By Don Southerton, Songdo IBD CityTalk Editor and Chief Blogger
Incheon Grand Bridge
Great video on the new Incheon Grand Bridge. We expect the bridge to open in October 2009 as part of the Incheon Global Fair and Festival 80 day celebration.
Click here Incheon Bridge
By Don Southerton, Songdo IBD CityTalk Editor and Chief Blogger
Chemulpo Early 1900s
125 years ago , in 1884, Incheon port then commonly know as Chemulpo was designated a foreign settlement. By the early 1900s, thousands of Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and westerners had transformed the port into a vibrant international trade center. My forthcoming book, Chemulpo to Songdo IBD: Korea’s International Gateway will share the port’s amazing and significant history. An August 2009 book release is expected.
* Photo by George Rose, courtesy of Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR/ California Museum of Photography, University of California, Riverside
Incheon Global Fair and Festival
By Don Southerton, Songdo IBD CityTalk Editor and Chief Blogger
Last year, I learned about 789–the August 7, 2009 kick-off date for the Incheon Global Fair and Festival. With many activities centered in and around Songdo IBD, I follow the event. This Korea Times article notes some of the fair’s planning.
With nearly 100 days left before the kick off of the Global Fair and Festival 2009, host city Incheon’s preparations for the 80-day business fair for corporations and cities around the world have been shifted into high gear.
Songdo International City, in the west of the coastal city, and its adjacent area, is shaping up for the event, which aims at envisioning futuristic urban models, digital technologies, green energy and urban lifestyles. It will start Aug. 7 and continue until Oct. 25.
Mayor Ahn Sang-soo said, “Incheon has had few opportunities to promote itself elsewhere. This event will lay the groundwork for the city to grow into one of the 10 global cities one must visit.”
The organizing committee for the festival said construction of every venue will be completed by May. “All preparations are on track,” a committee official said.
Despite the ongoing economic slump, the committee said it’s attracting investment and raising funds as planned.
Incheon aims to draw more than seven million people from home and abroad ㅡ nearly one third of the combined population of Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon and the committee has run various promotional campaigns in cooperation with civic groups and companies.
The festival will become a venue for global firms, scholars, policymakers and urban planners to gather and discuss important issues regarding urbanization, futurism and the environment.
Incheon will continue to expand publicity for the fair via the Internet, TV and other media. “We’ll step up the promotional campaign,” the official said. “World-class cultural events will take place, various leisure activities will be available in an environmentally friendly manner and executives of multinational corporations will flock here. It will be a festival you won’t want to miss.”
The committee expects admission ticket sales to exceed 40 billion won ($33 million).
The festival will appeal to foreign tourists as the city is upgrading accommodation, transport, roads and other infrastructure for them to enjoy the festival more comfortably. “We aim to draw half a million foreign tourists, particularly from Japan, China, and the United States,” the official said.
It has formed business partnerships with travel agencies at home and abroad to attract foreign travelers and developed travel programs with itineraries including the venue.
The committee is pinning its hope on a weaker won against the dollar and other major currencies, which will help attract foreign tourists.
The city also aims to use the festival as a springboard to attract more investment into the free economic zones in the districts of Songdo, Cheongna and Yeongjong. During the festival, foreign urban planners and policymakers will be able to learn more about Incheon’s development models. The city itself will be an exhibition site, the official said.
John Chambers, Mayor Ahn Sang-soo, and Stan Gale
By Don Southerton, Songdo IBD CityTalk Editor and Chief Blogger
Korea media notes that Cisco Systems, the world’s No. 1 network equipment maker and the Songdo IBD have signed a MOU to develop the Cisco Global Center for Intelligent Urbanization (CGCIU). The U.S. network equipment maker will provide technologies for energy saving and urban management.
Cisco Chairman John Chambers pointed out that the Songdo IBD project would launch Cisco’s vision of advanced integrated urban management network technology, which goal is to improve the quality of living.
Gale International Chairman Stan Gale shared that Cisco’s decision to select Songdo IBD for the CGCIU world headquarters highlights Songdo IBD’s ability to attract leading global companies to South Korea, which in turn will spur growth and create jobs.
Incheon International Airport
By Don Southerton, Songdo IBD CityTalk Editor and Chief Blogger
Anyone who travels frequently knows that airports vary greatly. Some are better than others. I have always found Incheon a positive experience. It’s really no surprise that year-after-year they rank top in passenger satisfaction. When the new bridge linking the airport to Songdo IBD is completed later this year, the travel experience to Korea will be even better.
