanding and analyzing new economic spaces can be established through active interactions between economic geographers and other social scientists such as regional science, economics, sociology, etc.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.380-395
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• 2002

Since the mid 1990s, in response to rapid changes in Geography subject. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has been in central position in the UK geography curriculum. This paper discusses the roles of GIS for Geography subject curriculum and addresses main development within UK Geography curriculum since the 1990s, and investigates appropriate GIS curriculum that encourages teaching and learning of geography subject within the curriculum. To obtain these research purposes. this paper starts with the brief description of the Geography subject in the National Curriculum for England (1998) with the recent changes of Geography subject in the national exams (GSCE and A level) in the UK. This result represents a clear situation of Geography subject in the UK school education and also provides a new motivation that brings new challenges of information technology driven curriculum within the Geography subject. In turn, the interactive relationship of Geography and GIS within the current Geography curriculum is described by which the discussion of relevant GIS skills within Geography curriculum is followed. To propose the case studies that show the use of GIS for Geography education at school, Key Stages 2, 3, and 4 examples are discussed. Finally, this paper concludes with the issues that GIS benefits encourage geography teaching and learning and that potential applications can support not only the development of new teaching tools and learning strategies in geography education at schools, but also contribute to extend geographical skills and capabilities to collaborate with other subjects in school education in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.155-168
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• 2005

This study gropes for historical geographic approach to regional research in view of new regional geography. A geographical methodology in regional geography pursues the dialectics of concrete totalities. Regional researches think that social processes interact with the uniqueness of regional characteristics and that region is a historical unit which changes dynamically. Time in regional changes is understood in terms of a dialectics of continuity and break. Transition from feudalism to capitalism is the important period which is captured continuity and break simultaneously. Research objects in this research are money, market and city. Money symbolizes transition to capitalism, and market and city have the importance in transition from feudalism to capitalism In Korea, historical geographic approach to money, market and city both in the era of opening ports and in the Japanese colonial times in Korea are important objects in regional geography. Colonial urban research in view of money and market from the era of opening ports to the Japanese colonial times in Korea is a theme which includes a dialectic of concrete totalities in historical geographic approach in regional geography.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.3-23
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• 1993

In this paper the prevailing geography of the information sector, fousing on its occupatonal dimension, is examined. The purposes of this paper are to analyze the labor force share of information occupation workers at each special city and region, to compare the inter-regional distribution of information workforce and to analyze regional share of information occupations in manufacturing industry. Spatial pattern of size and occupational composition of information sector shows a core-periphery disparity. There is a clear evidence of Seoul's dominance of the information economy, particularly such as scientific and technical, consultative services, management and process control function. Also the distribution of information workers in manufacturing industry over space was polarized than is the case for total manufacturing employment and noninformation workers. Therefore Korean information economy is marked by a highly articulated spatial division of labor within individual industry, which can be attributed to the locational characteristics of information intensive industries and industrial composition of regional economy. From the results of this study, information employment prospects among regions of Korea would reinforce the unequal geography of job opportunity. In this light, regional policy efforts should be given to the improvement of information infrastructure to facilitate new computer-based service products and process in peripheral regions.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.393-408
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• 2009

The drastic growth of transnational marriage since the mid-1990s has been a new challenge to Korea. This article aims to provide a comprehension of new ethnicity by focusing on transnational marriage migration in Korea. A steep increase of foreign brides from China and Southeast countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines can be understood in terms of globalization from below. In this context, Korean trend is similar to Taiwan and Japanese ones. But, there are also some differences between them. The inflow of foreign brides has been gradually weakened since 2005 in Korea, as Taiwan has experienced since 2003. In the ratio of foreign brides among total marriage in Korea, rural area show in average two-fold higher than urban areas. However, most foreign brides have settled down in urban areas in aspect of absolute number. Korean Chinese wives most densely concentrate in urban area, followed by Chinese wives, Nevertheless, there are significant differences among foreign brides' residential areas with their nationalities. In this point, the geography of new ethnicity with foreign brides in Korea is likely to be a multi-dimensional space.