Yellow Sea Region Infrastructure Spending and Land-Use/Pricing News

This is only a partial list of articles related to recent economic-stimulus plans, land use, and land prices in the countries bordering the Yellow Sea. Feel free to pass along articles relevant to this archive list to james.hadley@factplusfancy.com.

2010 Archive

Wall Street Journal, The, 2010.12.30 16:20, "China Dredging Plans $50 Mln IPO To Purchase Ships, Equipment", http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101230-708061.html.

Hankyoreh, The, 2010.12.29 13:54, "[News Briefing] Half of South Koreans live in the capital area", http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/456280.html.
[Selected quote] South Korea's population reached 48.219 million this year, a 2 percent increase from 2005, according to the preliminary results of the 2010 census released by Statistics Korea on Tuesday. The growth rate during this period slowed from 2.5 percent between 2000 and 2005 and 3.4 percent in the preceding five years. The preliminary results of this year's census show that almost 49 percent of the population lives in the capital region, which includes Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, demonstrating a severe concentration of people in the area. The figure represents an increase from 48.2 percent in 2005 and 46.3 percent in 2000.

Dong-A Ilbo, The, 2010.12.29 11:09, "Gov't announces project to develop coastal economies", http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=020000&biid=2010122973398.

Dong-A Ilbo, The, 2010.12.29 11:05, "Gov't to revoke 12 districts of free economic zone status", http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=020000&biid=2010122974288.

asiaone news, 2010.12.29, "Village chief crushed to death: Questions surround village chief's manner of death", [warning: graphic images] http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20101229-255411.html.
[Selected quote] Questions now surround a village chief's death in China as netizens allege that he was held down by five men while a truck drove over his neck. Qian Yunhui, head of Zhaiqiao Village in Yueqing City, was crushed to death by a construction truck that delivered materials for a nearby industrial zone reclamation project. Netizens say that this was no mere accident as he had been seeking redress for his village's pilfered land. Chinese website ChinaSmack [warning: graphic images, http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/pictures/village-petitioner-crushed-under-truck-netizens-suspicious.html] reported that government officials had misappropriated 146 hectares of land from his village. Others questioned the manner of his death, claiming that Qian was pressed down to the ground by five people along the public road. Coincidentally, surveillance cameras along the entire stretch of road were dismantled. When the Yueqing City party office was contacted, a spokesperson said that it was merely an accident and that people with ulterior motives were trying to link it to Qian's petitioning.

JoongAng Daily, 2010.12.29, "Ministry plans to lift FEZ designations in 14 districts: Under performing areas in free economic zones targeted" by Lee Eun-joo, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2930240.
[Selected quote] The districts were created to help spur foreign investments and business activity in general across the nation by offering tax breaks and other assistance to companies that set up operations in the zones. According to the ministry, the six FEZs have attracted just $2.73 billion in investments since 2003 - yet the country has spent 85.4 trillion won ($74.3 billion) to promote the areas and build infrastructure in them. "The decision to take restructuring steps comes amid consideration that there are currently too many districts designated as FEZs compared to the actual demand for development overall," Vice Knowledge Economy Minister Park Young-june said yesterday. "Development has been lagging in many areas because firms believe there is a lack of business value in the areas."

Airang, 2010.12.28, "Restructuring Free Economic Zones" by Choi Won-young, http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=110823&code=Ne4&category=3.

KBS World, 2010.12.28, "Saemangeum Development Plan ", http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_commentary_detail.htm?No=20560.

Macau Daily Times, 2010.12.27 03:00, "Reclaimed areas could repay land debt: DSSOPT" by Vítor Quintã, http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/20432-Reclaimed-areas-could-repay-land-debt-DSSOPT.html.
[Selected quote] Even though the support for the reclamation is high, over 70 percent of the interviewees criticised the lack of information on what's in store for this land. A significant number of people also expressed concern over possible negative effects of the reclamation, including floods and increased sediment deposit in the Pearl River Delta. A group composed of staff from the office of four secretaries is already preparing a macro-study on the environmental impact of the reclamation works, [Lao Iong, head of the Urban Planning Department of the Land, Public Works and Transport Services Bureau (DSSOPT)] said. The group will also try to forecast the demand for public housing and social facilities in these areas.

AFP, 2010.12.26, "HK duck's epic Arctic trip sheds light on migration", http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j9QcX1DkM7bhhWtVpYKjpaJFa4Bw?docId=CNG.eff3bbc01754423cb15e2619666d230b.111.
[Selected quote] Katherine Leung, an expert with WWF Hong Kong, told the South China Morning Post the tagging project provided important information on bird migration. "During migration, ducks face many threats, like natural predators, hunters and diseases. Another worrying trend is development projects, including (land) reclamation, which results possibly in habitat loss for them and other waterbirds," she said. "Their migration route will help us protect them better in the future."
Story picked up by The Straits Times, 2010.12.27, http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/TechandScience/Story/STIStory_617878.html.

Invest Korea, 2010.12.23, "Saemangeum to Turn into World’s Largest New Renewable Energy Complex", http://investkorea.or.kr/InvestKoreaWar/work/reg/eng/ne/index.jsp?l_unit=90202&m_unit=90305&code=1250201&no=608300004&bno=012230013&seq=276.
[Selected quote] The Saemangeum reclaimed land in North Jeolla Province of South Korea will be reborn as the world's largest new renewable energy development complex and a multifunctional city that provides functions including industry, housing, farming and tourism. Above all, Saemangeum has an ambitious plan to become a stronghold of international business targeting China. Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS) held a public hearing on Wednesday to pound out an agreement on the Saemangeum Comprehensive Development Plan. A final version of the plan will be ready by the end of December and be confirmed through deliberation of the Saemangeum Committee during January. According to the plan, the new renewable energy complex will be built on an area as large as 20.3 km2 under the goal of supplying 15% of energy demand with photovoltaic energy, bio fuels and wind energy.

JoongAng Daily, 2010.12.23, "Plans unveiled to revive Saemangeum land zone" by Limb Jae-un, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2930038.
[Selected quote] The Saemangeum project, which began in 1991, was meant to provide new farm land principally for growing rice, but its original intent was made obsolete since Korea is now suffering from a rice surplus. Several proposals have since been made for finding new uses for Saemangeum to avoid it becoming a "white elephant" project. The state-run Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements yesterday proposed that the reclaimed zone should include an industrial complex, a tourist zone and residential and commercial areas. [...] The research institute said the potential value of Saemangeum was connected to its geographical proximity to China.

KBS World, 2010.12.22 15:26, "Gov’t Announces Saemangeum Development Plan", http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Dm_detail.htm?No=78146&id=Dm.
[Selected quote] The government will finalize the plan by the end of this year based on the results of the public hearing and will begin the development project in January.

