중앙과 지방의 이분법에서 벗어난 역사 속 ‘지역 균형발전’ 방향성의 의미와 사례

Abstract

The balanced regional development has recently become a topic of interest in Korean society. It is because the balance between the center and regions has broken down as the economy, industry, and culture are concentrated in Seoul and more and more people are heading toward the city like a black hole. Balanced regional development can be a solution for the issue. The major topic of “finding directions for the center and regions, and balanced regional development in history” was originated from an attempt to find solutions for the balanced regional development from history. Here, the keywords include ‘center and regions’, ‘balanced regional development’, ‘exploration of history,’ and the basic direction is from ‘centralization’ to ‘decentralization’. One of the purposes of studying history is to draw lessons. Although historic events take place once for all, their patterns repeat. Thus, we can learn from history. As the patterns of historic events exist beyond the concept of time, we can find clues to solve the problems of today from ancient history. For instance, the aspects of society during the late period of Silla can be good examples with regard to the reasons for why we need to achieve the balanced regional development and how can we make this happen. After the unification of three Kingdoms, the power, wealth, culture, and population were concentrated in Wanggyeong, the capital city of Silla, during the late period when the country was mostly at peace. However, although Jingol nobility, the ruling class under the bone-rank system enjoyed an age of peace, ordinary people lived in extreme poverty. Expensive foreign goods were found everywhere, but there were many people who could not endure hunger and decided to become slaves. These aspects of Wanggyeong of the ancient Kingdom look very similar to those in Seoul and its metropolitan area. The population accounts for more than half of the total, and other regional populations are in danger of extinction. Also, the polarization of wealth has become much worse to the extent that Seoul and nearby areas account for over 50% of GDP. However, Silla installed five vice cities to decentralize the functions of the capital. The country nurtured focus cities so that regions could serve as the centers of culture and politics. At the end of Silla, new powerful gentry families called ‘Hojok’ emerged in the countryside and began to play central roles in building a new society; thus, an era of decentralization of power or local self-government unfolded. The power, economy, and culture centered in Wanggyeong were decentralized during the process. Namely, nurturing of focus cities and decentralization presented directions to solve the contradictions in the society of Silla. To overcome the challenges faced by ever-growing Seoul such as the polarization of wealth and crisis of extinction of regions, we need to accomplish the balanced regional development. The balanced regional development can be achieved by ‘decentralizing power to local governments’ and nurturing ‘focus cities’. In this regard, it is necessary to build financially independent cities for their self-government, and nurture focus cities in each region to revitalize the local culture and economy. To avoid the extinction of regions that are in crisis due to the concentration of population in Seoul, we need to create many decent jobs in focus cities. By mitigating the polarization of wealth, people should be able to enjoy a humane life with culture and leisure. ‘Decentralization’ and ‘nurturing of focus cities’ are lessons drawn from the history of the late period of Silla.