Interested in Korean history, Incheon, and Songdo IBD? ‘Tis the season, so a high quality complimentary web version of the pictorial history book is available online. Click Here. The book was crafted bilingual, Korean and English.
Tag Archive for Mayor Ahn Sang-soo
Chemulpo to Songdo IBD: Korea’s International Gateway
Incheon Bridge to Open: 4 Years and 4 Months in the Making
Incheon Bridge
The long awaited opening of the Incheon Bridge will have tremendous impact on Songdo IBD and the region. The soft opening is this week. (Last weekend the Bridge hosted a marathon for 30,000 runners).
Choson Ilbo notes,
Incheon Bridge to Open Friday
The Incheon Bridge is to be officially opened on Friday[October 16], four years and four months after construction began.
The bridge connects the Songdo International Business District in the Incheon Free Economic Zone and Yeongjongdo, where Incheon International Airport is located.
To celebrate the opening of the bridge, Incheon city and the Chosun Ilbo co-host a walking tour on Saturday. Vehicles are allowed from Monday.
The bridge at 21.38 km is the country’s longest and the world’s seventh longest. Among cable-stayed bridges, it is the world’s fifth longest bridge.
Chemulpo to Songdo IBD Launched in Incheon’s Historic District
Incheon, South Korea August 11, 2009 The global launch of the pictorial history Chemulpo to Songdo IBD: Korea’s International Gateway took place on Thursday August 6 at Incheon Korea’s historic Chemulpo Club. Hosted by author Don Southerton and sponsored by Gale International, the event was attended by notables including Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo, Gale International chairman Stan Gale, and former Ambassador Donald Gregg. Also attending were local officials, Korean and American guests, and the media.
Chemulpo to Songdo IBD: Korea’s International Gateway documents 125 years of life in the port area through first hand accounts and historic photographs. Fittingly, the book’s launch was held at the foreign settlement’s former gentleman’s club, which was built in1901.
After warm opening remarks by Stan Gale, author Southerton shared his inspiration for writing the book—one built on collaboration. In fact, Southerton noted the early trade settlement and surroundings were home to Europeans, Americans, Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans. Likewise, the book was a collaboration of Korean and American teams. Building on this theme Southerton pointed out that today’s nearby Songdo International Business District (IBD) was, too, a diverse international collaboration of firms including Gale International, POSCO E&C, Kohn Pederson Fox, and most recently CISCO.
Joining Southerton on the podium, Mayor Ahn Sang-soo was presented with a copy of the book. The mayor then shared his vision for the city becoming one of the world’s top ten cities.
Following the book presentation, Southerton, conducted a tour for the American VIPs of Jayu Park and the historic Chinatown district.
Plans call for the book to be donated to Korea-focused organizations and universities in the U.S. and Korea. A full schedule of book promotion events is also planned.
An online eBook version of Southerton’s work is now available at http://chemulpotosongdoibd.com
About the Author
Don Southerton has held a life-long interest in Korea and its rich culture. His previous books center on culture, entrepreneurialism, and early U.S.-Korean business ventures. Southerton extensively writes and comments on modern Korean business culture and its impact on global organizations. His firm, Bridging Culture Worldwide, provides consulting and training to Korea-based global business.
About Gale International
Gale International is a premier international real estate investment and development company with headquarters in New York and offices in Boston; Irvine, California; Seoul and Songdo, South Korea.
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Chemulpo-to-Songdo IBD: Korea’s International Gateway Book Released
Breaking News, Songdo IBD Korea
The August 6, 2009 Korea launch of Chemulpo to Songdo IBD was attended by a huge crowd including including Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo, Stan Gale- Chairman Gale International, former Ambassador Donald Gregg, local officials, Korean and American VIP guests, and media.
The event took place in the historic former Chemulpo Club, a gentleman’s club built in 1901. Following the book presentation, author Don Southerton, conducted a tour for the American VIPs of Jayu Park and the historic Chinatown district.
MORE TO FOLLOW.
Book Preview
http://chemulpotosongdoibd.com
Author Don Southerton Announces Release of New Pictorial History Showcasing Korea’s First Trade Hub
Author Don Southerton
Don Southerton announces the release of a new pictorial history titled Chemulpo to Songdo IBD: Korea’s International Gateway. The book showcases 125 years of commerce, trade, and interaction in the nation’s first foreign trade hub, Incheon. The bilingual work is author Don Southerton’s latest writing on Korea and weaves key historic events with photographs and first-hand accounts, past and present.
Located on the western coast of Korea, Incheon has played a significant role in the history of the region since the late 19th century. Once called Chemulpo, as Korea opened its borders to the West, the backwater port quickly became home to a diverse group of foreign merchants, traders, entrepreneurs, and sojourners.
A century later, under the direction of Mayor Ahn Sang-soo and the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, the city’s waterfront region is again becoming an international community and center for business and trade. The book also highlights Songdo IBD, a 10-year project being developed by Gale International and POSCO E&C. The project seeks to make South Korea the preeminent business hub of East Asia.
Southerton notes, “With the world turning its attention to the Incheon Global Fair and Festival and the Grand Opening of Songdo International Business District sharing the port’s rich heritage is timely.”
In researching the book, the author explains, “Photographs from archives in Korea and the U.S. have been included, along with engaging stories about daily life in the port town from the past 125 years. To best showcase the port’s early progress, many of the photographs have been digitally reproduced from the original plates shot over 100 years ago.”
Finally, Southerton points out that the book shares the role of the foreign community in humanitarian efforts and the introduction of new technologies and innovations.
On August 6, 2009, a formal release will take place at the former Chemulpo Club in Incheon, Soon after, media events will follow in the U. S.
The global release of Chemulpo to Songdo IBD: Korea’s International Gateway is sponsored by Gale International.
About the Author Don Southerton has held a life-long interest in Korea and its rich culture. His previous books center on culture, entrepreneurialism, and early U.S.-Korean business ventures. Southerton also extensively writes and comments on modern Korean business culture and its impact on global organizations. His firm, Bridging Culture Worldwide, provides consulting and training to Korea-based global business.
Media preview of the book and select photographs are available by contacting the author.
Contacts For additional information and author interviews.
Don Southerton Dsoutherton@bridgingculture.com
+1-310-866-3777
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Global Incheon
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
789: Incheon Global Fair and Festival
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.