Seoul has grand ambitions for its role in international commerce. But the task confronting the torchbearers of this goal is formidable and there is plenty of work to do in both the political, economic and diplomatic levels before it could be termed a global city. A recent survey “of 1,700 managers in 71 Fortune 500 companies in Asia graded Seoul last among five cities (the others were Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo) in five of eight categories: globalization status, foreign-exchange controls, labor-market flexibility, work permits and immigration, and prestige” (Shin & Timberlake, 2004). This reality check is a stark reminder of the hard work required of the city administrators in order to propel Seoul into the international stage.
References:
Shin, K. and Timberlake, M. (2004, Aug) “Korea’s Global City: Structural and political Implications of Seoul’s Ascendance in the Global Urban Hierarchy” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Hilton San Francisco & Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel, San Francisco, CA, Online.
Global Cities and Developmental States: New York, Tokyo and Seoul. Authors: Child Hill, Richard; Kim, June Woo. Source: Urban Studies, Volume 37, Number 12, November 1, 2000 , pp. 2167-2195(29)
David Smith and Michael Timberlake, “”Global Cities” and “Globalization” in East Asia: Empirical Realities and Conceptual Questions” (December 1, 2002). Center for the Study of Democracy. Paper 02-09.
Keum, Hieyeon: GLOBALIZATION AND INTER-CITY COOPERATION IN NORTHEAST ASIA.
East Asia: An International Quarterly 22-JUN-00
Townsend A M, 2007, “Seoul: birth of a broadband metropolis” Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 34(3) 396 – 413
Chang-Hee Christine Bae and Myung-Jin Jun
Counterfactual Planning: What if there had been No Greenbelt in Seoul?
Journal of Planning Education and Research, Jun 2003; 22: 374 – 383.
United Nations Report – Human Development Index, hdr.undp.org/, retrieved on 27th March 2008.
United Nations Development Report Statistics, hdr.undp.org/statistics/, retrieved on 27th March 2008.
South Korea: Ethnic enclaves become “global villages”
BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific. London: Jan 26, 2008. pg. 1.
Asia shares fall as global economic fears return; [1 Edition],
Louise Heavens. International Herald Tribune., Paris: Jan 29, 2008. pg. 15.