Development of an Innovation Cluster in the Region: Experience of Gwanggyo Technovalley in Korea - Technopolis: Best Practices for Science and Technology Cities - page 449

values by interacting, competing, and collaborating with other actors in innovation
processes, which functions as the source of innovative activities for the region/
nation, and has global competitiveness (Yim 2002 , 2008 ).
In addition to OECD ( 1999 ) argument, we can say cluster approach is useful
because of following reasons. First, the innovation cluster rather than whole nation
is the unit of competition in the real world. The national innovation system has
somewhat complex characteristics and it is often difficult to make policy to pro-
mote national innovation system itself. Second, due to the close distance among
the innovation actors, the innovation cluster has various advantages in S&T
knowledge production, transfer, and utilization.
Since innovation process includes not only science and technology but also the
actual use in the business, the innovation cluster can be thought of the concept
beyond science and technology park. Like other complex or cluster, innovation
cluster has similar characteristics of system. Innovation cluster, as a sort of system,
is composed of many elements; actors, processes, and cultures. The actors are
normally located very closely and have organic relationship, which means they
share the technological innovation process to some extent. The objects of sharing
can be input, process, or output according to their needs. Often the actors share
similar culture and can communicate well among. The interaction normally is
about

money, information, scientific or technological knowledge, business

opportunities, and human resources which is shown in Fig. 1 .
An innovation cluster is not only naturally formed by some factors such as
regional demand and abundant resource but also artificially created by government
policy. Silicon Valley is a typical example of naturally formed innovation cluster
whereas Zhongghancun in Chian, Hsinchu Science Park in Taiwan, Kista region in

Fig. 1 Elements of innovation cluster. Source Yim ( 2008 )