Method and apparatus for managing defects in recording media, a computer readable medium including computer readable code for the same, and a defect managed recording medium obtained using the same method, apparatus, and computer readable medium

A recording medium, comprising:

• a data area disposed between a lead-in area and a lead-out area, including a user data area to record data, and at least a spare area having a replacement cluster in which data for replacing a defective cluster occurring in the user data area is written together with position information regarding the defective cluster;
• and
• a defect management area (DMA) arranged in at least one of the lead-in area and the lead-out area, to store defect information identifying positions of the defective cluster and the replacement cluster.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a recording/reading unit to record/read data with respect to a recording medium comprising a data area disposed between a lead-in area and a lead-out area, including a user data area and at least a spare area having a replacement cluster for replacing a defective cluster occurring in the user data area, and a defect management area (DMA) arranged in one of the lead-in area and the lead-out area;
• and
• a controller arranged to control the recording/reading unit to record position information regarding the defective cluster together with data for replacing the defective cluster of the recording medium on the replacement cluster, in the spare area of the recording medium, and to record defect information identifying positions of the defective cluster and the replacement cluster in the defect management area (DMA) of the recording medium.