By Don Southerton, Songdo IBD CityTalk Editor and Chief Blogger
I’ve been sharing previews of my soon to be released book Chemulpo to Songdo IBD. The book will document the region’s amazing 125 history beginning with opening of the port–then called Chemulpo–to the West. I was pleased that preserving Incheon’s past was a priority for Mayor Ahn Sang- soo according to this timely Korea Times interview.
Chemulpo early 1900s
INCHEON ― The major seaport city of Incheon is eager to demonstrate to the world that it is a global city of economic and cultural vigor through the “Visit Incheon 2009” campaign.
Mayor Ahn Sang-soo, 63, said that Incheon will see 20 million visitors by 2014. In an interview with The Korea Times, the CEO-turned-politician elaborated on Incheon’s potential to emerge as one of the world’s 10 must-visit cities in the next five years.
Incheon’s Role in Global Korea
Incheon has been closely associated in recent years with showcase development projects, particularly in the form of a Free Economic Zone (FEZ) currently underway in reclaimed areas of Songdo and others.
Ahn stressed, however, that Incheon is much more than economic and developmental pursuits. On the occasion of the Visit Incheon 2009 campaign, he wants to renew the world’s attention on the city’s history, culture and nature.
“Incheon housed many of Korea’s first modern institutions,” said Ahn in introducing the city’s identity as one of modern Korea’s first global cities.
“It was Incheon that linked the country to the world and simultaneously initiated foreign settlement in Korea with the historic opening of ports in 1883.”
Incheon port managed more than half of Korea’s foreign trade between the years 1880 and 1910, according to historical records.
“Korea’s first post office, bank, hotel, among other modern facilities, were established in Incheon during those early years of modernization,” Ahn said.
Reviving Historical Legacies
The city plans to restore these historical legacies as part of efforts to distinguish itself as a unique tourist destination, setting itself apart from areas with just a commercial focus.
On May 22, the city announced that it has designated a cultural cluster of buildings with modern historical value as part of initiatives to boost the city’s tourism industry.
The city will establish a tour route that passes through one of the nation’s first post office, a sub-branch of Japan’s First (or Dai-ichi) Bank and eight other signature establishments testifying to the city’s role in Korea’s modernization.
Songdo International City
By the early 1900s, thousands of Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Westerners had transformed the port, then known as Chemulpo, into the trade hub of the region. During those times, there were more foreign residents, mostly Japanese and Chinese, in Incheon than in Seoul.
It is perhaps no surprise that a city with such a distinct historical background should be the nation’s frontrunner in building an international city where the use of English in classrooms, business conferences and shopping centers could possibly become the norm.
One of the three districts of the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) with Cheongna and Yeongjong, Songdo International City, 64 kilometers from Seoul, it is the largest development project of its kind in Korea as Northeast Asia’s new multicultural center of business and education.
By 2014, the Incheon Free Economic Zone will house more than 300 Northeast Asian business headquarters, 30 international organizations including those affiliated with the United Nations, and extended campuses of 15 foreign universities.
“At least within the boundaries of the free economic zone, English should be the common medium of communication,” Ahn said on the possibility of adopting English as an official language. “Those working in our schools, shops and even public administrations should be able to communicate in English.”
The city administration has adopted programs to equip their officials with better English-speaking skills.
“English is important because Incheon’s foreign population is expected to reach 200,000 around the time the IFEZ is completed in 2020. We are hoping that more students, researchers, scholars and workers from abroad will relocate to the IFEZ,” he said. The current population of Incheon is approximately 2.7 million.
Meanwhile, to achieve a balanced development for the rest of Incheon with the IFEZ, the older parts of the city are undergoing multiple redevelopment projects.
2009 Incheon Global Fair & Festival
As widely publicized, the coastal city is the host of the world’s first exhibition on urban development models which will take place in Songdo for 80 days starting Aug. 7.
Incheon first perceived the idea for the exhibition around 2004. “We thought that it would be a good idea to create a venue for sharing with the world our roadmap for the IFEZ as well as our experience in redeveloping the older parts of Incheon,” Ahn explained.
