Geography Department Research Seminar : Dr Jung Won Son (Bartlett School of Planning, University College London)
| Dates: | 14 February 2018 |
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| Times: | 16:00 - 17:30 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Environment, Education and Development |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, Adults, Alumni, Current University students |
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Geography Department Research Seminar
Accumulation by dispossession under the developmental state: building high-rise apartment clusters in Gangnam, Seoul
Dr Jung Won Son (Bartlett School of Planning, University College London)
<Sponsored by the Manchester Urban Institute>
Chaired by Jamie Doucette
Abstract:
This talk sheds light on the politico-economic origins of South Korea’s residential landscape. In particular, we examine the Gangnam District, created in the 1970s by the South Korean developmental state, as the prototype of residential property development. The empirical findings allow the contextualization of the accumulation by dispossession (ABD), a concept popularized by David Harvey, in East Asian context by examining how it is integral for the functioning of the South Korean developmental state in times of condensed urbanization. We argue that understanding the socio-spatial specificities of the state is critical. This talk understands ABD as the replacement of one type of property right by another, particularly paying attention to the institutionalization of the process of replacing communal property rights with private property rights by the state. Based on analyses using various data sources, we show that, in the property sector in South Korea, the developmental state’s policies initiated ABD. The means for ABD in the country included the following: transferring public assets to private hands, designating certified firms, giving those firms preferential treatment in housing construction, and facilitating the further growth of large firms through mergers and acquisitions. By linking these empirical findings with existing knowledge of the South Korean developmental state of the 1970s, we propose the theoretical point that the specific processes of ABD are strongly influenced by the historico-spatial specificities of the state.
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