Journal of the Korean Geographical Society ISSN:1225-6633(Print) 대한지리학회지

The purpose of this study is to understand spatial economic inequalities under the framework of the dynamics of economic spaces in relation to the four global megatrends: globalization, knowledge-based economy, information society, and the service world. The international inequalities in East Asia, as well as inter-regional inequalities within Japan, Korea, and Thailand were analyzed. The variables related to the four megatrends, as a whole, have clearly explained the variations in international inequalities in East Asia, as well as the inter-regional inequalities within a nation. The individual impacts of the variables on spatial inequalities are, however, significantly different depending on the spatial scale of analysis and national characteristics. Overall, there has been a convergence trend of international per capita GNI (Gross National Income) in East Asian nations, while both divergent and convergent trends are evident at the regional scale within a nation. Two global oil crises in the 1970s and the East Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s resulted in the discontinuity of the general convergence trend, and have led to the increase of international and inter-regional inequalities in economic activities. This suggests that although the effect of the global crisis differs in each country, in general, the economies of peripheral countries and regions are more vulnerable during a global economic crisis.