Korea Times, The, 2010.12.21 20:12, "Songdo global campus project stalls" by Kang Shin-who, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/12/113_78400.html.
[Selected quote] The Songdo Global Campus project in the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) is up in the air as many planned overseas campuses have indefinitely delayed or canceled the opening of their schools. The campus zone was supposed to begin operations from last September but was postponed to next year. According to IFEZ authorities, Monday, memorandums of understanding (MOU) have so far been signed with nine overseas universities, with initial aims to draw 10 schools enrolling a combined 10,000 students. The city government has allotted 1 trillion won ($8,578 million) for the project and financial assistance worth about $1 million has been set aside for each university. However, only the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook has applied to the Education Ministry for a school license in the free economy zone. Among them, George Mason University and the University of Utah are still talking with the IFEZ authorities, while all other universities have withdrawn or postponed their ventures into Korea without mentioning specific dates. The special zone authorities had already paid the University of Delaware, which canceled its plan, some 600 million won for the establishment of the school, according to city officials. The city government can claim back only half of the money from the American university under the agreement. "It is hard to map out when we can draw the targeted number of universities. I believe everything will go smoothly once the first university (SUNY) is well established," said Cho Won-jong, an official. He blamed the global finance crisis in 2008 for the cancellations and postponements. The IFEZ authorities are currently looking for other universities to replace the schools that have backed out. One of them is Ghent University in Belgium.

Korea Herald, The, 2010.12.17 10:32, "Foreign universities to open at Incheon FEZ in 2011", http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20101216000605.
[Selected quote] The State University of New York at Stony Brook is slated to open graduate school classes at the Songdo Global University Campus (SGUC) in the Incheon FEZ starting in September, said the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. The Virginia, U.S.-based George Mason University and Belgium's Ghent University also agreed to start undergraduate courses by September 2012 and September 2013, respectively, the ministry said. They have already inked deals with several U.S. universities -- the State University of North Carolina, Delaware State University, and the University of Southern California -- to open courses at the SGUC in the next few years. The ministry said it plans to attract more universities, including the University of Utah and the University of Illinois.

JoongAng Daily, 2010.12.17, "Songdo to host three foreign universities", http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2929804.
[Selected quote] Korea will host three new international university campuses in Songdo, Incheon, in a significant move to attract top foreign educational institutions. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said that the State University of New York at Stony Brook will open a campus in 2011 that will offer graduate-level courses in computer science, information system engineering and technology management. In the following year, Virginia-based George Mason University will conduct undergraduate classes in business management and economics. In 2013, Belgium's Ghent University will offer undergraduate courses in biotechnology, environmental technology and food technology. Local graduates from all three universities will be awarded diplomas that will have the same status as those offered by the universities in their home countries. Korea is hoping to copy the success of such Asian countries as Singapore in becoming a regional education hub for foreign-affiliated secondary schools and universities. "We hope to attract universities and create a cluster specializing in the education industry like that of Singapore, but it is too early to mention specific goals or our overall vision," said a ministry official. All three universities will be located in Songdo, which is located in the Incheon Free Economic Zone, with their presence seen as helping to attract foreign investment. They will be located in the Songdo Global University Campus area, the first phase of which is scheduled to be completed in 2012. The government hopes to house as many as 10,000 students in the area.

Dong-A Ilbo, The, 2010.12.14 11:45, "Greed and hypocrisy ", http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2010121441128.

Chosun Ilbo, The, 2010.12.09 12:25, "Glide Along Seawater Canal for Prime Views of Songdo", http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/12/09/2010120901049.html.
[Selected quote] A staffer with the Incheon City Facilities Management Corporation stressed the canal's eco-friendly design as a highlight. "The canal makes use of the seawater coming from a water collection facility 4.8 km away, and then discharges purified water through a double filter." He added there are more sites and facilities are in the works. Central Park, which reflects the geographical characteristics of Korea's shores and gorges [...]

Arirang, 2010.12.07, "Korean Territory Expanded by 6.2% Over Past 60 Years", http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=110008&code=Ne4&category=3.

Civil Engineering, 2010.12, "Mastering a Mountain [University of Hong Kong expansion into Lung Fu Shan]" by Robert L. Reid, pages 70 to 77, http://civil-engineering.asce.org/.

Korean System Dynamics Research (한국 시스템다이내믹스 연구), 2010.12, "A Study of Saemangeum Project's Sustainable Development: Focused on local governments of Jeollabukdo" by Kim Gang-Hoon, Volume 11, Number 4, http://210.101.116.28/W_kiss10/97800274_pv.pdf or http://www.papersearch.net/view/detail.asp?detail_key=97800274

Ordons News, 2010.11.28 10:54, "Korean Southern Power to Use Reclaimed Coastal Land for Windfarm " by Cristina Gallardo, http://www.ordons.com/asia/southeast-asia/8595-korean-southern-power-to-use-reclaimed-coastal-land-for-windfarm.html.
[Selected quote] One of [Korea Rural Community Corporation's (KRC)] ongoing projects is the Integrated Tideland Reclamation Project, which is taking place on the southwestern coast of South Korea, in the South Jeolla province. The province is well-known for wind projects headed by Hyundai Heavy Industries Company Limited [...] Part of the reclaimed areas [Saemangeum] lies between a couple of islands just off the coast, where KRC has also been developing infrastructure. Korea Southern Power Company Limited (KOSPO) (Seoul), a spinoff of Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP) (Seoul, South Korea), is planning to work with KRC to build a massive windfarm on reclaimed land.

Yonhap, 2010.11.24 16:45, "Work on Saemangeum sea port to begin in 2011", http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2010/11/24/0200000000AEN20101124010200320.HTML.

Xinhua, 2010.11.24 10:07:09, "Winged victims of growth", http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-11/24/c_13619931.htm
[Selected quote] A patch of wetlands that lies on the route of migratory birds, near downtown Dalian, is slowly being eaten up by property development, Zhang Xiaomin reports.

JoongAng Daily, 2010.11.23, "Hyundai Group offers 10 year forecast for E&C" by Jung Seung-hyun, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2928733.
[Selected quote] Hyundai Group also said it would turn the Seosan reclaimed land project in South Chungcheong into a tourist complex, establish a futuristic "green city" and build an industrial complex.

Korea Times, The, 2010.11.22 17:18, "Gwangyang free economic zone emerges as mega hub", http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/11/123_76769.html.

Global Times, 2010.11.22 08:19, "Industry damaging arable land" by Deng Jingyin, http://china.globaltimes.cn/society/2010-11/594359.html.
[Selected quote] Large amounts of China's arable land have been wasted as a result of industrial usage such as exploitation of mineral resources, Chinese authorities said Saturday. A report issued by the Chinese Land and Mineral Resource Law Center at an in-ternational forum in Beijing Saturday said that with the development of industrialization starting from the 1950s, nearly 200 million mu (13 million hectares) of land have been wasted, accounting for over 10 percent of China's arable land. Zhu Liuhua, director of the farmland protection department at the Ministry of Land and Resources, pointed out at the forum that in the last 30 years, the acceleration of urbanization and industrialization has led to a surge in the number of mining-related land waste, and most of this land does not get recultivated. "About 70 percent of damaged land is farmland or other agricultural land. Most of these lands are at good locations, near cities or villages, with good transportation and water resources," he said.

Guardian, The, 2010.11, "Five routes to the future" by Kate Morris, http://www.guardian.co.uk/smarter-cities/five-routes-to-the-future.

People's Daily, 2010.11.12 09:41, "Experts call for China's control of reclamation and fishing for environmental needs" (Xinhua), http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/7197260.html.
[Selected quote] a research group of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) [...], composed of experts from China, Germany, the United States and the Netherlands, pointed out in the report that coastal wetlands were lost and biodiversity decreased as a result of pollution, land reclamation, and the invasion of alien species. [http://www.cciced.net/encciced/]

Grist, 2010.11.10 08:50 AM, "If you want a model city, fix the one you’ve got" by Sarah Goodyear, http://www.grist.org/article/2010-11-10-if-you-want-a-model-city-fix-the-one-youve-got.