Global media notes…Incheon International Airport in South Korea won the coveted Best Airport Award, according to a survey conducted by Airports Council International. Passenger satisfaction with the new Terminal 3 promoted Singapore Changi Airport into 2nd place this year, with Hong Kong International Airport coming in at a close 3rd place. Airports Council International announced the top performing airports in the Airport Service Quality Survey.
Songdo IBD
By Don Southerton, Songdo IBD CityTalk Editor and Chief Blogger
The Korean press frequently shares Incheon Free Economic Zone’s (IFEZ) amazing progress. At the heart is Songdo IBD. This Korea Herald article does a great job pointing out that within the greater IFEZ, Songdo is one of three districts. Within Songdo is the international hub–Songdo IBD–which includes among a number of high profile projects, the International School, Jack Nicklaus Golf course and community, Central Park, 1st World Towers, and the Northeast Trade Center.
Korea Herald notes:
The Incheon Free Economic Zone has begun to take shape as a new global financial and logistics hub in Northeast Asia with the first phase of its development project scheduled to be completed this year.
The planned city, some 30 kilometers west of Seoul, features a working and living environment built to meet the standards of global companies.
The first phase of the project included reclamation work that has created 12.11 million square meters of coastal land and completion of infrastructure facilities for mass transportation and quality living.
Once this new infrastructure is established this year, Incheon aims to create new jobs by attracting multinational companies.
The IFEZ, an hour’s drive from Seoul, will bring a shift in the region from being manufacturing-based to knowledge-based, and foster a value-added industry by establishing a service-oriented infrastructure, the IFEZ Authority said.
The IFEZ will be comprised of three major districts, each taking on a special function. Songdo will serve the biomedical field and global education institutions; Yeongjong will function as a transportation and logistics hub; and Cheongna will host a robot-themed amusement park. Since its establishment in 2003, the IFEZ has signed a total of 41 memoranda of understanding for a combined $57.9 billion in foreign direct investment, the IFEZ Authority said.
Songdo has been selected by the government to be developed into a state-of-the-art medical and welfare complex by 2020 – a project worth 3 trillion won in government investment. Songdo is aiming to build top-notch infrastructure that would make it a people-friendly and health-oriented district.
Songdo sits on more than 13,047 acres and it is expected to be developed into six main clusters: international business center [commonly referred to as Songdo IBD], knowledge-based industry complex, biotech complex, information technology cluster, international academic complex and the Incheon new port.
Starting July this year, underground trains will start to connect Songdo and Incheon. Songdo International School, which will run kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools is scheduled to open in September. A 405,000-square-meter central park located in the center of Songdo International Business District will be completed in June.
In addition, with the 12.3-kilometer bridge to be completed in October this year, the IFEZ will be only 15 minutes away from Incheon International Airport. The Incheon Bridge currently being built by a construction unit of Samsung C&T is to be the world’s fifth longest cable-stayed bridge. The construction will cost 2.5 trillion won, the authority said.
Even with the blueprints for the IFEZ, the lack of government support in building infrastructure and remaining regulations is making it hard for the IFEZ Authority to lure foreign investment, especially in times of economic decline, the office said.
“FEZs are supposed to offer a business-friendly environment as well as favorable tax breaks and other benefits to foreign investors. But not in FEZs in Korea,” an official of the IFEZ Authority said.
“The government also needs to simplify all the administrative work suitable for foreign investors,” he added.
1st World Towers, Songdo IBD
By Don Southerton, Songdo IBD CityTalk Editor and Chief Blogger
After a week in Korea, I’m back in La Jolla, California. I’d like to share some insights on the visit. First, flying into Incheon International Airport, the new bridge looked awesome. Th Songdo IBD skyline is also beginning to standout–buildings sprouting up.
I cannot wait for the bridge to link the project with the airport. In fact, the new bridge will open up much of the region south of Incheon and spur growth. At two occasions over the week, Korean friends commented on the bridge making travel more convenient and that local businesses would benefit. All were also impressed with the scope and scale of Songdo IBD.
I also had the opportunity to chat with the construction management team for the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea. They shared that the golf course was one of the most eco-friendly in the world. What I found interesting was not only the technology involved in the project, but Jack Nicklaus’ ongoing interest in the Songdo IBD golf course.
To conclude, over the week despite many in Korea feeling the impact of the global recession (and scarce Foreign Direct Investment in Korea)…Songdo IBD, the Gale International team, and their partners are moving forward with the project.
By Don Southerton, Songdo IBD CityTalk Editor and Chief Blogger
I was recently given the link to a Popular Science website article that discusses Songdo IBD with regard to its eco-friendly design and Green footprint. The article notes NYC is looking at international success models to cope with sustainability and Green issues.
