Smart City, Songdo International City and the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ). 

Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo

By Don Southerton, Songdo IBD CityTalk Editor and Chief Blogger

Joong Ahn Daily recently interviewed Incheon mayor Ahn Sang-soo. The article shared the mayor’s vision for the city and the importance of Songdo IBD projects such as the Jack Nicklaus golf course.

The future of Incheon is built on vision and synergy, according to its ambitious mayor.

Ahn Sang-soo, the mayor of the port city, says he is set on transforming Incheon into a global hub of finance, business and culture.

The final facelift of Incheon is not scheduled until 2020 with the completion of three free economic zones: Songdo, Yeongjong and Cheongra.

But the mayor is impatient to get going. “Just after 2014, it’s going to be one of the best 10 high-end cities in the world,” the mayor said in an interview with the JoongAng Daily. By then, 80 percent of the development will be complete.

Ahn’s vision calls for a city housing more than 300 multinational corporations in the free economic zones. They will be complemented by 13 international agencies, including institutions under the United Nations.

The Asia and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communications Technology for Development is already operating and five others are in the discussion stage, Ahn said. To display its vision, the city will hold a Global Fair and Festival. The 80-day festival, themed “Lightening Tomorrow,” will offer visitors a journey to the future. Kicking off on Aug. 7, it expects to host participants from 100 countries.

“A future city can’t be described in a single word,” Ahn said. “It’s a mix of everything.”

The city Ahn envisions is one where almost everything can be accessible within 30 minutes.

“In the past one would have to go downtown to work and go to the suburbs to live,” Ahn said. “You had to commute which isn’t good for the new generation. Almost all cities have the same paradigm.”

When fully developed, Incheon’s new zones will closely integrate residential, business, medical and educational facilities.

Ahn says the future Incheon will be a city that offers a pleasant living environment and is economical. “Spending is important when vitalizing the economy,” he said. “But residents should not be burdened by additional costs” for accessing work and cultural facilities.

“A city once built lasts for 100 to 200 years,” Ahn said. “Therefore, one needs to be cautious when developing a city since it is difficult to undo what has been done.”

The mayor showed confidence that the upgraded Incheon will be a paradigm for future cities. Similar cities will include positive aspects of Singapore, Shanghai, New York and San Francisco, the mayor said.

As Incheon transforms, the mayor expects its current population of 2.75 million to increase up to 3.5 million by 2014. The central government recognized the potential of the country’s third-largest city when it designated Incheon’s free economic zones in 2003.

However, the mayor said the city is not in competition with Seoul. Rather, he stressed synergy would be generated by the two cities in areas including education, medicine, high-tech and logistics.

Ahn said the synergy would extend to the North Korean city, Kaesong, where there is access to low cost real estate and less expensive labor.

In fact, connecting Kaesong, Incheon and Seoul is one of Ahn’s key goals.

By linking the three, he hopes to form what he calls a “Golden Peace Triangle,” that will not only contribute economically, but also bring peace and stability to North and South Korea.

The mayor said once the 1.8-kilometer (1.1-mile) bridge is built from Ganghwa Island, which is part of Incheon, to the mainland, products manufactured from Kaesong could be transported to the international airport in less than an hour. Products could also be delivered to Incheon’s port.

The mayor is a glass-half-full optimist. He even sees a silver lining in the current economic crisis.

“Potential investors have mentioned that after this financial crisis, China, India and Korea would emerge as countries good for investment,” Ahn said.

Dubbed CIK, the countries will be front runners in economic recovery because of their rapid growth and efficient infrastructure, the mayor said.

“In the past they [investors] weren’t constrained because they could succeed anywhere,” Ahn said. “But after the crisis, you have to choose safe investments.”

He said Incheon is such an investment not only because it has free economic zones but because it has logistical advantages thanks to the international air and sea ports.

The city also has a geographic advantage as it is located close to the two major Asian economies – China and Japan – with access to a market of over a billion.

Incheon already has secured several prominent global investors, including Gale International and Portman Holdings.

Portman is jointly building Songdo’s signature 151-story skyscraper, Incheon Tower, with Hyundai Engineering and Construction and Samsung Engineering and Construction,

The skyscraper is scheduled for completion in 2014 when Incheon hosts the Asian Games.

“Elsewhere in Korea you cannot see towers like in Incheon,” the mayor said.

Incheon not only aims to be a top financial or business center in Asia, but wants to be a center for service industries, including education, health, tourism and culture.

“We are going to have more than 10 foreign universities,” Ahn said.

North Carolina State University, the State University of New York, University of Southern California and Delaware State University are some of the foreign schools that plan extended campuses at Incheon.

Additionally, a prominent U.S. hospital is negotiating with the city to establish services there.

The mayor said some U.S. students will study courses at the universities for a year or more. Classes will be in English, although some of the staff will be Korean.

The city is also in talks with New York’s Guggenheim Museum to set up a branch in Songdo.

On a more leisurely note, famous golfer Jack Nicklaus is designing an 18-hole golf club in the Incheon Free Economic Zone. The mayor said Nicklaus told him that he has designed more than 250 golf courses in the world but only allowed his name to be used in five. The Incheon course is one of those.

The mayor said the city has decided to hold a Senior PGA tour October next year.

The city also plans an Art Center similar to Sydney’s Opera House. It will be run by the internationally famed maestro Chung Myung-whun.

Additionally, Incheon is strengthening its entertainment efforts. The Paramount theme park, currently under construction within the Songdo free economic zone, is scheduled to be completed in 2011.

All of these lofty ambitions will be on display this summer, as Incheon hosts Global Fair and Festival 2009.

The primary goal of the event is to promote Incheon as a brand.

“I hope more than 7 million visitors from home and abroad participate in this occasion,” Ahn added.

Another event to be held this summer is a marathon that will take place on the recently constructed Incheon Grand Bridge, which stretches 21 kilometers. The mayor is also planning to hold an evening event where 20,000 participants would enjoy a lunchbox dinner on the bridge.

The bridge, which is the longest in Korea and the fifth longest in the world, is to temporarily open for the festival in August. It will be in full operation in October.