Business Wire, 2010.11.10 04:29, "Incheon Investment Promotion Corps Concludes US Investment Promotion Activities Including an Agreement with Cisco", http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101110005772/en/Incheon-Investment-Promotion-Corps-Concludes-Investment-Promotion.

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK, 2010.11.09, "Project for Reclaiming Punjiman Tideland Completed", http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2010/201011/news09/20101109-15ee.html. [WARNING - we've been told that accessing this website from some institutions or locations (such as South Korea) triggers National Police Agency forbidden-site warnings and possibly other consequences from your institution's IT department. Cut and paste the above link into your web browser to proceed.]
[Complete news release] Pyongyang, November 9 (KCNA) -- The project for reclaiming Punjiman Tideland in Ongjin County of South Hwanghae Province was completed. The reclaimed tideland is the country's another asset of eternal value created in its western coastal area thanks to President Kim Il Sung's great idea of remaking the nature and under the wise leadership of Kim Jong Il. The reclamation of hundreds of hectares of tideland will help achieve an advance in the nation's agricultural development and the improvement of the standard of people's living. A ceremony for its completion took place on Nov. 9.

Korea Herald, The, 2010.11.07 17:32, "Dutch treat Korea to more of everything" by Yoav Cerralbo, http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20101107000311.
[Selected quote] One area that the Netherlands has tremendous expertise is in land reclamation, sustainable dredging, agriculture and ecological landscape planning with an emphasis on not increasing a country's carbon footprint. "There is, for instance, a cooperation agreement regarding the sustainable development of Saemangeum" seawall in South [sic] Jeolla Province, [the new Dutch Ambassador Paul Menkveld] said. For almost 70 years, Holland had the longest enclosure dam in the world until Korea unveiled its Saemangeum project recently. "We have lots of experience and lessons learnt in this regard," Menkveld said.

China Daily, 2010.11.06 07:04, "Rural land disputes lead unrest", http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2010-11/06/content_11510530.htm.
[Selected quote] About 65 percent of mass incidents in rural areas are triggered by land disputes, which are affecting rural stability and development more than any other issue, land experts said. [...] "Since the reform and opening-up, more than 50 million farmers have lost all their land and nearly half of them have no jobs or social insurance. This has caused social conflict," said [Yu Jianrong, a professor with the Rural Development Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences]. Land disputes are mainly caused by forced land acquisition, low compensation and unfair appropriation of the compensation, Yu said. Land transactions have become a substantial contributor to local governments' revenue. For the past two decades, the difference between the land compensation paid to farmers and the market price of the seized land is about 2 trillion yuan ($294 billion) for 14.7 million hectares, Yu said. Zheng Fengtian, a professor of the School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development of the Renmin University of China, said that due to the conflict between the shortage of land for construction required for quick economic development and the strict "red line" of 1.8 billion mu (120 million hectares) of arable land - the least amount necessary to feed the country's 1.3 billion population - local governments turn to rural homesteads for development.

Architects' Journal, The, 2010.11.04, "Saemangeum: The vision of a city" by Andrew Mead, http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/critics/saemangeum-the-vision-of-a-city/8607735.article.

Economist, The, 2010.11.04, "A special report on smart systems, Living on a platform: For cities to become truly smart, everything must be connected ", http://www.economist.com/node/17388308?story_id=17388308&fsrc=rss.

china-daily.org, 2010.11.02 06:26, "The introduction of railway construction in Shandong land compensation cost ten thousand mu of land reclamation" by Chang Xuguang, http://www.china-daily.org/China-News/The-introduction-of-railway-construction-in-Shandong-land-compensation-cost-ten-thousand-mu-of-land-reclamation/.
[Selected quote] Recently, Shandong Provincial Government issued "on the good work of the railway construction project issues related to land acquisition and demolition notice", the notification requirement, cultivated land reclamation fee standard is 10000 yuan / mu. Specific standards for pay, in the land Area Comprehensive 5 yuan / mu (including 5 million yuan) per mu 1 million; levy Integrated Land at 50,000 yuan / mu to 10 yuan / mu (including 10 million) and 15,000 yuan per mu between; levy Integrated Land at 10 yuan / mu of more than 2 million acres. same time, the notice also on the temporary site during the construction of railway projects to develop specific criteria for compensation each year, the standard for the occupation of agricultural land should be compensation of 2,300 yuan per mu, the land occupied by other compensation of 1,500 yuan per mu. Land compensation in the borrow site to provide compensation for the 3 million mu of farmland and other land 20,000 yuan per mu.

FXFOWLE Blog, 2010.11.02, "Innovation Conference, Part II" by Michael Buesing, http://blog.fxfowle.com/2010/11/innovation-conference-part-ii/.
[Selected quote] I recently attended the 2010 Architectural Record/Green Source Innovation Conference, and while all of the programs looked promising, I focused on one in particular -- "The Making of a New Green City: New Songdo City, South Korea." Overall, the program was well-presented, informative, and touched upon many of the sustainability issues that challenge architects each day, and that we work to solve. James von Klemperer, FAIA, Design Principal at Kohn Pederson Fox Associates (KPF) gave an excellent overview of KPF's efforts over the past nine years in master planning and designing buildings for New Songdo City, Korea. A completely new satellite city on the edge of Seoul [...] built on 1,200 acres of landfill, New Songdo City was, and is, an opportunity to design a city with the latest advances in integrated and sustainable infrastructure, land planning, and architecture. [...] Keeping with the conference's Green Innovation theme, much of the presentation concentrated on the sustainability issues involved in designing a city from scratch. Klemperer noted that New Songdo City, one of only three Asian new cities accepted as a LEED-ND pilot project, includes the first LEED Certified convention center in Asia [...]

People's Daily, 2010.11.01 08:12, "Heilongjiang production healthy", http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90778/90862/7182951.html.
[Selected quote] Broad sweeps of rice paddies and farmlands stretching towards the horizon are now common sights on the vast plains of China's northeastern Heilongjiang province. But half a century ago, it was a different story. The land bordering Russia's Siberia was covered with marshes and swamps. It was known as Beidahuang, or the Great Northern Wilderness. Between the early 1950s and the late 1970s, large wetlands were reclaimed by young soldiers, college students and urban youth responding to the government's call to "develop the wilderness". Today the zone has become one of China's largest centers for grain production, growing more than 138 billion kg of grain over the past six decades. "It took us 48 years to raise annual grain production from 2.4 million kg to 5 billion kg, and then 10 years to move from 5 billion kg to 10 billion kg," said [Sui Fengfu, director of the Heilongjiang Agriculture Reclamation Bureau].

Korea Times, The, 2010.10.25 17:13, "FDI on the wane" editorial, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2010/10/202_75169.html.
[Selected quote] Since peaking at $15.3 billion in 2000, [Foreign Direct Investment] FDI may top less than $10 billion this year. On the other hand, outbound direct investment surged nearly four times to more than $30 billion over the past decade.

marketwire, 2010.10.23 21:00, "Incheon Metropolitan City and Cisco Advance Strategic Collaboration to Energize City According to Smart+Connected Communities Blueprint: Pilot Projects Will Explore Use of Technology for Asian Games, Smart Community Centers", http://www.marketwatch.com/story/incheon-metropolitan-city-and-cisco-advance-strategic-collaboration-to-energize-city-according-to-smartconnected-communities-blueprint-2010-10-23?reflink=MW_news_stmp.