POPSCI.com notes…
Lean times call for green measures. Even before the cash crunch came to fruition, New York City was looking for ways to cut costs and bolster environment initiatives.
A brainchild of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, PlaNYC (pronounced plan-why-see) avoids the wait-and-see approach, in favor of a proactive checklist of what needs to happen to help the Big Apple adapt to a predicted influx of a million new residents by 2030. An exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York gets to the core of the proposed changes and looks to other cities for fixes that are more than skin-deep.
PlaNYC’s top goals include creating adequate housing, cleaning up contaminated lands (brownfields), updating the city’s energy infrastructure, reducing global warming emissions by 30 percent, and achieving the cleanest air in any American city.
You don’t have to be in midtown Manhattan to know those are lofty goals. Just take a look at the hazecam to check out the current soot situation.
Nonetheless, several international success stories have elements worth emulating.
Formerly laden with landfills and home to a major auto manufacturer’s biggest plant, Malmö, Sweden, is no longer a Saab city. An $85 million transformation ushered in the new Bo01neighborhood — and inventive ways of reusing refuse. Buses run on biogas made from organic waste, plastics of all sorts are recycled and renewable energy (mostly wind power) is the norm.
Singapore is no stranger to congestion. It’s not surprising that the Malaysian metropolis inaugurated its first congestion-pricing plan in 1975. (A similar plan in New York failed to pass in the City Council last year.) Traffic is down by 30 percent, even after a one-third increase in the number of workers streaming into the downtown area.
Sometimes the best solution is to start from scratch. New construction means new materials and more resources but it offers an opportunity to avoid old-school mistakes. In South Korea, 1,500-acres of reclaimed land are getting ready for a green-over. Forty minutes southwest of Seoul, Songdo City will be the world’s first international business zone based on Earth-friendly design. Forty percent of its footprint will be green space (as opposed to ten percent in New York City) and trash trucks will be a thing of the past: pneumatic tubes will whisk waste to processing facilities. To keep carbon emissions down, Korea’s urban green giant will pull from at least one New York City success story. Its 100-acre Central Park is modeled on New York’s verdant heart.
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.
By Don Southerton, Songdo IBD CityTalk Editor and Chief Blogger
The “386 generation,” named after 386 computers, was coined in the 1990s to describe those in their late 30s and 40s who were “born in the 1960s and attended university in the 1980s.” It is the 386 generation who spent most of their youth fighting for democracy under authoritarian rule and who had a shared generational experience and culture for the first time in Korean history. They are now in decision-making positions in all fields, including political, economic, social and cultural areas. The 386 generation will go down in history as a very active and passionate group of people who toppled a military dictatorship of more than three decades and built democracy in Korea.
The 1990s was an era of a widening generation gap. Farewell to ideology, a new generation emerged – a generation that is heavily immersed in consumption. This group of Koreans was born during a time of rapid economic growth, spent their childhood in a prosperous environment and experienced the 1997 Asian financial crisis. They are substantial beneficiaries of the nation’s democracy, which was achieved by the blood, sweat and tears of the 386 generation. And they are the first generation who went abroad for travel and study with the liberalization of overseas travel and the advent of an era of information and communications.
Unlike the 386 generation who fought for democratization and ideological issues, what worries this new generation most is the high unemployment of university graduates. While the 386 generation enjoyed a booming economy with plenty of jobs available, the new generation is struggling with unemployment and riding the tide of “fierce competition.”
When Korea was hit by the Asian financial crisis, they were in high school or college. Raised in an affluent society with full access to the Internet, this new generation witnessed their fathers being kicked out of jobs and their families collapsing. After having to submit resumes without success, they have faced the grim reality that getting a job is crucial but never easy. The Asian financial crisis changed the mindset of this new generation in Korea to put the economy before anything else.
These young people, the first beneficiaries of globalization in Korea, have strong confidence and pride in their country, especially after the Korean national soccer team performance in the 2002 World Cup and with overseas travel and study much more common.
Their version of nationalism — which is based on the belief that Korea is not inferior whatsoever to the United States or Japan — is fundamentally different from the nationalism of past generations with vestiges of Japanese colonial rule of Korea.
A survey conducted by the Chosun Daily also showed that more than a third of this new generation has a positive impression of Japan, often associating it with its computer games and comic strips. With regard to the question of where they want to immigrate or work, apart from Korea, Australia was ranked first, followed by the U.S. and Japan, respectively.
Those aged between 26 and 35, also known as the “2635 Generation,” represent 17% of the national population and 24% of the working population.
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Comments are welcome.