[Choi Jun-young's Urban Pilgrimage] The Future of the Southern Seoul Metropolitan Area Transformed into a Giant Industrial Belt

Wide Plain Areas Formed in Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek, Anseong, and Icheon
Major Companies Like Kia, Samsung, and SK Hynix Have Worksites
Population Grows with Jobs and Transportation Networks, Forming Large Living Zones
Systematic Planning and Management Needed for Activation and Linkage of Adjacent Areas

It has been over a year since I started commuting from Sejong to Seoul using high-speed rail. Alternating between the KTX bound for Seoul Station and the SRT bound for Suseo Station, the most noticeable changes are centered around Pyeongtaek Jije Station in the southern metropolitan area. This area is not only a transportation hub where high-speed rail lines diverge on both sides of the massive Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek campus, but it is also characterized by large-scale plains and gentle hills rarely found anywhere else in the metropolitan area.

Since this region was once tidal flats and wetlands, it was not highly regarded until reclamation projects carried out after the 1960s converted it into farmland. Subsequently, it has gradually transformed into various manufacturing and residential areas. Traveling around this region by car rather than high-speed rail reveals that the scenery last year differs from this year, and last month’s view differs from this month’s. The energy of change is overwhelmingly strong, unlike anywhere else. One can truly feel the influx of people and capital.

Looking at a map, a large plain area extends from the southern part of Hwaseong City through Pyeongtaek and Anseong, continuing to Icheon and Yeoju in the southern metropolitan area. This region is not only vast in area but also hosts major Korean companies’ facilities such as Kia Motors, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix. In 2022, a new semiconductor cluster is also planned to be established in Yongin. A massive industrial belt is newly forming across the southern metropolitan area, which was once considered primarily agricultural. Regarding transportation networks, numerous roads, including the Pyeongtaek-Jecheon Expressway, are continuously being constructed. Railways are also being electrified and upgraded to high-speed, with new lines such as the West Sea Line being built, resulting in a comprehensive transportation network. This situation naturally gathers the energy of change.

With jobs and transportation networks in place, residential demand is also increasing, leading to large-scale urban development projects such as the Godeok New Town project progressing in various locations. Due to continuous population inflow, Hwaseong City is certain to grow into a city of one million people around 2025. Pyeongtaek City, which has been increasing its population by 2,150 people monthly this year, also presents a vision to become a city of one million by 2030. Including Yongin City, which has already surpassed one million, this creates a large-scale living area with a population of four million. In a reality where South Korea as a whole is suffering from aging and population decline, the southern metropolitan area is the only region where such a rosy outlook can be presented, making it a place to watch closely.

Looking back, despite the continuous suppression of metropolitan concentration since the early 1970s and various regulations under the Metropolitan Area Readjustment Planning Act, the metropolitan area has continuously grown by developing diverse industries in line with the times. Considering that the southern metropolitan area is designated as a ‘Smart Semiconductor Belt’ in the spatial structure of the 4th Metropolitan Area Readjustment Plan, it can be anticipated that the speed of growth and change in this region will be very rapid in the future.

Although there is connectivity with Seoul, the growth pattern based on horizontal connections between regions is different from the past. From the perspective accustomed to development centered on Seoul, the development direction linking relatively distant areas from Seoul may feel unfamiliar, but this trend is already becoming visible. Living areas centered on Pangyo, Gwanggyo, and Dongtan are clearly establishing themselves as independent living zones rather than being connected to Seoul, and inter-regional connections are also progressing distinctly. The concept of a metropolitan area not subordinate to Seoul is emerging.

This new form of development structure demands a change in metropolitan management policies that have assumed a unipolar development system with Seoul at the apex. There has been no proper discussion so far on how to view the independent growth engines within the metropolitan area outside Seoul’s sphere of influence. It is unclear whether inter-regional connections and development outside Seoul should be nurtured or also viewed as subjects of suppression and restriction.

Until now, changes in the southern metropolitan area have been under the jurisdiction of individual local governments. Unlike areas near Seoul, local governments in the southern metropolitan area have had sufficient distances between them, so there was little need to consider mutual interference or influence. However, as development progresses, situations requiring consideration of mutual connections and influences are emerging. A comprehensive plan or system to manage this region is necessary, but no such measures have yet appeared. Gyeonggi Province, the metropolitan local government, has presented a basic outline of directions through the ‘Provincial Comprehensive Plan’ and ‘Gyeonggi Vision 2040,’ but it remains at the level of abstract development directions and spatial concepts rather than exercising concrete management and coordination functions.

From the perspective of suppressing metropolitan concentration, changes in the southern metropolitan area may be unwelcome, but considering the overall decline in growth engines due to population decrease and aging, this region may be the last area to lead South Korea’s growth and change. Therefore, systematic planning and effective management measures for this region are necessary. We must not repeat past failures of introducing excessive regulations after problems arise and investing huge costs to expand infrastructure retroactively.

Learning from the case where the ambitiously launched ‘Hwanghae Free Economic Zone’ was reduced to the ‘Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone’ covering only Gyeonggi Province, efforts should be made to activate connections with adjacent areas and consider systems for fostering and managing economic and living zones that transcend administrative boundaries.

Legal Expert, Yulchon LLC

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.