Abstract

This study aims to examine the evolution of inclusive urban planning discourses in South Korea, analyzing their origins, development, contextual backgrounds, forms, and practical implications. We selected major planning theories based on criteria of urban inclusivity and categorized them into discourses on substantive inclusivity, on procedural inclusivity, and on integrated inclusivity. The analysis of these discourses on inclusive planning reveals the following: In Korean urban planning history, the discourses on substantive inclusivity dealing with material inequality such as advocacy planning, Marxism, and geoism developed first. Then, the discourses on procedural inclusivity, such as participatory planning, expanded as political democratization and local autonomy began in earnest. Issues of diversity and recognition, pursed by feminism and multiculturalism, are related to integrated inclusivity that encompasses both substantive inclusivity and procedural inclusivity. As as result, these discourses were raised later and have become strong points of contention in recent years. Civil society has been the main driver of the expansion and development of inclusive urban planning discourses, and the discourses provided the knowledge necessary for the civil society movements, leading to a mutually cooperative and complementary relationship. In terms of practice, inclusive planning discourses, which initially had radical and critical characteristics, has partially become mainstream and institutionalized, serving as a source to overcome the philosophical poverty and narrowness of mainstream planning theories. However, there is also a tendency for them to retreat and become more conservative than their original stance. These findings provide implications that it is important to have a pluralistic and tolerant public sphere where various discourses can be debated, and emphasize the role of civil society in providing critical and liberating perspectives.