The organizers will invite representatives of business and government as well as urban planners to explore futuristic urban development models and lifestyles utilizing up-to-date digital technologies. Incheon is aiming to attract half a million foreign tourists, particularly from neighboring countries China and Japan.
“We are living in an age where the competitiveness of each city ultimately translates to the entire nation’s competitiveness. Exploring ways to adjust urban development to the environmental and energy needs of the 21st century is an immensely important issue,” Ahn said
The event will feature exhibitions, conferences and festivals organized around five main subjects ― Development of New City, Environment and Energy, Advanced Technology, Tourism and Leisure, and Culture and Art.
Organizers said that the event is expected to generate 530 billion won in added value and contribute to attracting more foreign investment for the IFEZ. More than 100 cities around the world will participate.
Transformation from Chemulpo to Songdo
Ahn says that there are plenty of other reasons to visit Incheon this year.
As he invited the world to come and witness the city’s transformation from Chemulpo to Songdo, he also stressed Incheon’s richness in natural beauty and cultural legacies.
It is not commonly known that Incheon is surrounded by 150 Islands, some of which are famed for their scenery and have recently attracted many tourists with “Island Stay” programs. Combining all the islands, Incheon is actually slightly bigger than Seoul, according to Ahn.
Incheon is also home to age-old temples such as Bomunsa and Jeondungsa. Additionally, it is the only city in Korea with an extensive Chinatown.
Photo courtesy of the Moffett Collection, Special Collections, Princeton Theological Seminary Library
Another event planned for GFF and Songdo IBD.
Korea Times
Mayors, policymakers and corporate delegates will gather in the major Korean port city of Incheon from Sept. 15 to 17 for the 2009 Asia Pacific Cities Summit (APCS).
The Incheon City administration announced Wednesday that the event will take place on the sidelines of the 2009 Incheon Global Fair and Festival, which will be held in the nearby Songdo International City for 80 days starting Aug. 7.
“The summit will provide an interactive platform for the exchange of ideas and expertise on successful cases of urban development in the Asia Pacific,” an organizer from the city administration’s office of international cooperation said.
The main theme of the summit is “Creative Urban Development,” with a focus on promoting diversity, sustainability and innovation.
Speakers will include Sasaki Masayuki, professor of urban and cultural economics at the Graduate School for Creative Cities at Japan’s Osaka City University; and Jacques Attali, former president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
“The 2009 APCS will be an ideal forum to generate business, trade, investment and economic solutions between participating cities,” the official said.
Around 1,000 relevant experts will share their vision on creative urban policies. The three-day conference will include forums, interactive workshops and plenary sessions.
Founded in 1996, the biennial summit was first initiated by Brisbane, Australia, and has since become the region’s leading government and business forum.
Participation of cities outside the Asia Pacific region in recent years highlights a growing interest in the APCS on a global level, the official said. Besides Brisbane, former hosts include Seattle in the United States and Chongqing in China.
Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo hopes that the summit will be an opportunity to renew Asia-Pacific attention to the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), currently under construction in the adjacent Songdo, Cheongna and Yeongjong areas.
Songdo International City, the venue of the summit as well as the Incheon Fair and Festival, is being built as the centerpiece of the IFEZ project.
Located 64 kilometers from Seoul, Songdo International City is the largest development project of its kind in Korea, and touted as the Northeast Asia’s new multicultural center of business and education.
City officials projected that by 2014, the IFEZ will house more than 300 Northeast Asian business headquarters, 30 international organizations, including those affiliated with the United Nations, and extended campuses of 15 foreign universities.
As a side event of the Incheon Global Fair and Festival, the summit is also expected to generate enthusiasm for the world’s first exhibition on urban development models.
The exhibition was first conceived by Incheon City around 2004 as a way of sharing with the world its roadmap for the IFEZ as well as its experience in redeveloping the older parts of the city, Mayor Ahn said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.
More than 100 cities around the world will participate in the exhibition, which the city perceives as a springboard to emerge as one of the world’s 10 must-visit cities in the next five years.