Korea Herald, The, 2010.10.21 18:44, "Incheon [Free Economic Zone] FEZ brimming with new vigor" by Koh Young-aah, http://www.koreaherald.com/business/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20101021000634.
[Selected quote] "In the near future, we plan to focus on bringing in local conglomerates to operate here but we want to pursue more joint ventures between local and foreign companies in the long run," [IFEZ commissioner Lee Jong-cheol] said. [...] Lee called for the removal of a law that currently restricts local firms from starting up their businesses at the FEZ, saying that they are need as much as foreign firms. [...] In fact, Lee recently succeeded in resuming the construction of the Northeast Asia Trade Tower, the landmark 68-floor building which was supposed to be completed last year in Songdo District, which was halted due to financial problems. "Stakeholders including Incheon city, Daewoo E&C, Posco E&C and Shinhan Bank agreed to collaborate in completing the project after multiple discussions," Lee said.

Korea Herald, The, 2010.10.21 18:47, "IFEZ marks 7th anniversary" by Koh Young-aah, http://www.koreaherald.com/business/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20101021000650.
[Selected quote] Aiming at a hub for business, research and development, logistics and tourism, the commissioner pledged to lower the central government's current restrictions that hinder local firms from investing in the city, while offering further financial and tax benefits for them to enliven the FEZ. "It is crucial for the IFEZ to lower legal barriers and offer more incentives to create a business-friendly environment for foreign investors," [IFEZ commissioner Lee Jong-cheol] said. The commissioner also noted that he will try his best to resume the constructions of several projects including the Milano Design City; Songdo Landmark City; and Yongyu-Mueui Culture and Leisure Complex which has been being delayed due to financial problems. IFEZ hopes to bring in around 1,200 firms and investments worth $8.2 billion, thus creating 120,000 jobs during the next four years. It has secured more than $1 billion worth of investment from companies such as DHL, Gale International, GM Daewoo and many more.

McGraw-Hill Construction - PR Newswire, 2010.10.21, "Big and Super-Green Buildings and Cities Highlighted at Innovation 2010 Conference", http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/mcgraw-hill/46846/.
[Selected quote] In the video, James von Klemperer of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates reviews plans for New Songdo City in South Korea and underscores the importance of integrated, overlapping functions and mixed-use buildings in a sustainable city. [...] View the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_dHy0mObs8.

Dong-A Ilbo, 2010.10.19 10:32, "Dubai's Development Dreams Collecting Dust", http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=020000&biid=2010101928388.
[Selected quote] The largest of Dubai's inspiring palm-shaped islands, Palm Deira was initially slated to be developed as the world's largest tourist and residential facility through reclamation of 46.36 million square meters of sea. An air of silence now covers the area, however. Construction has been suspended except for a bit of reclamation work. Building devices are covered with dust and materials are strewn, with only the sound of the wind from the sea and desert audible. Samir Pradhan, senior researcher at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center, said, "Dubai failed to abide by the basic rule of economics that supply depends on demand. The emirate chose to devise innovative development strategies and visions first and then create infrastructure by attracting foreign investment. It apparently believed that this would lead to an increase in supply." [...] A survey conducted by a Korean builder shows that among 115 building projects that have had construction launched, 57 (49.6 percent) have been suspended.

Korea Times, The, 2010.10.18 16:41, "Incheon FEZ criticized for lack of foreign capital" by Lee Tae-hoon, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/10/116_74735.html.
[Selected quote] "Incheon has become an international city without foreigners," Rep. Lee Myoung-su of the minor opposition Liberty Forward Party said, arguing the free economic zone (FEZ) designated in the city in 2003 has turned out to be a failure. He said the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) made in Incheon stood at only $730 million in the past seven years, about nine times lower than $6.7 billion that some of the media reported. [...] "The proportion of foreigners has rather decreased from 3.2 percent in 2008 to 2.02 percent in June 2010," he said, arguing most of them are simple laborers who came to Korea with a short-term work visa. Jang Se-hwan, a lawmaker of the main opposition Democratic Party, [...] estimated that the completion of the Incheon FEZ will cost 46 trillion won ($41 billion).

Xinhua, 2010.10.18, "Shrinking arable land adds concern on China's grain security", http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-10/18/c_13562418.htm.
[Selected quote] To ensure grain security, China set a "red line" to guarantee its arable land never shrinks to less than 1.8 billion mu (120 million hectares). According to statistics from China's Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR), the country is already edging dangerously close to its "red line", with just 1.826 billion mu available as of the end of last year. China lost 123 million mu of arable land from 1997 to 2009. Analysts believed several major factors contributed to the arable land loss, such as increasing use of arable land for construction purposes, forest or grassland replanting programs as well as damage caused by natural disasters. "As China is still in a period of rapid industrialization and urbanization, taking over some arable land is inevitable," said Wang Xiaoying, a researcher at the Rural Development Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "But it is crucial to hold the bottom line." [...] "China should improve its policy to ensure reclaimed land matches the used arable land not just in area, but also in production capacity," said Zeng Xibai, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Further, Qiu Baoxing, vice minister of Housing and Urban-rural Development, said there was a dangerous trend when some local governments destroyed forests to reclaim farmland, which caused irreparable damages to the local environment. To tackle the problem, the MLR urged local authorities to enhance implementation of the arable land policy, intensify monitoring and check conditions of reclaimed land, it said in a statement posted on its website Tuesday.

Ecological Economics, 2010.10.15, Volume 69, Issue 12, pages 2549-2556, "Estimating the ecosystem service losses from proposed land reclamation projects: A case study in Xiamen." by Wang Xuan, Chen Weiqi, Zhang Luoping, Jin Di, and Lu Changyi, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2010.07.031.

