국토지리학회지 ISSN:1225-3766(Print) THE GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL OF KOREA

This study aims to clarify the spatial distribution of universities and the level of regional development according to their locations from the perspective of balanced regional development. By analyzing the distribution of universities and university students by regional type and differences in regional indicators based on the presence of universities, the study finds that universities and university students are more densely distributed in SMAs compared to non-SMAs, in cities compared to rural areas, and in non-decreasing population areas compared to decreasing population areas. This is consistent with general knowledge and previous research results on the distribution of university resources. However, there were specific patterns: the number of universities was greatly influenced by the decrease in population, while the number of university students showed a significant difference based on the urban-rural distinction. Also, even in regions with decreasing population, cities had more university resources than rural areas. An analysis of regional indicators based on the location of universities and regional types showed that in SMAs, regions without universities exhibited higher levels of regional development. However, in non-SMAs, while some indicators in the population and economic sectors were favorable for regions with universities compared to those without, certain indicators in the population and residential environment sectors showed a reverse trend. In summary, university resources are unevenly distributed across the country based on regional types, and it is difficult to say that regions with universities currently show a higher level of regional development compared to those without.