Archive for Songdo IBD in the News

Incheon Global Campus’s New York State University and General Motors Sign MOU

Incheon Global Campus's New York State University and General Motors Sign MOU

New York State University President Arthur Lee, GM Korea President Hector Vizarreal and GM R&D Corporation President Brian McMurray (Photo IFEZ)

The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority Incheon Free Economic Zone(IFEZ) under Commissioner Dr. Peter Wonsok Yun has announced New York State University and General Motors (GM), both with operations within the Incheon Global Campus, have signed a business agreement to foster future talent

I’ve noted in previous posts how IFEZ specifically Songdo is home to a community of foreign and domestic academic institutions, companies, and NGOs.

See https://www.brandinginasia.com/foreign-direct-investment-rooted-in-international-commerce-but-an-evolving-ecosystem/

See https://www.brandinginasia.com/smart-cities-a-tale-of-innovation-and-collaboration-in-south-korea/

As noted in Maeil Business Newspaper Co., Ltd. the NY State Univerity and GM signed the MOU on April 3, 2024. GM operates an R&D center within IFEZ.

Attending the signing ceremony were Arthur Lee, president of New York State University, Hector Vizarreal, president of GM Korea, and Brian McMurray, president of GM R&D.

On this day, the two sides agreed to join forces to provide various educational programs for the growth of students at New York State University in Korea, including mentoring, seminars, and internships, to plan and promote job training and joint research and development (R&D) for GM employees, to visit both institutions and to contribute to the local community.

“We are happy that our students, who have strengths in engineering and management, will have the opportunity to strengthen the capabilities needed in global companies and grow into future talents,” President Lee said. “We will contribute to student growth and community development by promoting various programs with GM.”

President Vizarreal said, “STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education is an indispensable keyword in GM that leads future mobility,” adding, “I am happy to have an opportunity to cooperate with New York State University in Korea, which has strengths.” He said, “We will discover more innovative and creative programs and support fostering talents who will lead the rapidly changing future industry.”

“We are happy to have various collaborations with potential students and excellent faculty at New York State University in Korea through this partnership,” said McMurray.

“The high student recruitment rate (of IGC resident universities) means that IGC meets the purpose of creating new growth engines and creating a global education hub,” said Yoon Won-seok, head of the Incheon Economic Office.

New York State University Korea, which opened in 2012, is the first U.S. university in Korea with undergraduate and master’s, and doctoral courses. It operates an excellent department at Stony Brook University, which has the best science and engineering education programs in North America, and Fashion Technology University (FIT), the world’s top fashion school. All classes are the same as the faculty at New York State University in Korea through this partnership,” said McMurray.

Questions on IFEZ? Songdo? Korea? FDI?

Just ask dsoutherton@bridgingculture.com

Songdo: Korea’s Smart City

Fair article on Songdo International Business District.   All projects comes with some challenges… that said, Songdo tops my list for aspiring to be the City of the Future.

Songdo South Korea

Skyline

City of the Future

Check it out….

DS

68 Story Songdo NEATT Opens

Pleased to see Songdo’s NEATT ( The North East Asia Trade Tower) open. I recall over the years peeking out from floor after floor as construction moved ever upward.  Last time i was in the Tower it was a chilly February morning hosting BBC Click.

Songdo IBD NEATT

NEATT ( on right)

 

http://www.globest.com/news/12_899/international/office/Korea-Opens-68-floor-Trade-Tower-348124.html

Songdo in the News–Incheon and Songdo: Sub-National Economic Integration Efforts

As a longtime supporter of the Songdo project, we always have seen the Songdo International District ( the core of the greater Songdo FEZ which NY-based Gale International has developed) as a Hub for East Asia business…neat idea the area could be hub for eventually N-S commerce.

