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Proximity, Resilience, and Blue Urbanism: Spatial Dynamics of Post-Pandemic Recovery in South Korea’s Coastal Fishing Communities

Author

Listed:
  • Jeongho Yoo

    (Division of International Commerce, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea)

  • Heon-Dong Lee

    (Division of Marine & Fisheries Business and Economics, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea)

  • Chang-Yu Hong

    (Division of Global & Interdisciplinary Studies, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a profound interruption in the way people travel and has had a very negative impact on tourism and economics throughout the world, especially on the coastal fishing communities in South Korea. These previously problematic areas, having suffered a decrease in the local population as well as stood in the midst of the economic downturn, experienced a great cut in the number of tourists coming from far away, which additionally caused their collapse of resilience and sustainability. This research investigates the recovery trends of 45 seashore-fishing districts in South Korea and how the change in travel distance and the number of visitors before and after the pandemic have affected these trends. Through the utilization of big data from the Korea Tourism Data Lab (2019–2023) and Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis, we observe the changes in visitor flows, use the indices of resilience as an indicator to measure them, and investigate how proximity affects travel recovery. The survey results indicate that the regions neighboring metropolitan zones were not only the ones that suffered the most from travel distance during the pandemic but also experienced quick recovery after the pandemic. The new promotional campaigns, in tandem with an improved network of transportation, contributed to the swift recovery of these areas. The remote areas, on the other hand, persist in fighting the problems of regionalized tourism and have only limited accessibility. The proposition of “distance-dependent resilience” theory as well as the Blue Urbanism framework is offered in order to bring up the ideas of sustainable tourism and population stabilization. The study is expected to serve as a cornerstone for the practice of adaptive governance and strategic planning in the matter of the coastal areas after the pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeongho Yoo & Heon-Dong Lee & Chang-Yu Hong, 2025. "Proximity, Resilience, and Blue Urbanism: Spatial Dynamics of Post-Pandemic Recovery in South Korea’s Coastal Fishing Communities," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-21, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:6:p:1303-:d:1682157
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jun-Ik Sohn & Abhinav Alakshendra & Hyun-Jung Kim & Kyu-Han Kim & Hyun-Dong Kim, 2021. "Understanding the New Characteristics and Development Strategies of Coastal Tourism for Post-COVID-19: A Case Study in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-13, July.
    2. G. M. Monirul Alam & Md Nazirul Islam Sarker & Marcel Gatto & Humnath Bhandari & Diego Naziri, 2022. "Impacts of COVID-19 on the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector in Developing Countries and Ways Forward," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-13, January.
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