Korean Fishing Communities in Transition: Limitations of Community-Based Resource Management

Abstract

This paper addresses limitations of community-based resource management by examining Korean fishing communities making the transition into tourism. It challenges local-centered views of resource management implemented through a homogeneous, cooperative, and self-reliant community. Local communities more often than not consist of diverse groups, demonstrate internal political dynamics, and need external resources in times of crisis. Utilizing three case studies of depressed Korean fishing communities, the author emphasizes the significance of external linkages, and concludes that existing community-based resource management is not adequate to the task of transition.