Songdo Peterson Institute

North Korea Blog

Incheon and Songdo: Sub-National Economic Integration Efforts
by Marcus Noland | May 13th, 2014

A few years back I was invited to participate in some activities sponsored by Gangwon province in northeastern South Korea, the traditional boundaries of which were split by the division of the peninsula. Officials were hoping that a reconnection of the east coast rail line would give the province an economic shot in the arm.

On the west side of the peninsula, officials have also been eyeing inter-Korean integration and the economic benefits that it could bring. According to a newspaper story passed along by Tom Murcott of Gale International, the developer of the Songdo “smart city,” back in 2008  local officials pushed for a traffic network expansion plan that would connect Incheon International Airport to Gangwha and Gaeseong Industrial Park as part of the Gangwha development plan. That integration would seem to make sense, especially if the October 2007 North-South summit vision of redeveloping Haeju ever came to pass.

With President Park’s renewed emphasis on unification, Incheon officials are dusting off the old plans. According to the report in the Incheon-based Kiho Ilbo, Incheon City has announced it will push ahead with the construction of an expressway from Yeongjong to Haeju of North Korea, the so-called “West Sea Unification Expressway.” Incheon City estimates KRW2.7 trillion of project costs will have to be spent on the 112km-long expressway.

Presumably the city doesn’t have that kind of cash laying around, and one would think that the national government might have something to say about opening up direct transportation links with the North, so don’t hold your breath.  Nevertheless, it’s a reminder that local officials have their own eyes fixed on North-South possibilities, and if North-South relations calm, Incheon and Songdo would be ideally placed to become the hub of North-South exchange.

###

The Korea Society: Visionary Songdo IBD and Cisco

The Korea Society looks at Songdo and their collaboration with Cisco in the informative and insightful presentation. I am a long time supporter of Songdo IBD and Gale International, the master developer.

[embedplusvideo height=”300″ width=”450″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/1bgvh7V” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/yol-CiKCNMQ?fs=1&hd=1″ vars=”ytid=yol-CiKCNMQ&width=450&height=300&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=1&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=&notes=” id=”ep8591″ /]

###

Songdo IBD and PGA’s President’s Cup

President’s Cup

I attended this year’s President Cup in Dublin, Ohio with my friends at Gale International. They are developers of the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, which will be hosting the 2015 Cup. We have high expectations for the event in two years.

Don Southerton at 2013 President’s Cup Songdo Booth

The Details

The Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, located in the Songdo International Business District (IBD), Incheon, Korea, has been selected as the host the 2015 President’s Cup.

The Incheon City skyline is visible from Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, site of the 2015 Presidents Cup.

July 31, 2013

AKRON, OHIO – At Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, where Jack Nicklaus is tonight receiving the Ambassador of Golf Award, Nicklaus joined PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem to announce that Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, located in the Songdo International Business District (IBD), Incheon, Korea, has been selected as the host course and Incheon City as the host city for The Presidents Cup 2015 when the event makes its first trip to Asia. 

Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, which is located 40 miles west of Seoul in the country’s largest economic development zone, celebrated its opening in September 2010 with the Champions Tour’s first official money/official victory event held in Asia. The course hosted the Songdo Championship in 2010 and 2011, and the 2012 Korea Women’s Open on the KLPGA Tour. 

Mayor Song Young-Gil of Incheon City expressed his excitement and was delighted with his city being selected as the host city of The Presidents Cup 2015. “We are extremely pleased and honored to be the first city in Asia to be selected as host of The Presidents Cup,” said Mayor Song. “Along with the upcoming 2014 Asian Games, Incheon City has certainly put itself on the global stage as a choice destination for major international events, and we look forward to welcoming participants, sponsors and dignitaries from around the world to our great city and country.

“Incheon City will work closely with the PGA TOUR, Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea and others to make The Presidents Cup 2015 a resounding success.”

