[Editorial] Busan Still Ranks Low in Local Development
'Here, Busan is the marine metropolis of Northeast Asia in the 21st Century,’ proclaims the web page of Busan Metropolitan City as it introduces Busan. For Busan to settle in as the center and the marine metropolis of Northeast Asia, it has to become the city of great growth potential and vitality. In short, it needs the capacity to lead Northeast Asia, not to mention Korea as well. However, the result of the numerical index of development in each district is quite shocking. It was conducted by the Korean Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) with the service of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy for the last three years.
According to the KIET, the numerical index of local development of Busan is the lowest out of all the metropolitan cities in the country and is only 11th out of 16 cities and districts. ‘The numerical index of the local development’ is a general evaluation conducted by the KIET of the extent of local development. It is all-inclusive of ten fields and 29 indexes including industrial development, residential life, work conditions and education environment. Until today, they had to rely on sporadic figures, such as income level, to find out about the extent of local development, but the new system is greatly improved in the sense that it is a numerical index designed to grasp the precise actual state of affairs.
Busan has nothing to stand on in a specific way, either. The numerical index of economic strength, which is the motive power for the development of a city, was tenth. That is lower than the average value of the whole country. This implies that industry and the base of the work force are very weak and the social overhead capital, or the financial power, is worse than other districts. The numerical index of vitality of residents, which is also relative to the quality of life, is even lower at 13th. It shows the reality that Busan is not observed as a leading city in areas of residential life, working conditions, medical care, welfare, culture or environment.
On the contrary, Seoul, Daejeon, Gyeonggi and Chungnam are at the top of local development. The centralization in the national capital region and the imbalance between districts are getting even more serious, except the Chungchung area. If this situation continues, it is inevitable that the future of Busan is gray. Far from being the central city of Northeast Asia, Busan might lose its reputation as the second largest city since it is under pressure of competition with other cities in the country. National recognition to foster a renewal of Busan and a suitable specialized policy are necessary.
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 / 입력시간: 2007. 01.26. 08:21
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