Easy Reader, 2010.10.15, "Chadwick International Opens in Korea" [interview with Ted Hill, headmaster of Chadwick School, and Kurt Gibbs, a Chadwick trustee, [Palos Verdes Estates] resident, and architect and real estate developer] by Stuart Chaussee, http://www.easyreadernews.com/2010/10/peninsula-people/chadwick-international-opens-in-korea.
[Selected quote] Gibbs: The city of Songdo is one of several free enterprise zone cities that have been set up by the South Koreans which is to be an idealized, utopian, brand-new, master-planned city. [...] It started from what was quite literally a mud flat nine years ago... it wasn't even land. [...] They started filling in the dirt about nine years ago and they've been building it now for about five years. It is a $40 billion project [...] Posco, a large South Korean steel company, and Gale International, a New York real estate company, are in partnership together on the project. Right now they are about one-third of the way through with the development and have spent roughly $10 billion. [...] Chaussee: What are the financial risks? Hill: Well, they leased us the facility for five years at no cost, so that's highly favorable for us. However, to start a school that is going to build and grow gradually, you run operating losses in the early years, so we needed to have an agreement by which they would underwrite those losses and that is what we have. One of the preconditions to this effort was that none of the existing assets at Chadwick in Palos Verdes could be put at risk by this venture. The Board decided that any agreement would have to insulate Chadwick in Palos Verdes from any financial loss or risk and we were able to do that. Chaussee: I would imagine that getting that risk out of the equation would make Chadwick International a pretty easy "sell" here locally [in Palos Verdes, California]. Hill: That was certainly an absolutely critical part of it. We were crystal clear about that from the beginning. [...] Gibbs: [...] It will be Chadwick in South Korea, educating kids in an international baccalaureate program, but, as far as core values and the whole approach, it will be very different from a traditional Korean education. A typical Korean education is much more rote and about memorizing information and data rather than teaching the kids how to critically think, problem solve, etc. In addition, there is not much focus on outdoor education, the value of team building and relying on others, project-based solving of problems as teams. That will be integral to the curriculum as well. [...] Chaussee: What is the make-up of the current student body at Chadwick International? Hill: Well, after year five, by law, 70 percent of the students in the international school have to be international students. However, given the fact that the city has just been built, and is attracting international businesses, there was recognition that you couldn't make this a requirement from the beginning because it was going to be heavily Korean. So there is a 5-year grace period before the 70-30 ratio has to be met. In year one, it is our expectation that the ratio will be 90 percent Korean and the international component will build over the coming four or five years. Gibbs: [...] Initially, because of the timing and late start this year, we do have some non-Korean passport holders, but the student body is primarily Korean and we are starting with 280 kids. It is kindergarten through seventh grade right now, but will be a K-12 school and it will eventually be about 2,100 students. [...] Chaussee: The families who enroll their kids at Chadwick International, and obviously pay a significant sum to do so (Chadwick International's Web site shows the annual tuition cost at $24,000, grades K-5 and $26,000, grades 6-7), are these generally families that are well-off with international ties? Hill: What the families are looking for is a first-class American education. The goal of many, if not all of the families, is to have their children, after graduating from Chadwick International, be prepared to attend American universities or other leading universities around the world. I was actually in Songdo near the end of the admissions process when we admitted the students, and the caliber of the applicants was outstanding. We had a significant pool of applicants to draw from and had to turn many away. In addition, the English proficiency of the students, even going down to kindergarten, was quite high and they are quite capable in other areas. For these Korean students to be able to get this style of education locally presents a unique opportunity. Consider this; our understanding is that in the U.S., there are some 35,000 Korean students below the college level, who have come here, oftentimes with their mother, to seek an American secondary education. So, Chadwick International in Songdo actually gives them an opportunity to stay home and get the education they want. Probably starting next year, we are also going to have a dormitory there and we are going to have boarding students. These students will come from elsewhere in Asia and other places, and this will be a way for us to increase the international population at the school.

Architecture Lab, 2010.10.14, "Songdo Landmark City Block A4 by REX", http://architecturelab.net/10/songdo-landmark-city-block-a4-by-rex/.

Fast Company Design, 2010.10.14, "A Forest of 'Freakishly Thin' Skyscrapers to Democratize City Living" [Songdo] by Suzanne Labarre, http://www.fastcodesign.com/1662495/rex-reinvents-the-high-rise-apartment-building.

Guardian, The, 2010.10.12 20.03, "Next of Kim: North Korean propaganda machine gears up to anoint next leader: Analysts read the runes as Pyongyang campaign to introduce Kim Jong-un as Kim Jong-il's successor gathers pace" by Tania Branigan, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/12/north-korea-kim-jong-il.
[Selected quote] The references to the tideland reclamation, for instance, seem similar to the lauding of Kim Jong-il's role in building the West Sea Barrage when he was being groomed to take over from this father.

Arirang News, 2010.10.12, "Eased Standards on International Schools in Korea" by Lee Ji-yoon, http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=107880&code=Ne2&category=2.

Korea Herald, The, 2010.10.10 18:14, "Korea to deliver territorial development model to world" by Koh Young-aah, http://www.koreaherald.com/business/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20101010000313.
[Selected quote] The [Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements] KHRIS and The Korea Herald recently co-published a book on Korea's territorial policy [...] "It is actually the first-ever publication that provides an in-depth insight into the history and future of Korea's territorial development policies" [Park Yang-ho, president of the state-run KHRIS] said. The book concentrates on introducing core projects the current Lee Myung-bak administration is pursuing, such as green energy, the bullet train network, the four-river project and the Saemangeum project. Park said the Korean development model is attractive to these countries because it is relatively cheap considering its good quality and speediness. The country also possesses tactics for achieving such successful development with the central government's lead. "But we shouldn't just focus on training them with our skills and strategies from the '60s and '70s industrialization period. These (underdeveloped) nations also seek green energy and environment-friendliness these days," he said. Thanks to the program, KHRIS has been receiving more consulting requests and even ones for hands-on projects like creating master plans for other countries. "What we ultimately want to achieve through the center is win-win partnerships with our foreign counterparts where we deliver them our successful development model and they, in return, enable more Korean builders to win local projects there," Park said.

chinadialog, 2010.10.01, "A new coastal path" by Jiang Gaoming, Dou Guanyi, and Chen Bosen, http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/3840.
[Selected quote] Frantic land reclamation along China's coastline is harming fragile ecosystems, say Jiang Gaoming, Dou Guanyi and Chen Bosen. Here, they set out a proposal for making shore development work for the environment.

Architectural Record, 2010.10, "New Songdo City" by Naomi R. Pollock, AIA, http://archrecord.construction.com/features/new_songdo_city/default.asp.

Korea Herald, The, 2010.09.28, "Songdo looks to prosperous future" by Yoav Cerralbo, http://www.koreaherald.com/business/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20100928000731.

Hindu Business Line, The, 2010.09.23, "Case for land reclamation for industry " by G. Chandrashekhar, http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/09/22/stories/2010092250950800.htm.
[Selected quote] It is possible to take a cue from South Korea's Posco Steel. The steel giant's Gwangyang Works was built between 1985 and 1992 on Korea's south coast almost entirely on land reclaimed from the sea. The 1,441-hectare facility, virtually on the sea, [...] India can learn. We have over 6,700 km of coastline from Gujarat in the west to West Bengal in the east covering the whole of South India. Instead of attempting to procure land from within the country and creating avoidable conflicts can we not think of setting up all the so-called SEZs on land that may be reclaimed from the sea? Technological advancements of the last twenty years (after Posco set up the facility) surely make it less challenging and entirely feasible now. Industries on reclaimed land make eminent sense for an emerging economy such as ours set to increasingly face land shortages. Any environmental issues associated with industrialisation on reclaimed land should be dealt with due seriousness and adverse impact, if any, should be mitigated. Eventually, it boils down to investment. It will also substantially reduce the scope for conflict between the farm sector and farmers on the one hand, and industrial investment on the other.

