Among numerous resources, land is a key resource that serves as a spatial basis for growth. While rational land development is beneficial for balanced growth, inefficient development destroys forests and ecosystems. Social disputes about land may also hamper growth. In this context, South Korea’s experience in land management can provide valuable lessons. Having experienced the Korean War after liberation from the Japanese, Korea has achieved a compressed economic development over the past 70 years. (...) During the course of the nation’s growth, a wealth of experiences was accumulated in managing land use and conflicts and implementing land policies.
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The basic idea of relocating slum residents to a new town with an opportunity for land ownership appeared to be a reasonable starting point for policy implementation. However, the results were not satisfactory due to the underestimation of the value of lands and properties that were formerly owned by displaced households as well as due to the very poor quality of living in the new settlements. (...) The widespread disappointment and indignation of relocated households led to a protest for protecting the resident’s property rights. The struggle of Gwangju Resettlement Town (Gwangju daedanji sageon) in August 1971 is a case in point for the resettlement project. It gives a lesson that “slum clearance” must not end in the reproduction of fragility from one place to another. Therefore, it is important that the government create a habitable environment and secure land rights first and then implement relocation and resettlement plans.
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Korea has grown by resolving a large number of land conflicts. It is important that the government, individuals, and private sector attempt to understand each other’s positions in such improvement. Transparency and accessibility of land information have increased due to the development of information technology, but the technology of ‘communication’, which provides information on situations and interests in the information during the development process, must be improved steadily.
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When environmental pollution and the erosion of natural resources outpace growth from industrialization and urbanization, the pursuit of economic growth is rendered meaningless. Although Korea endeavored to protect farmland and forested areas, it struggled with high environmental and social costs arising from rapid industrialization and urbanization. In this context, the Korean government assessed that green growth would be possible when national geospatial information converged with green technology throughout the public sector, private sector, and individuals and becomes a ubiquitous aspect of economic and social activities (Joint Ministries of Korea, 2014). To this end, the Territorial Information Platform was developed in order to digitally manage the entirety of digital spatial information and paper maps produced in Korea while ensuring that relevant data is widely accessible and utilized.
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