Workshops Korea University

The project addresses the development of and differences between densely populated urban areas (urbanisation) and rural areas affected by shrinkage and simultaneous depopulation. This topic is highly relevant in South Korea as well as in Germany.

In the context of declining urbanisation and rural depopulation, the main objectives of the project are to deepen existing and establish new scientific collaborations with partners from South Korea. In detail, it is planned to (1) develop a common understanding of the opportunities and risks of declining urbanisation and rural depopulation; (2) exchange strategies for evaluating trends in population development (e.g. by means of spatial-statistical modelling); (3) to discuss the drivers of the above-mentioned developments and their specific spatial impacts in relation to the development of border areas which - like the former inner-German border - only last for a certain period of time; (4) to jointly publish the results of the previous steps in scientific publications; (5) to identify further research to develop a joint research project for both topics.

Within the framework of the project, two bilateral workshops will be prepared and conducted. Participants from different disciplines of Korean and German universities, research institutions and government agencies will present and discuss their points of view. The workshops will be accompanied by the development of a preparatory discussion paper, online discussions and a joint publication on the comparative analysis of shrinkage and the corresponding policies in Korea and Germany. The first workshop took place in Seoul in September 2022, the second workshop is scheduled for July 2023 in Dresden.