Financial Times, The, 2010.09.21 17:11, "The Future of Cities: Reality intrudes into visions of the future city" by Edwin Heathcote, http://www.ft.com/cities.
[Selected quote] Less themed, but equally reliant on emerging technology, is one of the most talked-about new cities, Songdo in South Korea. Situated on 500m tonnes of reclaimed land, Songdo is intended to relieve the intense population pressure on Seoul but also to capitalise on the country's astonishing transformation into a techno-state. The city is being designed and built by Gale International, the US real estate developers, KPF, the architects, and Cisco Systems, the IT systems specialist, and the result is being billed as the world's first fully networked city. Residents and businesses can choose to plug into state-of-the-art technological infrastructure. Everything from parent/teacher meetings (via "telepresence") to grocery orders and home medical check-ups can be achieved remotely, limiting the amount of time spent travelling and maximising leisure time -- which can be spent on Songdo's much-touted golf course. But if everything is being done remotely, why should people be there at all, rather than somewhere else? "For that we need to be able to deliver a quality of life comparable to, say, Sydney or Hong Kong," says Tom Murcott, Gale's chief marketing officer. "We're next to Incheon airport and that is within three and a half hours of a third of the world's population. But the city itself also has 40 per cent green space, an arts centre and a golf course." Another new town being proposed in Korea suggests a less corporate view. Saemangeum is a city masterplanned by ARU, the London-based architects. According to Florian Beigel and Philip Christou of ARU, the mistake that many builders of new cities tend to make is to start from zero. "The landscape is not a tabula rasa," says Mr Christou. "There is a deeper respect for the landscape generally in the east. We talk now about ecology and sustainability, about its history and complexity; in the east those responses are embedded in the culture." Having studied Venice, Stockholm and other archipelago cities, the plan for Saemangeum (which will lie on the south-west coast of Korea) reveals a subtle, watery landscape – "a city sitting between the mountains and the river". Technology has not been privileged in its promotion, neither has the architecture of individual buildings, rather the delicacy of the way it sits in the landscape. "Every site has a history and a certain poetry," says Mr Christou says. But, for the moment, unlike high-tech Songdo, it remains on the drawing-board.

Korea.net, 2010.09.20, "Saemangeum Seawall featured on Discovery Channel" by Kim Hee-sung, http://www.korea.net/detail.do?guid=50028.
[Selected quote] The documentary, which is titled "Revealed: Dream City of the Future," will cover all aspects of the construction process. It will be first broadcast in Korea on Sept. 24 at 9 p.m. [...] Tom Keaveny, vice-president of the Discovery Channel for Asian-Pacific region, pointed out that the Discovery Channel can serve as a great platform to promote Korean government's most innovative environmental projects worldwide. "It is wonderful to have the prestigious Discovery Channel feature see our vision of Saemangeum as a way for future green growth," said Lee Byoung-gook, head of the executive offices of the Saemangeum Development Planning Committee. "I hope this will be an opportunity for Saemangeum to win more recognition abroad and perhaps attract more tourists and investors." The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will produce their own in-house 60 second commercial for the documentary, which will be seen on the Discovery Channel in the Asian-Pacific region for a whole month, starting from late-October. It will also be shown in other parts of the world, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

Ezine Mark, 2010.09.13, "Prohibition Of Occupation Of Important Wetlands Reclamation " by Wuwu, http://business.ezinemark.com/prohibition-of-occupation-of-important-wetlands-reclamation-167a1888de5.html.
[Selected quote] Yesterday, the Xiamen municipal government and relevant units to the district issued a notice to strengthen wetland protection. This year, the city of Xiamen will have a full investigation of wetland resources, the proposed measures to protect wetlands and specific measures. By then, Xiamen will prepare "Protection and Development Planning of Xiamen City," and with the Xiamen harbor city planning, land use planning, water planning, coastal beach reclamation marine function zoning and other planning and linked up.

Cross Cut, 2010.09.06, "In Venice, world architecture's grand show" by Stuart Silk, http://crosscut.com/2010/09/06/architecture/20128/In-Venice,-world-architecture-s-grand-show/.
[Selected quote] The Golden Lion award for best participating country was awarded to Bahrain for its installation called "Reclaim." It focused on the undesirable environmental and social consequences surrounding land reclamation from the sea. Reconstructions of temporary shelters made from discarded materials and interviews with the fishermen who lived in them drew a counterpoint to the advancing urbanization and environmental degradation. It also illuminated the positive social interactions that occurred in these shelters, and the way they espoused the benefits of living simply. [An unimplemented plan for Saemangeum from a 2008 design competition was also exhibited at the Venice Biennale; see Financial Times, The, 2010.08.31, below.]

Korea Times, The, 2010.09.01 17:53, "More incentives to be offered for FEZ foreign investors" by Kang Seung-woo, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/09/123_72368.html.
[Selected quote] The government has poured 85.4 trillion won ($71.31 billion) into the six FEZs but they drew only $2.73 billion in foreign direct investment between 2004 and July 2010, representing just 3.7 percent of the $73.6 billion total during the same period.

Building Design, 2010.08.31, "Bahrain Pavilion scoops the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale" by Anna Winston, http://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/international/bahrain-pavilion-scoops-the-golden-lion-at-the-venice-biennale/5004838.article.

Financial Times, The, 2010.08.31 17:40, "Venice Architecture Biennale" by Edwin Heathcote, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/56c7c608-b518-11df-9af8-00144feabdc0.html.
[Selected quote] In the main Biennale pavilion there are a few scattered delights. Florian Beigel's exquisite plan for the Saemangeum marshlands in South Korea reflects Venice's watery delicacy [...]

ateliermob, 2010.08.30, "Bahrain Wins Venice Biennale Golden Lion For Best National Pavilion" [video of interview with curator Noura Al Sayeh], http://www.ateliermob.com/275303.html.

designboom, 2010.08.30, "bahrain wins golden lion for best national pavilion at venice biennale" by ridhika, http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/11338/bahrain-wins-golden-lion-for-best-national-pavilion-at-venice-biennale.html.

Invest Korea, 2010.08.19, "OCI to Invest KRW 10 Trillion in Saemangeum Industrial Complex", .
[Selected quote] OCI said that the company has received investment offers from many countries around the world, but decided to make an investment in Saemangeum Industrial Complex since massive land is provided stably, risks of technology leak are small, and the investment efficiency is high thanks to the short distance with its Gunsan factory. [...] OCI CEO Baik U-seok said "we have judged that Saemangeum Industrial Complex is the right investment destination as we can purchase the site for a long-term investment at a relatively low cost and our Gunsan factory is nearby," and added "the investment will help realize our grand vision to be a global chemical company based in Samangeum and Gunsan."

Environment News Service, 2010.08.16, "South Korea's Four Rivers Dam Construction Rolls Over Opposition" by Rick Ruffin, http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2010/2010-08-16-01.html.

Pulitzer Center, 2010.08.16, "Education in the Mangroves" by Sean Gallagher, http://pulitzercenter.org/slideshows/education-mangroves.

Korea Herald, The, 2010.08.13 17:00, "Big property projects being folded" by Kim Tong-hyung, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/08/123_71376.html.
[Selected quote] Incheon is also struggling to finance its redevelopment project for the Dohwa district and its wish to erect its own trophy skyscraper, dubbed "Incheon Tower," in the Songdo district.

Daily NK, 2010.08.13 15:23, "Land Reclamation a Symbol of Kim Jong Eun" by Yoo Gwan Hee, http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01700&num=6689.

Economist, The, 2010.08.09 11:06, "The dredgery must go on", http://www.economist.com/blogs/asiaview/2010/08/south_koreas_four_rivers_project.

JoongAng Daily, 2010.08.09, "Reprioritize FEZ districts" editorial, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2924302.
[Selected quote ...] land prices in the areas have soared even in the absence of foreign companies moving in. Few, if any, companies will be willing to pay these exorbitant prices. At the moment, most free economic zones are focused on luring new apartment complex developments and have literally given up efforts to attract foreign investments.

Dong-A Ilbo, 2010.08.08 11:53, "Failed Free Economic Zones", http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2010080717518.

