SEOUL: Pursuing and sharing a global city

Abstract

Seoul has achieved remarkable development amid South Korea's industrialisation and has transformed itself from a small, underdeveloped city into a global city. More recently, Seoul is pursuing another transformation: embracing the globally appealing narratives of sustainability and co-prosperity. What stands out, in particular, is Seoul's global outreach, sharing its urban development knowledge and experience with cities in developing countries. Seoul is striving towards global urban leadership, moving beyond its competitive drive to become a financial hub in Asia. On the one hand, this latest endeavour reflects an increasing call for intercity collaboration amid rising global urban risks and challenges. On the other hand, self-developmental motivation underlies Seoul's global outreach. The local government expects its new global strategy to provide an opportunity for local companies to expand their markets overseas. This chapter examines Seoul's development through the lens of global city formation in three stages: its birth as a command and control centre of the economy during Korea's industrialisation, its drive to enhance competitiveness in an increasingly neoliberal and globalised environment throughout the 2000s, and its latest pursuit of global urban leadership.