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The developmental state, speculative urbanisation and the politics of displacement in gentrifying Seoul

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  • Shin, Hyun Bang
  • Kim, Soo-Hyun

Abstract

What does gentrification mean under speculative urbanisation led by a strong developmental state? This paper analyses the contemporary history of Seoul’s urban redevelopment, arguing that new-build gentrification is an endogenous process embedded in Korea’s highly speculative urban development processes from the 1980s. Property owners, construction firms and local/central governments coalesce, facilitating the extraction of exchange value by closing the rent gap. Displacement of poorer owner-occupiers and tenants was requisite for the success of speculative accumulation. Furthermore, the paper also contends that Korea’s speculative urbanisation under the strong developmental (and later (neo-)liberalising) state has rendered popular resistance to displacement ineffective despite its initial success in securing state concessions. Examining the experience of Seoul in times of condensed industrialisation and speculative urbanisation helps inform the existing literature on gentrification by resorting to non-Western empirics.

Suggested Citation

  • Shin, Hyun Bang & Kim, Soo-Hyun, 2016. "The developmental state, speculative urbanisation and the politics of displacement in gentrifying Seoul," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 60439, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:60439
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/60439/
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Ley & Sin Yih Teo, 2014. "Gentrification in Hong Kong? Epistemology vs. Ontology," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 1286-1303, July.
    2. Bae‐Gyoon Park, 2008. "Uneven Development, Inter‐scalar Tensions, and the Politics of Decentralization in South Korea," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 40-59, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    developmental state; gentrification; Korea; Seoul; speculative urbanisation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology

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