employee
Vladivostok, Russian Federation
In this article, we consider the foreign policy opportunities that the state receives through the development of its smart cities using the Republic of Korea as an example. We compare the Republic of Korea's experience in exporting smart cities with other active actors, primarily China, Japan, and the European Union. In our opinion, foreign policy resources include a socio-geographical resource that accumulates during the development of a state's territory, and smart cities are now becoming part of it. The case of the Republic of Korea shows us that a country that promotes its methods, technologies, and technical tools for building smart cities abroad, in addition to increasing its exports in monetary terms, solves two purely foreign policy problems. Firstly, it is to improve its image as a developed country capable of helping lagging partners and, as a result, to strengthen friendly relations with developing countries. Secondly, it is to gain access to the life support systems and corresponding big data of smart cities of the buyer country. At the same time, official documents of the Republic of Korea speak only about the foreign trade component of smart city exports; perhaps the government is not fully aware of the political aspects of such exports. In the academic community, these aspects have so far been analyzed by few Western authors in the context of containing modern China, so the foreign policy significance of smart cities remains a promising research issue.
smart city, foreign policy, political resource, development assistance, Republic of Korea
1. Kostyunina G. M. "Smart Cities" in ASEAN Countries: Indonesia's Experience. // Southeast Asia: Current Development Issues. 2024. Vol. 4. No. 4 (65). P. 89–101. https://doi.org/10.31696/2072-8271-2024-4-4-65-089-101 (In Russ.). EDN: https://elibrary.ru/LDHWZD
2. WeGO Hosts First Diplomatic Kick-Off Event to Strengthen Global Smart City Cooperation // WeGO. 07.03.2025. URL: https://ru.we-gov.org/news-2023/ (accessed 01. 04. 2025). (In Russ.).
3. An Jung-Rak. Hanwha resumes $10 billion Bismayah new city project in Iraq // Korea Economic Daily. 27.02.2024. URL: https://www.kedglobal.com/construction/newsView/ked202402270005 (accessed 01. 04. 2025).
4. Ekman A. China’s Smart Cities: The New Geopolitical Battleground / Etudes de l'Ifri. Paris, 2019. URL: https://www.ifri.org/en/publications/etudes-de-lifri/chinas-smart-cities-new-geopolitical-battleground (accessed 17.05.2024).
5. Galceran M. Smart City Diplomacy: Fostering the Digital Transition through International Cooperation // Smart City Top Agenda. Anyang, 2022. P. 230–251.
6. He Y., Tritto A. Chinese-Invested Smart City Development in Southeast Asia – How Resilient Are Urban Megaprojects in the Age of Covid-19? / University of Kentucky. Diplomacy and International Commerce Reports. 1. Lexington, 2021. URL: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/patterson_reports/1 (accessed 17. 05. 2024).
7. Herh M. Korean Gov’t Delays Next Dispatch of Ukraine Reconstruction Cooperation Team // BusinessKorea. 26.12.2023. URL: https://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=208493 (accessed 01.04.2025).
8. Hyundai Engineering submits another proposal to postpone Polimery Police completion date // Grupa Azoty. 02.02.2024. URL: https://grupaazoty.com/en/news/ (accessed 01.04.2025).
9. Jang Kwan-Seok. Korean firms take part in Ukraine's reconstruction efforts // Dong-a Ilbo. 15.07.2023. URL: https://www.donga.com/en/article/all/20230715/4291003/1 (accessed 01. 04. 2025).
10. KIND News // Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation. URL: http://www.kindkorea.or.kr/pages/124 (accessed 01.04.2025).
11. Ko Dong-hwan. Korea signs agreement on post-war reconstruction of Ukraine // Korea Times. 15.09.2023. URL: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/12/113_359291.html (accessed 01. 04. 2025).
12. Korea’s Smart City / Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. Sejong, 2023. 34 p. URL: https://smartcity.go.kr/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2023-Smart-city-brochure.pdf (accessed 30. 04. 2023).
13. Lim Yi-rang, Edelenbos J., Gianoli A. Dynamics in the governance of smart cities: insights from South Korean smart cities // International Journal of Urban Sciences. 2023. Vol. 27. No. 1. P. 183–205. https://doi.org/10.1080/12265934.2022.2063158
14. Pettit H., White C. A glimpse into the future? $39 billion high-tech smart city in South Korea turns into a 'Chernobyl-like ghost town' after investment dries up // Daily Mail. 28.03.2018. URL: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5553001/ (accessed 01.04.2025).
15. Seoul Smart City Prize. URL: https://www.seoulsmartcityprize.com (accessed 01. 04. 2025).
16. Wallace C. Japan’s promotion of smart cities at home and abroad: socioeconomic and strategic considerations / European University Institute; Global Governance Programme. Working Paper. Fiesole, 2022. URL: https://hdl.handle.net/1814/74973 (accessed 17.05.2024).
17. Weber V. China’s Smart Cities and the Future of Geopolitics / Strategic Update. LSE IDEAS. London, 2023. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep49350 (accessed 17.05.2024).
18. Who we are // URBACT. URL: https://urbact.eu/who-we-are (accessed 01.04.2025).
19. Bang Seol-ah, Lee Gwang-bok. A plan to improve the performance of overseas expansion of smart cities. Focusing on the case of Clark, Philippines / Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements. Working Paper 22–14. Sejong, 2022. 37 p. (In Kor.).
20. Announcement of "Smart City Overseas Expansion Activation Plan" // Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Sejong, 08. 07. 2019 (accessed 30. 04. 2023). (In Kor.).
21. 5th Comprehensive National Territorial Plan (2020–2040) // Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Sejong, 2019. 266 p. (In Kor.).
22. 2024 SMART CITY Overseas Expansion Strategy Report / KOTRA Data 24-109. Seoul, 2024. 458 p. (In Kor.).
23. Overseas expansion strategy in the smart city sector - Focusing on software platforms and solutions / National IT Industry Promotion Agency. Jincheon, 2020. 17 p. (In Kor.).
24. Kim Gun-woo. How far will the "smart city" go? … Introducing the "Smart City Expo" // KBS News. 01.09.2022. URL: https://news.kbs.co.kr/news/pc/view/view.do?ncd=5546492 (accessed 01. 04. 2025). (In Kor.).
25. Kim Yu-shin. "Please make it for us first"… "Korean-style smart city" receiving a lot of love calls // Economic Daily. 08.06.2023. URL: https://academy.mk.co.kr/news/view.php?sc=90000001&year=2023&no=436272 (accessed 01. 04. 2025). (In Kor.).
26. Lee Hyeong-geun, Na Su-yeop. Comparative Study on the Overseas Expansion Strategies of Smart Cities in Korea, China, and Japan / Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, Research Data 19–07. Sejong, 2019. 104 p. (In Kor.).
