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nchristi Profile
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Capital of S. Korea - Move to Change Location?


I noticed on KXLA news last night an item regarding the heated controversy on changing the capital from Seoul to another location. Where do some want to move it? What are the reasons? Who/what are the forces behind it?

10/10/2004, 4:12 pm Link to this post Send Email to nchristi   Send PM to nchristi AIM
 
Tangpriest Profile
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Re: Capital of S. Korea - Move to Change Location?


This was one of the campaign promises the current president made prior to his getting elected. I can't remember exactly where he wants to move it or the exact reasons. I believe one reason was the vulnerability of Seoul - so much business and government there should it get attacked, and economic - spread out economic bases. You can check some of the online English-language korean newspapers for better details. Do a google search for English-language korean newspapers and you'll get about half a dozen links. I like Chosen Ilbo, Korea Times, Joong Ang Daily, and Korean Herald.

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nchristi Profile
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Re: Capital of S. Korea - Move to Change Location?


Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, Tangpriest. It was very interesting reading up on it. The Korean sources had lots of details that were quite fascinating, but I couldn't find any that ever mentioned where, exactly, is the proposed new location. One of the Washington D.C. newspapers (International section) actually had the most comprehensive article, containing everything a person would ever want to know about it.

You were correct in your summation, too. The main reasons boil down to environmental overload* in the Seoul area and the economic disparity caused by everybody moving to the big city in order to survive. (It was also mentioned that N.Korea has hundreds of missile sites along their border, missiles that could easily wipe out Seoul in just a few minutes.)

It seems this first became a concern in the 1960s, slowly gaining momentum. They established "green belts" of agriculture around Seoul to stem the rapid growth, but this has only exacerbated the problem. Housing developed beyond the green belts and now there are the problems of agricultural v. urban life. Additionally, this has caused the price of land to skyrocket (since so much was taken off the market as designated green belt), and greatly increased traffic/pollution problems as the burgeoning population beyond the greenbelts now commute into Seoul for their work.

What I found most surprising was the "new city." I'm too used to living in non-stop metropolitan areas, I guess, thinking they would designate one of their other cities as the capital. Wrong. They're building a brand new one from scratch. A 20-year (+/-) project. (My initial gut reaction to that was What if they build a city and nobody comes?)

Anyway, thanks again for responding to my question. I appreciate it.

* I noticed in a new K-drama last night there was a scene in the midst of a huge intersection (must have been Seoul) and I counted 12 lanes (6 in each direction). Twelve lanes for traffic! That's worse than Wilshire & Westwood. I guess they aren't kidding when they say they're nearly choked by the amount of daily traffic.



Last edited by nchristi, 10/14/2004, 8:14 pm
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ccwf Profile
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Re: Capital of S. Korea - Move to Change Location?


引用 (quote):

nchristi wrote:

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, Tangpriest. It was very interesting reading up on it. The Korean sources had lots of details that were quite fascinating, but I couldn't find any that ever mentioned where, exactly, is the proposed new location. One of the Washington D.C. newspapers (International section) actually had the most comprehensive article, containing everything a person would ever want to know about it.

And thank you for summarizing. That's really interesting. Could you also post a link to the news article you found so useful?

Last edited by ccwf, 10/14/2004, 5:03 pm


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star1 Profile
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Re: Capital of S. Korea - Move to Change Location?


ccwf, I totally agree w/you re nchristi's followup info and Tangpriest's initial resp. to nchristi's question. Various drama sites have entries from many fans who have actually visited locations where several dramas were filmed (Stairway to Heaven , in particular, was frequently discussed). The discussions of the surroundings made me want to book travel asap.

 
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nchristi Profile
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Re: Capital of S. Korea - Move to Change Location?


引用 (quote):

ccwf wrote:
Could you also post a link to the news article you found so useful?



A small disclaimer: I did an awful lot of web reading that day on this subject (white papers, government office reports, etc., etc.), so everything I referred to in my post is not from the newspaper article. It took some time to retrace my steps; however, The Washington Times had the article that best summed up the whole picture, I thought.

[I am so excited! This is my first attempt to do a link a la the ccwf king! The joy of life's simple pleasures. emoticon --if it doesn't work, i'm going to die....]
10/15/2004, 5:03 pm Link to this post Send Email to nchristi   Send PM to nchristi AIM
 
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Re: Capital of S. Korea - Move to Change Location?


LOL, Nchristi. emoticon

I side with the conservative Grand National Party (Hannara Dang) about this. Seoul may be overpopulated and prone to a North Korean invasion - but Seoul is the literally the soul of the Korean Republic. They want to move it to a small city further south. If they moved it to another larger city - such as Pusan, Incheon, or Taegu, or even Ulsan, I would understand - but Seoul will always be the largest city.

I'm glad that the Japanse government doesn't wanna move the capital from Tokyo.
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Tangpriest Profile
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Re: Capital of S. Korea - Move to Change Location?


I had an interesting conversation with a Korean student of mine about this issue. His feeling is that the actual move will take a very long time. In that time, the North and South could reunify, then the move would be for naught and ultimately cost the people a lot of money. He mentioned the government isn't paying for the move, the people are and at a time when the economy is very unstable - improving, but still very unstable. (Who is acutally paying, I'm not sure.) Anyway, he feels the idea of the move demonstrates a lack of faith in the eventual reunification of the two Koreas. Not sure how accurate he is about whose paying for the move, but I do know, from the Korean people I know and speak with about this issue, the idea of reunification is almost always in their hearts. Most of the same people also understand, that with reunification, as they absorb the economic and social needs of North Korea, it would mean tremendous economic, political, and social hardships for those who have gotten accustom to a high standard of living. This is very similar to what happened in Germany when the two reunified. Roh Myun Hun was nearly impeached for accepting campaign bribes (his opponet was also caught!). The government stepped in and prevented the impeachment. My thinking is this was because of the international embarrassment. Can you imagine, our president (regardless of who it is/was) being impeached within the first few months of his presidency! Anyway, the idea of moving does seem to be losing popularity with the people as does the popularity of the current president.

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Hiroshi66 Profile
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Re: Capital of S. Korea - Move to Change Location?


As a conservative - I must say, why is the people paying for the government's losses? If Roh Muhun is really a social-democrat, which he is, then why is he not using the government's funds for this rather than the people's funds. Are the people told some, if not anything, about this issue. Go up to any Korean over here or even in Seoul and ask the name of hte new capital to be - 3/4 won't know its name. Its some tiny village or something in Southern Korea which is to be only used for government offices. Its quite ridiculous and its obvious the government has a lot of time on its hands.
10/17/2004, 7:01 am Link to this post Send Email to Hiroshi66   Send PM to Hiroshi66 AIM
 
Tangpriest Profile
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Re: Capital of S. Korea - Move to Change Location?


Yes, it certainly doesn't seem to make good sense; however, we need to remember that this is a government in its infancy. And I'm not sure of the accuracy of who is actually paying. S. Korea has made incredible strides since the end of the Korean War when it was nearly decimated. The war ended in 1954 or thereabouts. Have there been any dramas that reflected the political, social, or economic struggles people have endured?

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10/17/2004, 11:33 am Link to this post Send PM to Tangpriest
 


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