When distance dissolves
When I was starting out as a young journalist in the mid-1990s, a quiet anxiety rippled through the newsroom of the Korean-language economic daily where I worked. The government had expanded the Gwacheon Government Complex, and senior reporters routinely complained about having to travel "all the way" to a city nestled just south of Seoul. To them, Gwacheon felt like a daunting far frontier. Some…
In the mid-1990s, young journalists working for a Korean-language economic daily felt a growing unease as the government expanded the Gwacheon Government Complex. Located just south of Seoul, Gwacheon felt like a distant frontier to senior reporters, who were accustomed to working in the bustling capital. Some even wondered if they would have to relocate permanently to keep up with their daily reporting duties.
The history of Gwacheon provided a stark backdrop to these concerns. In 1982, Phase 1 of the complex opened, marking the first major relocation of Korea's economic ministries from downtown Seoul. These institutions, including the Economic Planning Board and the Ministry of Finance, became the center of the Gwacheon experiment in administrative decentralization.
By the 1990s, this experiment had reached its peak. A new subway line had been completed, connecting Gwacheon to the city and making it easier for officials to commute.
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- When distance dissolves koreatimes.co.kr