Korea Times, The, 2010.08.06 19:41, "Chadwick drawing international students" by Kang Shin-who, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/08/117_70983.html.
[Selected quote] Under the Free Economic Zone Law, international schools have to enroll non-Korean nationals accounting for 70 percent of the total students. The Korean government has given the school a five-year grace period to complete the requirement as fewer foreign students have so far moved into the special economic zone. [...] "To me, educationally, I have no problems with the 70:30 rule here because it fits what our school wants to be, but with a lag in economy, it may be difficult because of the five-year grace period. We will certainly do everything we can to make it," [Ted Hill, headmaster of Chadwick School] added. He was also pessimistic about the school's financial status, saying Chadwick will obviously lose money in a few years and that financial support is necessary from the school owner, New Songdo International City Development (NSIC).

Dredging Today, 2010.08.05, "South Korea: Dredging of Four Major Rivers Gets Support from Leaders", http://www.dredgingtoday.com/2010/08/05/south-korea-dredging-of-four-major-river-gets-support-from-leaders/.

Reuters, 2010.08.03 13:01, "Special Report: China bets future on inland cities" by Chris Buckley and Simon Rabinovitch, http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6721D320100803.
[Selected quote] Farmers say land reclamation rules are fixed against them, giving officials and well-connected developers the power to push them off the land without fair compensation. "The main trouble facing urbanization is the waste of land, because in China it's just too easy to take farmers' land for a pittance," said Dang Guoying, a rural development expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who is studying the challenge of urban growth. "So our new cities have these broad roads and big parks, townhouses -- such a waste of land".

Global Times, 2010.08.02 08:07, "Land supply up 135% as prices drop" (Xinhau), http://business.globaltimes.cn/industries/2010-08/558345.html.

Richmond Times-Dispatch, 2010.07.29, "GMU could open campus in South Korea" by Karin Kapsidelis, http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/local-education/2010/jul/29/gmuu29-ar-353825/.
[Selected quote] The plan is to offer classes in social science, public administration and marketing starting in the fall of 2012 at the new Songdo Global University Campus, about an hour from Seoul. [...] GMU has received $1 million from Korea for planning and the market study. "Let me be very clear," Stearns said. "We cannot and will not use state funds for this enterprise, and our Korean partners know this." [...] If George Mason participates, it would develop a campus over eight to 10 years that would serve about 2,000 students, with 60 to 70 faculty, including some from GMU, Stearns said. [...] GMU operated a campus for three years in the United Arab Emirates, which closed last year because the government was not able to support it financially. Stearns said the university learned a lot from that experience, most importantly that it must be "very clear on the long-term investment" required of the Koreans to sustain the campus.

Economist, The, 2010.07.22 11:49, "Sing a song of $40 billion (City Building in South Korea)", http://www.economist.com/blogs/asiaview/2010/07/city-building_south_korea.

JoongAng Daily, 2010.07.22, "Re-examining FEZs" editorial, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2923516.

Dong-A Ilbo, The, 2010.07.21, "Underperforming Free Economic Zones" editorial, http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2010072171738.

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK, 2010.07.15, "Kim Jong Il Inspects Reclaimed Taegyedo Tideland", http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2010/201007/news15/20100715-16ee.html. [WARNING - we've been told that accessing this website from some institutions or locations (such as South Korea) triggers National Police Agency forbidden-site warnings and possibly other consequences from your institution's IT department. Cut and paste the above link into your web browser to proceed.]
[Complete news release] Pyongyang, July 15 (KCNA) -- General Secretary Kim Jong Il provided field guidance to the successfully reclaimed Taegyedo Tideland. After being briefed on the reclaimed tideland before a large map showing its panoramic view, he made the rounds of gigantic breakwaters that stretch across the sea and a vast expanse of the reclaimed tideland for hours to learn in detail about the tideland reclamation. He highly praised the builders and their helpers for having successfully built one more great structure in the era of the Workers' Party by displaying popular heroism and matchless devotion despite violent natural challenge. He extended the deepest special thanks to them. The builders have completed a great nature-remaking project as vast as the project of the West Sea Barrage, he said, adding that this marvelous miracle is the precious fruition of the persevering will of the Korean people to build a thriving nation on this land at any cost by their own efforts and with their own technology and a striking demonstration of the inexhaustible mental power of the heroic Korean people single-mindedly united around the Party. He bestowed upon the builders such great honor as personally proposing the conferment of Order of Kim Il Sung upon the North Phyongan Provincial Tideland Reclamation Complex for creditably carrying out the behest of President Kim Il Sung by completing the project and Kim Il Sung Prize on the design for the reclamation of the Taegyedo Tideland. He went round paddy fields in the reclaimed tideland to acquaint himself with the farming there. Very pleased to hear the report that the grain yield is on the increase in the above-said fields every year, he indicated ways to successfully do farming on the reclaimed land. Saying that the reclamation of the tideland is an important work for the prosperity of the country, he advanced highly important tasks to be fulfilled to undertake the project for tideland reclamation in a bigger way in the future. He called upon the workers of the complex to complete the second phase project for reclaiming the Kwaksan Tideland and wind up the construction of setups left unfinished in the reclaimed tideland in a short span of time by displaying the same spirit and mettle as done in the days of reclaiming the Taegyedo Tideland. He showed such great loving care as solving the problem of vehicles needed for the project, stressing the need for the complex to wage a strenuous drive to obtain more areas of new land, not slackening the high spirit displayed by the complex to complete the Taegyedo Tideland reclamation project. It is necessary to pay state attention to the tideland reclamation as the projects to be undertaken in the future are difficult and vast nature-remaking ones, he said, underling the need to take a thorough measure to provide everything necessary for the projects. He had a photo session with the labor innovators of the complex. He was accompanied by Kim Phyong Hae, chief secretary of the North Phyongan Provincial Committee of the WPK, Jang Song Thaek, vice-chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission and department director of the C.C., the WPK, and Kim Kyong Hui and Thae Jong Su, department directors of the C.C., the WPK and Ri Jae Il, first vice department director of the C.C., the WPK.

Korea Herald, The, 2010.07.14 17:33, "Development of Incheon crucial for nation's future" interview with Incheon Mayor Song Young-gil by Song Sang-ho, http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20100714000607.
[Selected quote] Song Young-gil: [...] We are promoting the city's great potential despite the sluggish real estate market. As part of the efforts, we will soon open the Jack Nicklaus golf club and the Chadwick International School. Cisco's Asia-Pacific headquarters is also expected to come to Songdo. We also plan to bring in an international hospital although the plan to attract the Johns Hopkins Hospital has not made a significant progress yet. We have also been trying to attract prestigious foreign universities such as the State University of New York at Stony Brook. [...]
KH: The city's debt has topped 10 trillion won. How will you take care of it?
Song: The debt situation of the Incheon Urban Development Corporation directly shows the city's financial status. The IUDC has a debt amounting to 6.6 trillion won ($5.5 billion) and it is expected to rise rapidly to more than 8 trillion won by the end of next year. The debt will increase due to the Asian Games, the construction of (Incheon) subway Line No. 2 and other major projects. With the Lee Myung-bak administration's tax-cut policy and the sluggish real estate market, tax revenues have been reduced. I began my term with such a difficult task.[...] We have begun operating an organization dedicated to enhancing the city's financial soundness and been trying to reduce unnecessary municipal projects to save costs. We will also scrap the projects that do not have public interest and generate little profit.
KH: Incheon is ranked among the lowest in the country in terms of education. What is your plan to enhance education in the city?
Song: As education is lackluster here, there have been many people who moved out of the city after earning money here. It is crucial to establish good educational facilities so as to make people want to receive education here and land jobs here as well. That is why I have promised to usher in an era when the educational budget amounts to 1 trillion won. Along with the budget for the city's education office, the total sum will reach 2.4 trillion won and I believe this will be enough to enhance the educational level of the city. [...]
KH: How do you evaluate your life so far?
Song: I have been working hard to build a society where the socially vulnerable, workers and ordinary citizens lead a happy life. After passing a state bar exam, I worked as a lawyer specializing in labor and human rights to help weak citizens in need of my help. After being elected as a lawmaker, I tried to enhance the livelihood of ordinary citizens. I have also thought hard on how to enhance the nation's standing on the global stage, achieve sustainable growth, realize national reunification and establish a firm foundation for social integration.