Finchem said, “Just over three years ago, we announced The Presidents Cup would be played at Muirfield Village Golf Club in 2013.  Today, we further strengthen Jack Nicklaus’ commitment and connection to The Presidents Cup with the announcement that the course he designed at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea will in 2015 host the event for its first foray into Asia. Like Muirfield Village, Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea is Jack’s vision and an impressive venue in its own right. We are thrilled to take The Presidents Cup there, which is not only a milestone in the event’s history, but also a significant step in further elevating the game of golf in Korea.”

Nicklaus said, “We’re very honored and proud that Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea has been selected for The Presidents Cup 2015. We have always felt strongly about JNGC Korea as a host venue because of its location in the Songdo International Business District, its proximity to the Incheon International Airport, the quality hotels nearby, and the club’s proximity to a large population area. The facility itself also makes for an ideal location to host The Presidents Cup. We’re very pleased that the PGA TOUR felt the same after evaluating its options throughout Korea.

“Everyone has worked extremely hard to get us to today. I want to extend my congratulations to Mayor Song Young-Gil and the host City of Incheon; the membership and staff at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, as well as the development team from Gale International, especially Stan Gale. I would also like to recognize Chairman Roy Ryu, who has been instrumental in bringing The Presidents Cup to Korea. His vision and leadership were critical throughout the entire selection process. In the end, we’re delighted that the PGA TOUR selected the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea. We think they will present a great event. This will be a tremendous opportunity to showcase on a world stage the beauty of Korea and the country’s passion for the game of golf. Having been fortunate to be involved in several Presidents Cup matches in the past, I know how uniquely special this event is and how it represents to a global audience all that is great about the game of golf.”

Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea features a par-72, 7,413-yard Signature Golf Course designed by the Golden Bear, and offers world-class amenities, including an award-winning, 60,000-square-foot clubhouse. For The Presidents Cup 2015, the course has undergone some minor renovations and the holes rerouted to accommodate hospitality and the match-play format. Songdo IBD is a joint undertaking by Gale International, POSCO E&C, and Incheon City and a model of international collaboration. Songdo IBD is globally recognized as the world’s foremost smart, sustainable city-scale development. In 2012, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) selected a site in Songdo as the home for the GCF Secretariat.  It is believed that many of the sustainable infrastructure and technological innovations being pioneered in Songdo will be applied to GCF-funded projects in developing nations.  

“To build a truly global city, we engaged the world’s leading design, architecture, engineering and technology firms,” said Stan Gale, chairman of Gale International and Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea. “Working closely with our partner POSCO E&C, we selected Nicklaus Design to create a sporting venue worthy of hosting professional golf’s most prestigious international events. As a direct result of Jack’s consistent leadership and hands-on oversight, the JNGC Korea was selected as The Presidents Cup 2015 host location. The PGA TOUR’s decision is emblematic of Incheon City’s global appeal and a reinforcement of the importance of the great game of golf in the Republic of Korea and Greater Asia.”

Previous international venues for The Presidents Cup include: The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (1998, 2011); The Links at Fancourt, George, South Africa (2003); and The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (2007).  Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Prince William County, Va., hosted The Presidents Cup in 1994, 1996, 2000 and 2005, and TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, Calif., was the host site in 2009.  Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, will host The Presidents Cup the first week in October. 

In 2011, K.J. Choi, K.T. Kim and Y.E. Yang competed in The Presidents Cup, marking the first time more than one South Korean qualified for the International Team in event history.

 

## 

 

Korea Magazine Shares Songdo’s Vision

The cover story for the August edition of Korea magazine  looks at Songdo and it’s vision for the future.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/157552923/KOREA-2013-VOL-9-No-08

Thanks go the Robert Koehler and his team… As the story’s writer, I appreciate the opportunity to share my views on Songdo.

DS

###

 

BBC World Service Click, Songdo IBD and CISCO Smart Connected

By Don Southerton,  Editor

In February I hosted BBC World Service journalist Gareth Mitchell in Korea.  This is second in Gareth’s well done series on Korea, emerging technology, and Songdo International Business District.  

