Abstract
1. This paper aims at analyzing the characteristics of the demarcation line of the administration areas in Kroea by reviewing the history and background of how it was drawn and at the same time at exploring ways of correcting factors contributing to problems and ineffectiveness of administration. In order to collect data of opinions on this matter from officials actually assigned to the counties and their sub-level administration areas where administration is bifurcated in two separated blocks of areas, irrespective of the administrative efficiency and convenience of the populace in the areas, we selected eight kuns of this nature and sent questionaires to 488 chiefs and leading officials of kuns, myuns and villages. A total of 237 persons, 48.6% out of 488 responded. This data proved to be very expedient and instrumental in carrying out this study.
2. One of the characteristics of the demarcation line of administration areas is that it is drawn on the basis of natural conditions such as the extention of mountains, meandering lines of rivers, the formation of the community, traditional reasons, and so forth rather than on the theoretical as well as practical backgrounds imbued with administrative philosophy, which seeks for rational and balanced development of a whole community with two factors in mind: the principle of spatial division as an administrative skill and the principle of spatial harmony for balanced division of administration zones.
However, it is true that a large number of local inhabitants have felt inconveniences due to the boundary lines being zigzag or meandering.
When we surveyed on the frequency of going to market as an indicator of economic activities of the people living along the boundary lines, it is found that almost 77.6% of the people questioned answered that they were going to markets located in the neighboring kun rather than those in their own administration zonen. The factors that lead to choosing markets are usually two: one is spatial distance and the other is the peoples norm of life. Although the nature of the responses may vary according to where people live within the divided block of the administration area, a total of 86.6% of the questioned expressed their hope that the boundary lines would be straigthened. This reflects their wishes of improving the efficiency of local administration and convenience of living for effectiveness of the administration control. For example, state boundary lines of the U. S and Australia belong to the theoretical type whereas sung boundary lines of China and kun (county) demarcation lines of Korea belong to the natural condition (or setting) type. Especially, some of administration demarcation lines of Korea have been zigzag so that one kun is divided into two or more separate blocks of areas as the result of city administration areas within the kun becoming enlarged. There are eight cases of this nature in Korea.
3. Our survey which was conducted to discover in part the extent of awareness of such bifurcation or division by the inhabitants living in the divided zones, showed that only 83.4% of those who responded said that they had known the fact and the remaining 15.5% were quite unaware of the fact until they came to realize it upon reading our questionaire. This extent of unawareness means that local ranking administration leaders did not pay much attention to the effect of the local administration with respect to the boundary lines.
4. Speaking from the above finding, we are to propose that irrational factors related to the present administration demareation lines be corrected and improved for the following reasons:
1) To enhance the efficiency of administration,
2) To reestablish the system of utilization of resources,
