New Songdo City:
New Quality of Life
Presale for over 1,500 residential units in New Songdo City has already been completed successfully, and that's just the beginning. A unique new 1500-acre international Business District is being developed by New Songdo City Development, LLC, a joint venture partnership between U.S. developer Gale International and POSCO Engineering and Construction, subsidiary of Korean steel giant POSCO. When it is completed, New Songdo City will be a one-of-a-kind mixed use development, encompassing 50 million square feet of class-A office space, superb residential housing for 65,000 residents, and a multitude of lifestyle amenities including international schools and an international hospital, retail and entertainment centers, museums, parks, and even a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course and clubhouse.
Why Korea, Why Now?
The Yellow Sea Economic Basin. Through it's not exactly a household phrase, it certainly has caught the attention of international business community- and rightly so. The "YSEB", the area of Northeast Asia lying within a 200-mile radius of the Yellow Sea, is experiencing tremendous growth, thanks in large part to China's booming economy.
To take advantage of Northeast Asia's explosive economic growth and encourage multinational companies to set up shop in Korea, the government has named three new Free Economic Zones (FEZ's), a designation which include significant benefits for foreigners and foreign businesses.
Incheon, just 40 miles southwest of Seoul, will be home to New Songdo City and its International Business District. With a long list of excellent features in its favor, the IBD aims to become a vibrant business and IT hub.
Location, Location, Location
Songdo was carefully chosen for its close proximity both to Seoul and Incheon international Airport, which will give businesses quick and easy access to the enormous markets of Northeast Asia and Japan (comprising over 900 million people). In fact, a third of the world's entire population can be reached in 3.5-hours or less. Songdo will soon be connected to the airport by a new 6-mile highway bridge, bringing the airport to within a mere 15-minute drive from the center of the city.
The extension of subway lines and highways will also make Songdo extremely accessible from other cities throughout Korea.
A Premier Business District
In addition to the government and logistical benefits, New Songdo City will enhance the way multinationals conduct business. An unparalleled IT infrastructure will make Songdo one of the most wired (and wireless) cities in the world. A 1.5million square foot convention center, (the first phase at 350,000 square feet is a gift from the development partners to the city of Incheon), ensures that Songdo will be able to host even the largest of corporate events. The convention center will be adjacent to numerous hotels as well as the 65-story Asia Trade Tower. The tower, New Songdo City's signature building, promises premier office space without standing views for corporate tenants.
Another major advantage for multinationals is that the Korean government will launch a foreign investment ombudsman's office in Songdo to smooth their entry into the city and be on-call to help when issues arise. Further, Gale International has already received permission to utilize American-style leasing and sales transactions, as well as best-practice American building and facility management service. English will be the primary language of business. Also, by minimizing bureaucracy and red tape, the ombudsman? office, combined with new legislation allowing foreign currencies to be used, promises to make New Songdo City among the most business-friendly cities in the region and the world. But perhaps most importantly, the FEZ's will offer something not calculable in dollars or won: a truly world-class environment complete with top-tier international schools, international hospitals and pharmacies, extensive green spare, and a wide variety of entertainment, retail, and cultural facilities. In short, everything it takes to make foreign business people and their families feel more at home.
A Great Place to Work and Live
The final advantage to foreign firms operating in Korea is the incredible amenities New Songdo City will afford its expat community. The master plan architects of New Songdo City's International Business District, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, went to great lengths to design an urban area that is not only functional for businesses but one whose various components exist synergistically to provide an incredibly high standard of living for its residents. Among the amenities that have been included are:
Extensive Green Space New Songdo City will be almost 30% green space, which will include a 100-acre Central Park, numerous "pocket parks" interspersed throughout the city, and a championship, Jack Nicklaus designed golf course. A canal that cuts through the city will run through Central Park, enhancing its beauty. The canal itself will be powered by environmentally-friendly wind turbines.
Unsurpassed Cultural Institutions: New Songdo City aims to be a center for culture in addition to a center for business. An art museum in Central Park will house exhibitions from around the world, and a waterfront cultural center will attract concerts and dramatic performances. New Songdo City will also be home to an aquarium that will serve as both an educational resource and a great attraction.
International School & Hospital:
New Songdo City aims to address the desire among expats for Western-style education and healthcare. The New Songdo City International School will feature wireless classrooms, laboratories, media centers, and extensive athletic facilities for its pre-K through high school students. Its curriculum is being designed by the Harvard Advisory Group. The international hospital is explicitly authorized to provide the best in western practices.
U-Life City: A unique "U-City" or ubiquitous (computing) city, where households, schools, offices, streets and buildings are connected through a seamless IT infrastructure, is to be created starting this year, in New Songdo City.
The scope of the project will be approximately $1 billion through 2014, to construct and manage a ubiquitous computing infrastructure in the new city? households, schools, hospitals, and government offices, improving quality of life for residents and providing a highly-advanced digital environment for tenant companies.
Songdo U-Life, LLC will introduce a city development model that takes into account the overall process of constructing and operating a wide-area ubiquitous computing environment. Through organic connections to a single control center in charge of the integrated management and monitoring of diverse services, a wide range of services including facilities management, IT service, security and healthcare will be provided on a one-stop basis.
The Gale Company
Working with partners such as SL Green Realty Corp, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan/chase, the Gale Company has created one of the United States largest office portfolios with a value over $2.5 Billion. It manages over 60 million square feet of corporate facilities within the US and has 32 European locations. The portfolio includes 6 corporate headquarters and 3 global data centers for clients such as AT&T, Pfizer, Siemens, GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever and UPS.
POSCO E&C
POSCO E&C, which provides complete project services, from planning to design, construction and test operations, concentrates its core abilities on construction projects in a bid to create and promote demand in steel products such as steel plants, energy and environmental facilities, steel bridges, and intelligent buildings. Based on the highest credit rating among construction companies nationwide as well as sound financial status, POSCO E&C also has recently obtained its clients' confidence in domestic housing projects for building high-quality residential complexes.
New Songdo City-Strategic Partners
Financing: Morgan Stanley, ABN Amro, Woori Bank, Kookmin Bank
Architecture (master plan):Kohn Pedersen Fox
International School: Harvard Advisory Group
Retail: Taubman Centers, Inc
Aquarium: Chermayeff. Sollogub and Poole
Golf Course: Jack Nicklaus Design
Golf Course Community: Kitson & Partners
Convention Center: Conventional Wisdom
Legal: Kelley & Drye, Hale & Door, Bae Kim & Lee

The above is excerpted from AMCHAM's May/June 2005 Journal - Ed.

An aerial view of New Songdo City Designed by KPF
The 65-story Asia Trade Tower, the signature building of New Songdo City.
Designed by KPF
The 100-acre Central Park in the heart of the International Business District Designed by KPF