Thirteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

Since modern South Korea was framed by and evolved from a developmental model, the housing system has been strongly embedded in pro-growth, market-driven orientation, and speedy industrialization and intense urbanization has dramatically reformed urban landscape. Further, two economic crises – the Asian Financial Crisis and the Global Financial Crisis – have strengthened economic uncertainties and demographic shifts, thus deepening household variations and housing varieties. In fact, casualization in employment, reduction in real wages, and delays in family formation have resulted in dwindling housing opportunities and even widened socio-economic disparities (e.g., shrinking middle-class and housing price fluctuations and differences by regions). In recent years, it’s clear that the housing system has been threatened by low economic growth, low fertility, and low interest rates, challenging urban landscape. With respect to the socioeconomic phenomenon, the research examines the state’s institutional shifts characterized as path dependence and also identifies structural forces affecting urban transformation, particularly dynamics in household and housing sectors. In doing so, this research uses a wide range of data and the findings provides a profound understanding of the state’s opportunities and challenges in housing and urban setting.