Over the past 60 years, the Republic of Korea has been among the countries that achieved the highest growth, indeed recording the highest growth rates in the OECD in just a few decades of the 20th century. Korea has focused on its unbalanced development industrialisation as a national strategy, which has delivered growth in overall living standards as well as income per capita. According to an OECD database, the annual GDP per capita growth rate has been 2.6 times higher in Korea than in OECD member countries on average, increasing at an annual rate of 3.07% in GDP per capita over 2003-16.
Despite this impressive achievement, Korea is facing profound challenges at the sub-national level that could hamper future prosperity for all. Rural regions have shrinking and ageing populations. The capital region of Seoul and its surrounding province of Gyeonggi-do are now home to 45% of the national population and produce a similar share of national GDP. This brings dual challenges both for rural and urban areas: decreasing vitality in rural areas and growing burdens in metropolitan areas, related to housing, infrastructure, public services, crowding, and so on.
Recently, the OECD published two reports on the national strategy for balanced development: “Perspectives on Decentralisation and Rural-Urban Linkages in Korea” and “Smart Cities and Inclusive Growth”. The reports are synthetic studies on Korea’s ongoing national territorial plan. This paper will introduce the core messages of the two reports as well as review on Korea’s national strategy for balanced development along with the perspectives of the OECD.