Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore the aspects of “gentrification” and “degentrification” other than economic factors. To this end, this study focused on the gentrification situations occurring before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in the Itaewon area, South Korea, by using semantic network analysis. We analyzed news articles on the gentrification phenomenon in the Itaewon area reported in South Korea. As a result, gentrification in the Itaewon area is divided into four stages. The first stage of gentrification (2010~2014) is initial stage of gentrification. Gentrification stage 2 (2015~2017) is the period of commercialization as a gentrification growth stage. The first stage of degentrification (2018~2019) is the maturation period of gentrification. The second stage of degentrification (2019~30 June 2020) is the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results confirm the existing theoretical frameworks while building a more nuanced definition through operationalizing gentrification and degentrification. As with the etymology of the term, the degentrification phenomenon can only be revealed when the gentrification phenomenon is prominently displayed. This study has an implication in that it tried to phenomenologically examine the specific phenomenon of the next stage of gentrification through the term “degentrification”.
Highlights
This study focused on the gentrification situations occurring before and after COVID-19 pandemic in Itaewon area, South Korea
An empirical analysis of the area wasof reviewed to summarize thethe list of analysis, an empirical analysis of the Itaewonfound area was reviewed list of phenomena and corresponding indicators in the process to of summarize commercial the gentrification phenomena and corresponding indicators found in the process of commercial gentrificaand degentrification (Table 6)
This study attempted to improve the consciousness of issues requiring a clear conceptual approach to degentrification by a case study of the Itaewon area
Summary
Gentrification was defined as the process of social, economic, cultural, physical, and demographic transformation of a neighborhood with the influx of capital [5] As this theory has been around for a long time in the academic field, there have been proclamations about the demise or death of gentrification since at least the early. In Western countries, it has led to the deidealization of gentrification over time, which is defined a “super gentrification”, “rural gentrification” and “commercial led gentrification”, “cultural led gentrification”, and “tourism gentrification” [6,7] This suggests that gentrification is a complex intertwined problem of macroscopic perspectives, based on a micro approach to behavior among relevant stakeholders and social, economic, and spatial restructuring
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