This thesis examines the cross-border interactions and exceptional characteristics in the border regions between North Korea and China. More specifically the thesis examines the exceptional characteristics of the outward processing networks towards North Korea and the spatialities of trade practices towards China in the border regions between North Korea and China. This thesis focuses on how the geographies of the border regions between North Korea and China have influenced the nature of the outward processing and trade networks. The major discussions of this thesis are divided into as follows. In the chapter 2 this thesis aims to identify the spatiality of North Korea and China border regions through investigating the exceptional characteristics of the regions with the concept of positionality which allows us to realize the relative position between subject and object. Border regions could be identified appropriately by considering the concept of switching positionality as it is a kind of multiple space in which its sudden closure and opening should be configured in accordance with geo-political and geo-economic changes centering around border line. The main arguments of this research concerned with border regions with the concept of switching positionality are fallen into three. Firstly changes in border regions should be analyzed by investigating more broader contexts and conjunctural perspectives and even an internal condition stemmed from locality. Secondly trajectories of border regions could be analyzed by the assemblages of various powers. Finally the positionality of economic actors should be examined by identifying dynamic relations between geo-economics and geo-politics. In particular the concept of positionality has led to several insights into discussions on time-space and spatiality in relational-dialectical socio-spatial and power-topological perspectives. Based upon this concept of positionality the research has identified exceptional characteristics in North Korea and China border regions. It argues that the exceptionality of the region has stemmed from the interaction between the instability of geo-political security and various geo-economic benefits.In the chapter 3 this thesis focuses on the exceptional characteristics of cross-border production networks in Dandong North Korea-China border region. Since the late 2000s Korean foreign direct investors in North Korea and China border regions have gone through the closure of outward processing trade(OPT) networks and changes in their location due to UN security council resolution and Korean independent sanctions against North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests. However the introduction of new Chinese OPT policy has led to the invigoration of domestic market based OPT networks towards North Korea. The main aim of this chapter is to identify the exceptional characteristics of Dandong in Liaoning province a North Korea and China border region by analyzing OPT networks towards North Korea. Fundamentally the establishment of OPT networks towards North Korea is likely to be based on the utilization of a plenty of low wages in North Korea. The main reasons for this are fallen into two perspectives geo-economics and geo-politics. The first perspective is geo-economics centering on the consolidation of economic exchange between North Korea and China and North Korean economic development. For example the introduction of Chinese OPT in border region has enabled Chinese local firms based on domestic market to access a plenty of low wage in North Korea in formal and institutional contexts. The second is geo-politics for the stability of North Korean regime based on the means of geo-economics. As the invigoration of domestic market based OPT networks might make North Korea possible promoting foreign money earning it enables North Korea to be sustainable as a buffering region between capitalist and socialist regime for China. It shows Chinese geo-strategic attempts to deal with the economic and regime stability of North Korean as a buffering state. In other words OPT networks in North Korea should be concerned with the discourse practice of geo-economics and geo-politics which might lead to various and contingent spatial economies in border region. As a consequence North Korea and China border regions could defined as a space in which is applicable to exceptional institutions and policies and an exploitative space in which create surplus and rents by utilizing a plenty of low wages in North Korea through OPT networks.In the chapter 4 this thesis aims to identify how North Korean various economic agents’ respond to the economic crisis in North Korea and how these multiple practices are entangled with its spatiality by through the questionnaire survey and in-depth interview targeted at North Korean refugees. The thesis argues that it needs to examine the marketization in North Korea in terms of the domesticating recently debated in economic geography. In this perspective the marketization in North Korea could be explained not as a grand project ‘out there’ with hegemonic power but as various economic agents within their space are constantly (re)constructed through everyday life practices. Economic agents’ responses to economic crisis economic rupture and economic marginalization could be identified in terms of articulation between economic and non-economic factors. More specifically the thesis emphasizes everyday life responses are over-determined by their economic and non-economic factors and its effectiveness is differentiated by their power relations.
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