Songdo International Business District (Songdo IBD) is a

smart city A smart city is a technologically modern urban area that uses different types of electronic methods and sensors to collect specific data. Information gained from that data is used to manage assets, resources and services efficiently; in retur ...

or "ubiquitous city" & "

Private town A private town is a town owned by a private person or a family. History of Private Towns in Poland In the history of Poland, private towns (''miasta prywatne'') were towns within the lands owned by magnates, bishops, knights, princes, etc. ...

" built from scratch on of

reclaimed land Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...

along Incheon's waterfront, southwest of

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

and connected to

Incheon International Airport Incheon International Airport (IIA; ) (sometimes referred to as Seoul–Incheon International Airport) is the largest airport in South Korea. It is the primary airport serving the Seoul Capital Area and one of the largest and busiest airports ...

by a reinforced concrete highway bridge called Incheon Bridge. Along with

Yeongjong Yeongjong Island is an island off the west coast of the city of Incheon, South Korea, which contains Incheon International Airport as well as small villages, farms, and beaches. The previously separate Yongyu, Sammok, and Sinbul Islands have ...

and

Cheongna {{advertisement, date=April 2019 Cheong-na International City (also pronounced Cheongla) is a development project in Seo-gu, Incheon, Korea. Cheong-na International City is built on a nearly two million square foot plot of land (5.38 million Ko ...

, it is part of the

Incheon Free Economic Zone The Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), located in Incheon, South Korea is a Korean Free Economic Zone that consists of the three regions of Songdo, Cheongna, and the island of Yeongjong and has a total area of . The goal of the IFEZ is to tra ...

. The Songdo International Business District will feature the

Northeast Asia Trade Tower The Posco Tower-Songdo or Northeast Asia Trade Tower (Korean: 포스코타워-송도) is a skyscraper in Songdo International City, the world's most expensive private real estate project in the Incheon Free Economic Zone, South Korea. The buildin ...

, G-tower, and the

Incheon Tower The 102 Incheon Tower was a supertall twin tower proposed for construction in Songdo International City, Incheon, South Korea. The design consisted of two 151 floor, supertall skyscrapers connected by three skybridges. The building would have bec ...

. Schools, hospitals, apartments, office buildings and cultural amenities are to be built in the district. Homages of architectural hallmarks, including New York City's Central Park and Venice's waterways, will also be incorporated. This 10-year development project is estimated to cost in excess of $40 billion, making it one of the most expensive development projects ever undertaken. With 106 buildings and 22 million square ft. of LEED-certified space, the green building certification by the United States Green Building Council, Songdo IBD makes up about 40% of all LEED-certified space in South Korea. As of 2020, the population of Songdo exceeds 167,346 people.

Ownership and design

Gale International holds a majority stake of 61%, Posco holds 30%, and the remaining 9% is owned by

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

Real Estate. The plan was designed by the New York office of Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF). Infrastructure development, labor, and funding are also being provided by the city of Incheon.

Development

Songdo's central park and the NEATT, Incheon, South Korea

Built on of land reclaimed from the Yellow Sea off Incheon, about from the South's capital Seoul, Songdo district is the largest private real estate development in history. By its completion date in 2015, the district was planned to contain 80,000 apartments, of office space, and of retail space. The 65-floor

became South Korea's tallest building. Computers have been built into the houses, streets, and offices as part of a wide area network. The Songdo IBD was part of former President Lee Myung-bak's effort to promote green and low-carbon growth as an avenue for future development after 60 years of reliance on export-oriented manufacturing. The nation launched a $38 billion economic stimulus package in January 2009, with over 80% of the total earmarked for green investment. The Framework Act for Low Carbon Green Growth, passed by Korea's National Assembly in 2010, increased this to $83.6 billion spanning five years. Under this initiative, the Songdo IBD is being developed as a

sustainable city The sustainable city, eco-city, or green city is a city designed with consideration for social, economic, environmental impact (commonly referred to as the triple bottom line), and resilient habitat for existing populations, without compromisi ...

with more than 40% of its area reserved for green space, including the park of , of bicycling lanes, numerous charging stations for electric vehicles and a waste collection system that eliminates the need for trash trucks. Also, it is the first district in Korea to have all of its major buildings on par or beyond LEED's requirements. Three additional foreign university campuses opened in 2014, for a total of four total universities located within an international business district some from Seoul, including the first overseas university that opened in Korea, the State University of New York, Stony Brook. The schools will be funded by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the Incheon Free Economic Zone and the Incheon Metropolitan Government. The development is part of a $35 billion effort by the Korean government to form an international business district that houses competitive universities from around the world. In spring 2014, George Mason University (Fairfax, Virginia) opened its Korean campus in Songdo to support undergraduate academic interests and professional development programming for local corporations. Additionally,

