Core pledges by the 8th democratically-elected city administration... Incheon sets its direction to become a “next-level” metropolis
The master plan for Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok and his 8th democratically-elected city administration - the “Incheon, next-level metropolis with happy citizens” project - is finally here.
Incheon recently announced the direction in which it intends to take in going forward with the “New Global-city Incheon (previously the New Hong Kong City initiative) Project” and “Jemulpo Renaissance Project.”
Both projects will focus on creating a world-class city, where its citizens can lead happy lives, and on pushing Incheon to the “next level” as a city.
The world-class city envisioned by Incheon involved building a whole new type of city that transcends other cities both in Korea and abroad previously considered “world-class” or “first-class” cities. Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok’s aspirations are to create the first super smart city in the world tailored to the upcoming Industry 5.0 era, and thereby establish a foundation that incorporates Incheon’s culture, history, and environment to help improve the lives of its citizens with a more human-centric city structure.
The New Global-city Incheon Project and Jemulpo Renaissance Project will play a major role and a leading role in Incheon's leap forward as this type of world-class city.
First, New Global-city Incheon Project is the city’s future development project that expands upon the previous “New Hong Kong City Project.” It includes various strategies designed to go beyond attracting financial capital moving away from Hong Kong, and to maximize Incheon's seemingly limitless potential to become one of the most important cities in the world.
▲ The New Global-city Project will create the “Incheon Global Circle” along the Incheonman Bay, which includes the southern end of Ganghwado Island, Yeongjong, the Incheon Naehang Port, the metropolitan area landfill, Songdo, and Cheongna.
To promote the project in earnest, the project has been renamed from the “New Hong Kong City Project” to the “New Global-city Incheon Project,” and Incheon will devise various strategies centered on the new Incheon Global. The City administration is planning on applying these strategies progressively across different regions.The Incheon Global Circle combines the southern end of Ganghwado Island, Yeongjong, and the inner harbor (Incheon Naehang Port), which are sorely in need of a new development strategy, as well as Songdo and Cheongna, which are currently operating as free economic zones.
▲ The Jemulpo Renaissance Project hopes to transform the Incheon Naehang Port (inner harbor, formerly known as Jemulpo) and the nearby old city center, which had served as a springboard for Korea's modernization, into a new city that offers a unique blend of culture, tourism, and industry. The image is a bird's eye view used to initiate the redevelopment project of Piers 1 and 8.
Meanwhile, the Jemulpo Renaissance Project hopes to transform the Incheon Naehang Port (inner harbor, formerly known as Jemulpo) and the nearby old city center, which had served as a springboard for Korea's modernization, into a new city that offers a unique blend of culture, tourism, and industry. To this end, the core objective of the Jemulpo Renaissance Project is to stimulate the balanced development of the old city center of Incheon, and lay the foundation for the city’s new growth going forward by designating the Naehang Port (inner harbor) area as a free economic zone. This free economic zone could become a cradle for future growth industries and youth entrepreneurship, and grow as the perfect place for marine tourism in the entire metropolitan region of Korea.
To ensure the success of the two projects, first, Incheon plans to collect the opinions of experts by forming the New Global-city Advisory Group (in five different areas, including finance/multinational companies, startup/new industry, aviation/logistics, culture/tourism/education, and city value) and a Jemulpo Renaissance Advisory Group. The City will also commission select experts and groups to carry out various services to help turn Incheon into a bona fide world-class city.
Moreover, a delegation from the Incheon City Government will visit Singapore and Australia (Sydney, Brisbane) from September 15 to 22 to meet with local Korean entrepreneurs and gather information on current market conditions. The delegation is planning to visit the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) Singapore to discuss overarching cooperation measures, including trade and logistics. Based on the results from these visits, Incheon will look to fine-tune the specifics of its roadmap forward to transform Incheon into a world-class city.
▲ Where the Singapore Harbor used to begin. The area densely packed with warehouses was turned into a waterfront area for the general public. Existing warehouses and buildings were renovated and remodeled to create various waterfront venues, and the River Cruise pier (left of the photo) was linked to this waterfront area to maximize accessibility.
In particular, City officials have made appointments with organizations that oversaw successful urban regeneration projects, such as Singapore's Clarke Quay, Sydney's Barangaroo, and Brisbane’s South Bank, to learn how they were able to succeed with their projects, and what could be gleaned from their experience to ensure the success of Incheon’s redevelopment plan for its Naehang Port (inner harbor) and the operations of the “Sangsang Platform.”
The delegation will also visit the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat in Singapore to promote Incheon as a possible candidate to host the “2025 APEC Summit.”
