QUESTIONING A NEOLIBERAL URBAN REGENERATION POLICY

Abstract

The present study traces recent trends in cultural policy concerning “cities of culture” in South Korea. The paper is a case study of the city of Gwangju, known as the birthplace of modern democracy in Korea. Currently, public input from below into the urban regeneration project for Gwangju is almost nonexistent, while most urban regeneration policies have been implemented from the top by elites who enjoy exhibiting their performances through constructing massive edifices rather than encouraging the preservation of such intangibles as historical significance through cultural participation from below. The government’s policy of promoting Gwangju as the “city of culture” in order to make it a hub of Asian cultural industry and tourism in the global economy is closely allied to its policy of economic reductionism of culture. The study suggests that Gwangju and its unique heritage would instead benefit from an urban regeneration policy aimed at establishing it as the city of art and culture for human rights and democracy and as part of a collaborative network with the heritage initiatives of international bodies.

KEYWORDS:

• neoliberalism
• state interventionism
• creative city
• cultural industry
• sustainable development
• human rights

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The initial version of this paper was presented at the “Cultural Space and Public Sphere in Asia – An International Conference”, which was hosted by Asia’s Future Foundation in Seoul, Korea. The author would like to thank Sharon Strover, who supervised the writing of this paper, and the anonymous reviewers for their comments and guidance on earlier drafts of this article.

Notes

1. The role of the US in crushing the Gwangju uprising has never been officially clarified. Since the US government had final authority over the US‐Korean Allied Forces Command, and thus the Korean government would have had to obtain official permission from the US in order to move infantry divisions, airborne units, and special task forces into Gwangju, most Koreans believe the US government was indirectly involved in the Gwangju massacre.