JoongAng Daily
“Looking ahead 100 years for Seoul”
September 23, 2014
Emanuel Pastreich
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When I came to Korea in 2007, I was deeply impressed by the capability of the Korean local government for institutional innovation. For example, while working as an adviser to the governor of South Chungcheong, I learned about the preparations for the move of the capital from Daejeon to Hongseong.
It is a remarkable policy in Korea that declares that once a city has reached a population of one million, it should be designated a “metropolitan city” and have a status equivalent to a province. Daejeon had reached that status, and so the government decided that it would no longer serve as the capital of South Chungcheong – so the capital had to be moved.
This policy is very scientific and practical, but such innovation is impossible in the United States. Major cities like New York or Los Angeles do not have the representation of a state – although they are far larger than many existing states. Moreover, it has been impossible to establish any new states for more than 50 years. Even the obvious cases for federal statehood, such as Puerto Rico, have dragged on so long that some are thinking about independence out of frustration.
But although I was deeply impressed by how quickly Koreans can effectuate change in government, I have also seen weaknesses in local governance that undercut the appeal of the Korean model. We see increasing shortsightedness in urban planning and a lack of credible institutional history. Government officials often know nothing of the precedents for good governance in their own city and do not have the time to come up with innovative new policies because they are rushing around everyday filling out forms.
I was impressed by the broadly educated and thoughtful government officials that I worked with in South Chungcheong, Daejeon and Seoul. However, despite the expertise of Korean public officials, they are increasingly rotated from department to department in government in terms shorter than one year. Sadly, despite their intellectual ability and commitment, they are unable to acquire any expertise in one field. Needless to say, they do not have time to sit down and read books on topics relevant to their work.
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