- Title : Temporal and Spatial Changes in Land Use and Spatial Structure in South Korea through Cultural Heritage Data
- Author : Park, Soo Jin (Affiliated Researchers), Ko, Ilhonh (HK Professor), Shim, Woojin (HK Research Professor)
- Journal : Journal of The Korean Geomorphological Association
- Publication Date : 2025.04.
- Abstract
This study analyzed the temporal and spatial changes in land use and settlement systems in South Korea using the archaeological site data for 10 time periods, spanning from the Paleolithic Age to the present. We utilized the frequency and density of sites in each period, point pattern analyses, and a city rank size rule (Zipf's law) for site density. Analyses revealed that the evolution and development of Korea’s land use characteristics could be categorized into five stages: the pioneering period (Paleolithic to Neolithic Age), the settlement period (Bronze Age to Early Iron Age/Proto-Three Kingdoms period), the diffused growth period (Three Kingdoms period to Goryeo Dynasty), the marginal growth period (Joseon Dynasty), and the civil engineering growth period (period of Japanese occupation to contemporary times). In the early pioneering period, archaeological sites were concentrated in flat areas along rivers and coasts, forming a dense spatial structure; in the settlement period, land use focused on low-altitude, low-slope, and highly available areas for stable land use based on agriculture. During the diffused growth period, most of the land was occupied and utilized due to population growth and productivity improvement, and a dispersed settlement system developed. In the marginal growth period, land use expanded to lowland areas around rivers and mountainous areas that had not been utilized before, along with population growth and the development of agricultural technology, and the phenomenon of spatial concentration centered on Hanyang emerged. In the civil engineering growth period, the introduction of modern civil engineering technology led to the emergence of different types of land use characteristics and strengthened spatial concentration. The results of this study outline and visibly show how the spatial structure of land use in southern Korea has changed over the prehistoric and historic periods. However, due to the limitations of the archaeological site data used, detailed regional case studies and further analysis are required.
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