Although they are all part of Gyeonggi Province, life in the south and the north follows completely different trajectories.
The Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of southern Gyeonggi amounts to 4.8 times that of the north, and five southern cities account for nearly half of the province's total GRDP.
Represented by Bundang and Pangyo, the south has grown into a "live-work proximity" city where IT and semiconductor companies such as Naver, Kakao, Samsung, and SK Hynix are concentrated; over 1,780 companies are located in Pangyo Techno Valley alone.
On the other hand, Ilsan in the north, another first-generation new town, boasts excellent living conditions but is becoming entrenched as a "bedroom community" due to the lack of major corporations to fill the void.
The so-called "Uiyang Samcheon" region—Uijeongbu, Yangju, Dongducheon, Pocheon, and Yeoncheon—has seen its development delayed for over half a century due to being designated as military facility protection zones, and its fiscal self-reliance rate remains below 20%. Lim Jin-hong, Representative of the Urban Platform Policy Consensus, stated, "Gangnam used to be the center. Now, that is shifting to Pangyo. As the axis of growth shifts, places like Pyeongtaek, Hwaseong, and Yongin are becoming the new axes of development. In this process, the northern region is being marginalized."
Choi Kyung-ho, Representative of the Grassroots Citizens' Council, diagnosed the situation by saying, "In the case of Dongducheon, the fiscal self-reliance rate is projected to be 12.7% by 2026. That is the worst. It means I need 1,000 won right now, but I can only mobilize 127 won. It is terrible."
Paradoxically, the return of U.S. military bases, which were ceded for over half a century, is emerging as a new opportunity. Experts unanimously agree that while the expansion of metropolitan transportation networks such as the GTX will narrow the gap to some extent, the more important factor is the "redistribution of opportunity."
What Northern Gyeonggi Province, home to 7% of Korea's total population, wanted was not money, but opportunity.
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Although they are all part of Gyeonggi Province, life in the south and the north follows completely different trajectories.
The Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of southern Gyeonggi amounts to 4.8 times that of the north, and five southern cities account for nearly half of the province's total GRDP.
Represented by Bundang and Pangyo, the south has grown into a "live-work proximity" city where IT and semiconductor companies such as Naver, Kakao, Samsung, and SK Hynix are concentrated; over 1,780 companies are located in Pangyo Techno Valley alone.
On the other hand, Ilsan in the north, another first-generation new town, boasts excellent living conditions but is becoming entrenched as a "bedroom community" due to the lack of major corporations to fill the void.
The so-called "Uiyang Samcheon" region—Uijeongbu, Yangju, Dongducheon, Pocheon, and Yeoncheon—has seen its development delayed for over half a century due to being designated as military facility protection zones, and its fiscal self-reliance rate remains below 20%. Lim Jin-hong, Representative of the Urban Platform Policy Consensus, stated, "Gangnam used to be the center. Now, that is shifting to Pangyo. As the axis of growth shifts, places like Pyeongtaek, Hwaseong, and Yongin are becoming the new axes of development. In this process, the northern region is being marginalized."
Choi Kyung-ho, Representative of the Grassroots Citizens' Council, diagnosed the situation by saying, "In the case of Dongducheon, the fiscal self-reliance rate is projected to be 12.7% by 2026. That is the worst. It means I need 1,000 won right now, but I can only mobilize 127 won. It is terrible."
Paradoxically, the return of U.S. military bases, which were ceded for over half a century, is emerging as a new opportunity. Experts unanimously agree that while the expansion of metropolitan transportation networks such as the GTX will narrow the gap to some extent, the more important factor is the "redistribution of opportunity."
What Northern Gyeonggi Province, home to 7% of Korea's total population, wanted was not money, but opportunity.
▣ Subscribe to Yonhap News TV's economic information channel 'MoneyMove'
@moneymove_tv
▣ Subscribe to Yonhap News TV YouTube Channel
@yonhapnewstv23
▣ The Beginning of Korean News, Yonhap News TV / Yonhap News TV
http://www.yonhapnewstv.co.kr/