globalization in seoul (korea)

Posted: November 27th, 2013

Globalization in Seoul

            Globalization is the integration of the economy, political and cultural system all over the world. This means that the whole of the world comes together as one global market where there are no boundaries (Komninos, 2008). Additionally, globalization is all the differences of the different countries are overlooked in the aim of making it one common region for the purposes of trade. Seoul is the capital city of Korea and it has population of more than ten million people. In the case of Seoul, various factors affect the region in relation to globalizations. Some of them are positive while others are negative.

The positive effects of globalization in Seoul have made the countries economies grow rapidly. One of the positive effects is that the city has been able to increase its market all over the world. This means that they have been able to market their goods all over the world hence increasing their market share. In addition, due to the expansion of the market the country is now able to produce more goods and services all over the world. This has led to the growth of the economy and development in the city, due to the export trade.

Another positive effect is that the city has made it possible to advertise the products of the country. This means that globalization has made it possible for the country to advertise its abilities. The companies of Seoul have been selling their products all over the world advertising itself as a production giant in the world. Moreover, because of the ability to advertise itself all over the world, the city of Seoul has increased the marketing of goods and services all over the world therefore, increasing its exports. Due to this increase in exports, it has led the countries economy to growth as a whole.

There has been a lot of free trade between the city and other cities of the world. As opposed to before, where there were many trade barriers, which made it difficult for the city of Seoul to conduct export trade, now the country is able to conduct businesses/export trade freely because globalization has removed all the barriers, which made it difficult for the city to conduct business transaction with other cities. Due to this, it has led to city’s increase in sales volumes leading to its rapid growth in the economic of the country as a whole.

The cities technology has grown rapidly because globalization has made it easy for it to acquire the latest technology from other cities in the world that have better technology (Yoon, 2006). This means that before globalization had taken place, the city of Seoul did not have the best technology but after there was globalization, the city has improved its technology by being able to acquire the latest technology from other cities globally. This has led to the economic grow of the city because with the new and better technology the city is able to produce goods and services more efficiently and more effectively leading to the production of high quality goods and services. Additionally, it has led to goods being produced in many quantities. This has led to the city rapid economic growth.

Lastly, transport of the goods and services to other cities of the world from Seoul has been made cheap by globalization. This has been derived from the new technologies, which have come up in the risen past. For example, containerization has made it easier for the city of Seoul to transport its goods and services at ease, and it is cheaper. This has led to the city saving of many expenses, which were usually involved in the transportation of these goods. The money, which was being spent on these expenses it has been used on other things, which are more productive in the city of Seoul.

However, their have been some negative effects which have affected the city which have become a hindrance to the rapid grow of its economy. These negative effects have led to the city being unable to improve itself in terms economic grow and development. One of the negative effects of globalization is unemployment. Due to the increase in sales volume of its product, one would think that the city would have the problem of unemployment however this is not the case. This is because of poor domestic/local markets. The city has been concentrating with its exports leading to the neglect of the local market. When the local market is neglected, it leads to unemployment. This is because the companies, which were producing for the local market in the economy of Seoul, will be closed down. These leads to poor economic grow of the city.

Another negative effect, which has affected the city of Seoul, is the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor. The rich will continue to be richer while the poor will continue to be poorer (Haggard, 2004). The rich will continue to export their goods and services to other nations while the poor will continue to loose their jobs due to the poor domestic market in the city. This gap means that the cities living standards are deteriorating instead of increasing. This is because; the majority of the people who leave in Seoul are poor people and not rich people. Therefore, the city will have poor economic grow and development.

There has also been deterioration in culture among the citizens of Seoul. Due to globalization, there has been adoption of other cultures from other cities, which has led to the decrease social culture of the citizens. For instance, the people were very reserved and some of the clothes they wore were very decent but in the resent years, the dress code has changed into a more kind of nudity. This has led to other vices like prostitution, which was not practiced. This has made the city to loose its tradition, which it grew to be known as the world’s bests in the past years.

In conclusion, the city of Seoul has been affected negatively and positively by globalization. The cultures and politics of the city have been affected negatively leading to poor economic grow. On the other hand, the city has also been affected positively where the economy of the country has grown steadily. The positive effects have outdone the negative effects and this has made the cities economy to grow at fast rate. Therefore, it can be concluded that globalization has led to the growth of Seoul in general.

References

Haggard, S. (January 01, 2004). Institutions and Growth in East Asia. Studies in Comparative International Development (scid), 38, 4, 53-81.

Komninos, N. (2008). Intelligent cities and globalization of innovation networks. Florence, KY: Taylor & Francis.

Yoon, K. (January 01, 2006). The making of neo-Confucian cyber kids: representations of young mobile phone users in South Korea. New Media & Society, 8, 5, 753-771.