After IMF crisis, South Korea's urban culture has changed dramatically. The neo-liberalism that argues the deregulation, de-welfare, and privation has become the core value of the national policies. And also, the production system of Fordism that emph...
After IMF crisis, South Korea's urban culture has changed dramatically. The neo-liberalism that argues the deregulation, de-welfare, and privation has become the core value of the national policies. And also, the production system of Fordism that emphasizes on the mass production and standardization has shifted toward the flexible accumulation. According to these changes, the state emphasizes on the cultural value of urban and the local authorities make the place-marketing strategies, which commodify the local and historical resource.
What are the logics of political economy which have driven the urban redevelopment after IMF crisis? How has the representation of urban spaces changed in the postmodern society? How do the producers and consumers of spaces experience and practice in a new space production system? This thesis focuses on South Korea's urban production system, especially the consumption space of Sam-Cheong dong. And it analyzes the change of the space based on the logic of gentrification and searches how the space has been produced socially.
The social production of space consists of three dimensions' spatial practice, spatial representation, represented space. Gentrification means that cities are restructured by the real estate development, recreation of traditional landscapes, vitalization of cultural, shopping streets, and redevelopment of residential areas. In the processes which 'Sam-Cheong dong' has shifted from the residential spaces to the consumption spaces, the consumers of the space carry out habitual practices. The consumption space packed with means and symbols now becomes the place accumulating and reflecting cultural and social characteristics.
This thesis analyzes Sam-Cheong dong's political economy structure. For this analysis, firstly, this thesis searches various bibliographies and traces on how Seoul's urban policies drive Sam-Cheong dong's change to consumption space.
Secondly, this thesis analyzes the system of meaning production contributing to Sam-Cheong dong's consumption space. In order to study this subject, this thesis explores the mechanism producing Sam-Cheong dong's spatial images, such as the allocation and structure of space, nature of facade, and discourses of space.
Lastly, this article studies the experiences of Sam-Cheong dong. After dividing the subjects experiencing Sam-Cheong dong into three agents ' inhabitants, gentrifiers(artists), consumers of space, this article sees how these agents has changed.
Sam-Cheong dong that was the space of oppressions and controls is now changing to the consumption and tourism space. And these changes reveal that Korea's strategies dominating spaces have shifted. While the past domination was represented by the coercive state control by the Fordism mode, the current dominance is represented by the 'urban marketing' which has soft control based on the flexible accumulation.
Domination of the past 'height restriction', represented by the coercive state control by the fordism mode of production has been. The current dominance of the 'urban marketing' represented by soft control that based on the flexible accumulation. We can see these changes by Sam-cheong dong's gentrification.
The development of Internet media, the advent of the digital generation, increasing 'conspicuous consumption' hierarchy, the factor of culture and class meet the cumulative landscape producing the new mode of meaning production.
Sam-cheong dong as living space is changed post-modern consumtion space as tourist destinations. Producers and consumers of space are doing Participation - exclusion - shelling - Practice repeatedly.
But in recent years, residents and gentrifiers are trying to preserve memories and history of the past. These practices will be the power of Sam-Chon dong's new possibilities against the neo-liberal space.