This episode interviews Wim Elfrink Chief Global Strategist for Cisco. The interview took place in Songdo IBD via Cisco’s TelePresence. Here is the audio link. 

BTW Hard to top Cisco’s TP technology. Below is photo of me working with teachers via TP in Songdo IBD in 2009. I was in Irvine, California, the teachers in Incheon, South Korea 🙂

 

###

BBC World Service Click Looks at Korea Tech

By Don Southerton,  Editor

In February I hosted BBC World Service journalist Gareth Mitchell in Korea.  This is first of Gareth’s series on Korea cool tech. LINK http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p016tl1t

Gareth Mitchell with Gary Donohue: technology integration specialist for the ‘Village’ School at Chadwick International School in Songdo IBD, South Korea

Questions, Comments?

 

 

 

New Urbanism: Smart, Sustainable Growth– Songdo 2013

By Don Southerton, Editor

Since researching and then authoring a book on Songdo International Business District (IBD), I have watched the Incheon project and similar new urban communities face a number of challenges. Beyond huge development costs, the vision for these communities requires not only providing but also sustaining a high quality of living.

With regard to Songdo IBD, the community rises from reclaimed land on the western coast of South Korea. More significantly, the project embraces high standards for design, sustainability and, most importantly, an unparalleled lifestyle. Specifically the developer boldly set out to transform and reshape the model for urban communities.

That said, with regard to Songdo and other new urban projects I have been drawn to a question, “Have high profile new urbanism communities met their early visions and expectations?”

Although like with similar project that were stalled by the global recession, Songdo now is back on its growth plan. Gazing out from Songdo’s North East Trade Tower’s 68th floor observation area on a cold February morning, I could see the city more than 50% complete. When completed in 2017, Songdo IBD will be home to 65, 000 residents with about 27,000 people already residing within the project. Equally encouraging, the halls of Chadwick International School Korea now ring with the sound of children, many of whom are carrying laptops. Enrollment over the next few years is expected to grow from the current 700 students to 1200.

Songdo IBD NEATT

NEATT ( on right)

Looking at Songdo IBD, several areas deserve review…

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and Sustainability – Today, Songdo IBD boasts 13.7 million square feet of LEED-certified space. Along with continued plans to meet LEEDs standards in new construction, the project’s sustainability features a state of art cogeneration plant for electricity with waste heat collected and used in warm buildings with the city. Somewhat of a surprise, and in conjunction with a robust recycling program, Songdo also has the world’s largest pneumatic waste collection system with garbage from across the city directed into a network of large underground pipes, which carry the waste to central facilities. This eliminates the need for the fleet of garbage trucks seen making morning collections in most cities and results in the reduction in traffic, related noise and vehicular pollution. Visiting the collection center, one quickly appreciates the city-wide complexity in the consolidating process and management of the waste.

Green and Open Space Per the Master Plan, 40% of Songdo IBD has been designated to be open space. Looking down from the NEATT observation floor, and in contrast with the high urban density one finds across much of the greater Seoul region, the strong commitment to providing open and green space is apparent from the 100 acre Central Park to canals to walk and bike pathways.

Smart Cities One final dimension of Songdo IBD meeting its vision is the project’s strategic partnership with and commitment from Cisco to become a leading example of a smart and connected city. For example, along with technology to link and share data across an integrated network, buildings and residents will be able to better, fine tune energy demands and monitor and control apartment lights and temperature. In all, there will be constant IP connectivity across Songdo IBD.

Expectations Overall, Songdo IBD is making good on its promises and pledges. As expected with any project the size and scale of Songdo IBD, I see some adaptation to new trends. One modification from the early vision of the project is a shift from offering traditional commercial office development to university campuses and biotech research centers– a more knowledge-based focus and community. Of course, sustaining the vision over time will require continued support of government, institutions, businesses, and residents. However, I expect that visitors to Songdo (Korean and foreigners) will appreciate the community’s new urbanism focus and envy a life style in which one can live, walk to work and stroll through Central Park.

###