The Changing System of World Cities and Globalization of Seoul

Abstract

This paper investigates the nature of spatial concentration and dispersion of corporate control within an international system of decision-making centers. It introduces an evolutionary model of international quaternary place system and identifies current stage of the system. This theoretical concept and empirical research contribute to locating Seoul in a world city system in particular, and to the expansion of quaternary place theory to the global scale general. It formulates a stage model of the international quaternary place system and the changes in the corporate control linkages. This five-stage model emphasizes the importance of the organizational structure of large corporations and the development of information technology. The study then carries out an empirical analysis on the location of international corporate control centers. Lastly, this paper relates these results to current economic restructuring and concomitant changes in urban system and to the globalization stage of Seoul.