Conference Report – Symposium at Seoul National University

However difficult the situation on the Korean Peninsula is, the desire for unification of the people is genuine and, driven by worries how to best prepare for unification, research on unification and possible preparation for unification never falters, though the focus is often changed. On February 17th, the Institute for Spatial Planning of Seoul National University together with the Asia Institute at SNU and supported by the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies (IPUS) of SNU, a long-term partner of Hanns Seidel Foundation, held a symposium on spatial planning and preparation for unification which brought together academics, but also experts from many areas to discuss these issues.

The conference was opened by Prof. Park Soojin, with congratulatory remarks by Prof. Chung Keun-sik, Director of the IPUS, who called for more research cooperation to prepare for unification. In the first session, aspects of cooperation with North Korea in the field of agriculture and forestry as well as the tasks of infrastructure modernization were discussed. Prof. Lee Yong-Gu, head of the department for urban development at the Korean Research Institute for Human Settlements, the leading public spatial planning institute of Korea, gave an overview over rapid spatial development in South Korea and tasks for future unification. The second presenter, Kim Yeong-hun of the Korean Institute for the Rural Economy, discussed cooperation on agriculture and rural development with North Korea. Based on satellite pictures, Dr. Jo Hyeon-guk of the Institute for Forest Development, discussed the state of North Korean forests and measures for improvement of the deforested mountains in the Northern provinces of Korea. Finally, Prof. Lee Bong-nam of the Institute for Construction Environment Research at SNU discussed the tasks of infrastructure unification in Korea.

The second session brought five more papers, looking at specific cases or issues in North Korean spatial development. Dr. Hong Seung-Pyo, researcher at the Gaesong Industrial District Committee, looked back at the experience of the Gaesong Industrial Complex, a topic which gained great actuality through the current debate on a possible re-opening of Gaesong after the next presidential election. Prof. Kim Sok-Ju of the Department of Geography of Yanbian University in the autonomous Korean Yanbian region of China’s Northeast, discussed the development of the Chinese-North Korean border region. Dr. Bernhard Seliger of Hanns Seidel Foundation gave an overview of the state of infrastructure in North Korea, pointing out the problem of chronic underinvestment in infrastructure due to empty state coffers, but also the absence of depreciation calculus in socialist calculation. Prof. Cho Jeong-hi of the North Korea Research Institute, looked at urban development in North Korea, followed by Prof.Jeong Hyon-joo, HK Associate Professor at the Institute of Humanities of SNU, who discussed the same problem from a human development and humanities perspective.

After the presentations, the symposium participants discussed ways of preparation for the renewal of infrastructure in various fields of the North Korean economy.