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

anticipated opening a satellite campus in March 2014 with several American bachelor's degrees offered in Social Sciences, along with an M.A. in Applied Linguistics

Sustainability

Though the city is not yet complete, Songdo IBD is home to 106 LEED certified buildings that fall under 12 projects, or 22 million sq ft of LEED-certified space. This number includes several ‘firsts’ for LEED in Korea and Asia, including the first LEED-certified hotel in Korea (the Sheraton Incheon), the first certified residential tower in Korea (Central Park 1), and the first certified convention hall in Asia ( Convensia). The 50,000 sq ft clubhouse for the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea which hosted the Presidents Cup in 2015 is also certified. Songdo IBD alone represents 40% of all LEED-certified space in South Korea. In addition, Songdo IBD utilizes a pneumatic waste disposal system. This means no garbage cans on street corners, and no garbage trucks. Instead, garbage is thrown into pipes that will suck the garbage underground, disposing of waste, and recycling what can be recycled. There are also 25 km of bike paths and charging stations for electric vehicles throughout the city.

UN Green Climate Fund

In October 2012, Songdo IBD was selected to become the home to the United Nations Green Climate Fund (GCF). One of the reasons for selection is the environmental-friendly practices that were incorporated into the city's foundation. Being selected for the GCF marked the first time a large global environmental agency would be hosted in Asia. A parallel between The GCF and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

can be drawn, as The GCF offers financial aid to developing countries in their quest to combat climate change. South Korea beat out 5 other competitors for this opportunity, as part of former South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak's initiative for green growth in Korea. The other competing countries were Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, Namibia, and Poland. According to Chief Secretary Kim Sang-hyup, the win for selection came at only 10 days before the decision was due, and mainly because the United States decided to lend its support to Korea.

Transportation

Songdo IBD has wide roads and a high number of bicycle paths and walkways. The district is served by buses and by Incheon Metro Line 1, with six stations (another will be added in 2021), some with elegant interiors and interior sky-lit vistas. Although travel to

is quick with the 12.3 km Incheon Bridge, transportation via subway to

is less direct and requires multiple transfers but two Red class commuter buses offer direct routes to the capital city.

Environmental impact

In 2003, Birds Korea called for a halt to the reclamation project due to concerns of potential losses of important

tidal flats Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal f ...

. Prior to reclamation, the Songdo tidal flats had supported several threatened waterbird species, and provided a staging ground for migratory waders as they traveled between the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

Popular culture

* Songdo International Business District was heavily featured in episodes 68 and 81 of the South Korean variety show '' Running Man'', filmed in 2011 and 2012, respectively. It also provided the backdrop for the music video for "Gangnam Style" and "Right Now", by Korean pop star

Psy Park Jae-sang (, ; born December 31, 1977), known professionally as Psy (stylized in all caps as PSY) (; ; ), is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Psy is known domestically for his humorous videos and stage per ...

. * The city is featured in the 2021 video game ''

Battlefield 2042 ''Battlefield 2042'' is a first-person shooter, developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is the twelfth main installment in the ''Battlefield'' series and was released on November 19, 2021, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Win ...

'' as the main setting of multiplayer map Kaleidoscope.

Projects

* State University of New York (SUNY) – Korea (SBU, FIT) * George Mason University Korea Campus *

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when th ...

Global Campus *

Asia Campus * Yonsei University, International Campus * Global Information Complex,

Inha University Inha University (인하대학교(仁荷大學校)) is a private research university located in Incheon, South Korea. Known traditionally for research and education in the engineering and physical sciences, the University was established by the ...

* Chadwick International * First World * Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea *

* Sheraton Incheon Hotel * Songdo Canal Walk *

Songdo Convensia The Songdo Convensia Convention Center is the first project completed in Songdo IBD and opened for business on October 7, 2008. Its innovative design by KPF and Baum elicits thoughts of the Sydney Opera House and is already a landmark structu ...

Songdo Central Park Songdo Central Park is a public park in the Songdo district of Incheon, South Korea. The park is the centerpiece of Songdo IBD's green space plan, inspired by New York City's Central Park. Central Park is a public zone in the center of Korea ...

University of Incheon Incheon National University (INU), previously also known as University of Incheon (UI), is a national university, operated by the legal entity (법인, 法人) established by the government of Republic of Korea (South Korea), aiming for a world-c ...

Gallery

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Songdo International City seen from Gyeonggi Province

File:Siheung October 2014 06.JPG, File:Oidosummer2015 12.JPG, File:Oidosummer2015 14.JPG,

References

External links

New Island Hopes to Be Hong Kong Of Korea
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' September 24, 2004.
Inha Global Knowledge Complex @ Songdo International Business District
{{Ambient intelligence New towns in South Korea Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in South Korea Artificial islands of South Korea Internal territorial disputes of South Korea New towns started in the 2010s Smart cities