南韓城鄉發展嚴重失衡，特別是表現在基礎建設以及人均所得等方面，始終是韓國政府亟思解決的問題。由於相對程度的經濟、政治甚至文化資源皆較集中於首爾都會圈（包含首爾特別市、仁川廣域市與京畿道），故吸引大量的人口聚集在此一範圍內，目前人口數已達2360多萬人左右，約佔韓國總人口數的五成，對於資源的吸納與消耗都不利於南韓國家整體的發展。在經歷1960年代以來諸多區域發展政策的擬定與執行，似乎也未見成效。然而，不可諱言，南韓區域或城鄉發展差距現狀不僅受限於資源分配不均的問題，也受到在政黨政治發展過程中，頗為濃厚地域主義的影響甚鉅。基於此，本文嘗試透過南韓政府在韓戰後所進行一系列的區域平衡發展政策，及其所產生之實際經濟發展結果，來凸顯政策本身的矛盾性，以及此一矛盾之地域主義的根源性，以釐清韓國在整體區域平衡發展上未能產生效果的主要因素。
The marked imbalance between urban and rural development in South Korea, especially in infrastructure and per capita, is a problem that the South Korean government intends to solve. The relative degree of economic, political, and cultural resources concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, including Seoul Special City, Incheon Metropolitan City, and Gyeonggi-Do, has led to a population currently exceeding 23 million. About the half of the entire population in the Seoul metropolitan area, in terms of absorption and consumption of resources, is disadvantageous to national development policies of South Korea. Nevertheless, in addition to the influence of the imbalance in how resources are distributed, the influence from deep-rooted localism during the development of political parties plays an essential role in differences in urban and rural development. This study highlights the contradiction between policies and resources, namely, localism, which leads to contradictions by examining a series of area-balanced developmental policies implemented by the South Korean government after the Korean War. Consequences related to actual economic development are analyzed to clarify the reasons accounting for failed policies in balancing urban and rural development.
