2023, Vol.119, No.

The Korea Spatial Planning Review 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 1.2

pISSN : 1229-8638
https://journal.kci.go.kr/krihs

In South Korea, academic and policy discussions on shrinking cities have increased, but unified definitions and diagnostic criteria have yet to mature. This study analyzed five years of research from South Korea to review how scholars define “Korean Shrinking Cities.” In particular, papers that include terms like ‘shrinking city,’ ‘declining city,’ and ‘local extinction’ were analyzed. Despite all of them referring to cities experiencing population decline, nuances exist. ‘Shrinking city’ accentuates opportunity with future adjustments, while ‘Declining city’ addresses the decay of space and urban functions, and ‘Local extinction’ relates to the loss of self-sustainability in small- and medium-sized cities or rural areas. The concept of “Korean Shrinking Cities” encompasses these varied characteristics. Although the definitions vary, the diagnosis metrics rely largely on population indicators and legal standards, emphasizing the need for diversification in the criteria. As the issues linked with shrinking cities are complicated and diverse, including economic downturns, job losses, or fiscal challenges, future studies should carefully use the appropriate terms and develop measurements based on their research goals. The outcomes of this research are expected to provide a valuable foundation for future scholars engaging with shrinking cities in South Korea

This paper analyzes the structural relationship between the variables related to the causes, phenomena, and results of urban shrinkage in Korea. The results derived from the path model do not significantly deviate from expectations. As young people leave for other regions in search of jobs, the proportion of the elderly increases as overall population decreases. If the population decreases when the size of the city has expanded due to suburbanization or sprawl, the amount of abandoned real estate increases, which leads to an increase in financial expenditures along with aging. In addition, as jobs, population and tax revenues all decrease, the city's financial situation becomes more difficult. However, there are also some meaningful implications. Suburbanization and sprawl have a greater impact on real estate abandonment than population. The results show that suburbanization and sprawl have a greater impact on real estate abandonment than population decline. This suggests that, in order to solve the problem of real estate abandonment, it is important to suppress suburbanization and urban sprawl while increasing population density in urban areas. These are the direct causes of increased fiscal expenditures, so they need more active management. In particular, the results show that the city's financial condition is more influenced by fiscal expenditures than by tax revenues. This shows that efficient execution of budget when demolishing abandoned real estate or providing public services is more important than increasing tax revenue by attracting companies or residents.

This study aims to analyze changes in the demographic landscape at the municipal level, with a specific focus on shifts in the working-age and economically active populations within urban city districts. Despite administrative stability observed in urban divisions post-2000, regional variations have emerged in the diminishing birth rates and an aging population. These demographic changes are intricately linked to concurrent transformations of industrial structures. The primary goal is to comprehensively examine the decline in working-age population within shrinking cities and nuanced transformations in the economically active demographic across diverse regions. This investigative pursuit relies on estimating shifts in both the working-age and economically active populations, conducted at the granularity of city and district levels. The noticeable decrease in the working-age demographic, attributed to diminishing birth rates, manifests universally across all regions. Noteworthy is the proportional increase in elderly individuals within the working-age cohort in locales characterized by more pronounced declines. Expectations align with an aging trajectory for the working-age population in urban districts, potentially mitigated by increased labor force participation among older demographics. These findings provide scholarly insights into the demographic dynamics of shrinking cities. Attention is warranted for locales experiencing increases in total population simultaneously with decreases in the working-age population. Disparities may emerge in the proportion of elderly individuals within the working-age demographic between metropolitan and rural sectors, even amid uniform increases in the working-age population. Furthermore, regions marked by a substantial decline in working-age population may exhibit a heightened concentration of economically active older individuals.