In the meantime, amid recent changes in urban circumstances, new urban discussions and deliberations on quality improvement are presently taking place domestically. As part of the trends, people are raising the need to reflect on the physical growth of the cities which have been formulated without considering the spatial structure, image and creation principles of the Korean city, and to examine the identity of Korean cities. In other words, there have been discussions on what is true urban space of Korea and what identity Korean cities have, which marks the starting point of exploring future urban design paradigms of Korea.

 The study aims to present urban design paradigms suitable for Korean cities in the future. This presupposes that the new paradigms should embrace the urban discussions and knowledge system so far, and at the same time, should be suitable for the urban circumstances of Korea and conducive to formulating a Korean urban space in the future.

 To this end, the study reviews related theories and conducts the analysis of actual urban spaces, expert consultations and interviews, and surveys among the general public and professionals, along with case studies of urban design paradigms overseas. For the analysis of actual urban spaces, the study examines existing cities of Korea including Jeonju City and Changwon City, and New Towns including the Bundang New Town and the Multifunctional Administrative City. For foreign case studies, the research analyzes Seattle of the U. S. and Paris of France.