• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.536-553
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• 2011

New urbanization different from the manufacturing based urban growth has been widely discussed in post-modern city, consumption city and others to reflect the urban changes in qualitative manner. Urbanization stage models consider large cities to be in mature stage, reurbanization and the stages are assumed to be experienced successively in lower sized cities. However, since the industrial restructuring implies new urbanization experiences, this study examines new urbanization in diverse aspects such as the population change and the geographic and social characteristics of commuters and migrants for the 6 large cities in Korea. Seoul follows the urbanization stages in order while other 5 large cities are divergent in their transition from the industrial city. Regional large cities reveal broad reverse commuting and selective in-migration of economically active households for better work and housing opportunities available in central cities. Similar to the consumption city thesis with enhanced cultural and recreational amenities in western cities, the widening urban residential function including housing and other services is a new urbanization characteristic of large cities in Korea.