Spatial Changes in Retail Activities in Korea
1992 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 37-47
Details
1992 Volume 44 Issue 1 Pages 37-47
This paper aims at examining the recent spatial changes of retailing in Korea. The spatial pattern of retailing in Korea has changed with the rapid development of retailing in the course of economic growth after 1960s. On the national level, retail sales have concentrated on the largest metropolitan area, especially the Seoul metropolitan area, the first largest metropolitan area, with the concentration of population and income. Within metropolitan areas, the suburbanization of retailing has emerged.
In order to confirm such phenomenon, this paper is to analyze and to compare the spatial distribution of retail sales in 1979 with that in 1986. The data were obtained from the statistics in the Census of Wholesale and Retail Trade published by the National Bureau of Statistics of Economic Planning Board.
As the result of examination, the following findings were obtained:
1. The composition of retailing by industry changed in the whole country. Sales of durable consumer goods such as electro-domestic equipments, furnitures and automobiles remarkably increased, compared with foods and clothes. In addition, the number and sales of gasoline service stations largely increased with the motorization around the country. Such changes occured not only in metropolitan areas but also in rural regions. As a result, the composition of retailing by industry became similar between the two regions.
2. The number of larger department stores and supermarket chains increased, especially in metropolitan areas. So, their share in the whole retail sales enlarged. For example, the sales of department stores and supermarket chains increased 120 percent during 1979-1986 period.
3. The rate of increment of retail sales in Seoul was higher than other cities and countrysides. As a result, the share of Seoul within the country increased from 30.5 percent to 34.9 percent during 1979-1986 period.
4. Within Pusan and Taegu metropolitan areas, and so on the largest ones after Seoul metropolitan area, the suburbanization of retailing can be seen. The rate of increment of number and sales of retail stores in suburban areas was relatively high. On the contrary, the rate of increment in inner areas was low.