China Real Estate News, 2010.07.12, [apparently a poor translation/summary of several articles on land reclamation costs and ecological compensation], http://www.chinarealestatenews.com/news/2010-07-13/21686/.
[Selected quote] National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Land Resources of 14 ministries of the "ecological Compensation Ordinance" (the "Ordinance") carried out research work in July this year [...] Beijing University Professor Wang Jin to the "Daily Economic News" said, according to research learned that coastal wild land reclamation from the sea and the maritime industries of the marine ecological damage is very serious And the current compensation for zero in the marine ecosystem. The cost of coastal land reclamation in the 200,000 yuan per mu is about, if the land sold to developers, made to the individual can get 5 million minimum. [...] Land Minister Xu Shaoshi [...] stressed that Strict Management of land law and the current supply and demand contradiction still outstanding. [sic]

Dredging & Land Reclaimation Asia, [undated agenda for October 27, 2010 conference], "China Market Perspective: Overcoming Cultural And Technical Challenges Of Land Reclamation Projects", http://www.dredgingasia.com/Event.aspx?id=351170.

USC in the News, 2010.07.07, http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/usc_in_the_news/inthenews.php?id=1095.
[Selected quote] The Chronicle of Higher Education highlighted USC's partnership with the Songdo Global University Campus in South Korea and quoted Steven Lee, director of USC's office in Seoul, South Korea. The USC Marshall School will begin sending professors and undergraduates to the new campus in Korea next year, and the USC College and the USC Annenberg School are considering doing the same, the article stated. USC will begin recruiting locally, with a target enrollment of students from the United States, South Korea and Asia. "In addition to degree programs, through which students will be able to complete course work in Songdo and Los Angeles, we are considering offering certificate programs for the nontraditional students," Lee said. "All students will be admitted to USC and will be able to take courses in the two locations."

Chronicle of Higher Education, The, 2010.07.06, "South Korea's Ambitious Global Campus Is Off to a Shaky Start" by David McNeill, http://chronicle.com/article/South-Koreas-Ambitious-Global/66149/.
[See also: Chronicle of Higher Education, The, 2009.06.19, "South Korea Builds a Global University, With Help From the U.S." by David McNeill, http://chroniclecareers.com/article/South-Korea-Builds-a-Global/48651/.]

CRIENGLISH.com, 2010.07.02 14:12, "Land Reclamation Destroying Nation's Tidal Flats", http://english.cri.cn/6909/2010/07/02/189s580585.htm.
[Selected quote] Wu Xiongfei, with the Ningbo Ocean and fishery research institute was quoted in the report as saying that tidal flats in the entire Ningbo area could be wiped out by two thirds in five years, causing irreversible damage to the marine environment.

ASCE News, 2010.07 (July/August), "China Signs Endorsement Of Vision 2025; Leonard Addresses Chinese Students" by Brett Hansen, http://www.asce.org/PPLContent.aspx?id=2147488837.
[Selected quote] Blaine D. Leonard, [American Society of Civil Engineers] president, traveled to China in May on a unique mission. He was to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Tan Qinglian, the president of the China Civil Engineering Society (CCES), to sign a cooperative agreement that will have ASCE and the CCES working together to achieve the goals set forth in The Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025.

Korea Central News Agency of DPRK, 2010.06.30, "Taegyedo tideland project completed", http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2010/201006/news30/20100630-09ee.html. [WARNING - we've been told that accessing this website from some institutions or locations (such as South Korea) triggers National Police Agency forbidden-site warnings and possibly other consequences from your institution's IT department. Cut and paste the above link into your web browser to proceed.]
[Complete news release] Pyongyang, June 30 (KCNA) -- A detailed report of the Korean Central News Agency on the completion of the Taegyedo Tideland Reclamation Project was released Wednesday. According to it, the project for reclaiming 8 800 hectares of land, the largest ever in the history of tideland reclamation in Korea, was completed to connect Taedasa Islet, Kacha Islet, Soyondong Islet and Taegye Islet in the West Sea with dykes extending several kilometers. This sharply reduced the indentation of the shoreline of Yomju County and Cholsan County of North Phyongan Province. As a result, there appeared salterns and fish breeding farms along with a big socialist farm in the nation's leading reclaimed tideland. Thanks to tide embankments seashore farms and villages in various counties are completely freed from the damage by tidal waves and salty seawater and a long ring road linking Tasa Workers' District, Yomju County to Jangsong Workers' District, Cholsan County was built along the strong dykes. The project as huge as the West Sea Barrage in terms of size and the volume of work and equivalent to the undertaking to obtain the same arable land as that in a lowland county required the fullest display of mental power as it was Herculean task to create things from nothing, harnessing wild nature at a time when everything was in short supply. President Kim Il Sung matured a grandiose plan for reclaiming tideland on the West Coast while waging bloody battles against the Japanese imperialists and formed a group for surveying tideland when the war was at its height, exploring the path for great nature-harnessing projects for the eternal prosperity of the country. General Secretary Kim Jong Il possessed of the iron will to accomplish the patriotic cause for eternal prosperity initiated by the President visited tideland reclamation sites two times when the above-said projects were making dynamic progress. He highly appreciated the successes made by officials and workers there and clearly indicated the way to be followed by them. When the severest tidal waves in hundreds of years hit the whole area along the west coast of Korea on August 21, Juche 86 (1997), the builders there waged a persevering struggle, rebuilding broken sections of Breakwater No.1 between Taedasa Islet and Kacha Islet and Breakwater No. 2 between Kacha Islet and Soyondong Islet and finally relinking Breakwater No. 3 on June 11, Juche 94 (2005) and finishing the first-phase damming up project. By July Juche 96 (2007) the builders successfully completed Breakwaters Nos. 2 and 4 and completed Breakwater No.1 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the DPRK. They built Breakwater No. 3 covering hundreds of thousands of square meters with feldspar through their patriotic devoted drive. Thanks to the patriotic enthusiasm and heroic struggle of the builders, such inner network project as installation of draining gates and building of embankment in the middle and lower reaches of a river were simultaneously carried out, turning thousands of hectares of tideland into a fertile land. The Taegyedo Tideland Reclamation Project was finally completed with the completion of Breakwater No. 3 ahead of schedule.
[A summary of land reclamation in North Korea is provided by North Korean Economy Watch here: http://www.nkeconwatch.com/2009/08/22/land-reclamation-in-the-dprk/]

Macau Daily Times, 2010.06.30 01:55, "Framework missing for reclaimed land", http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/13923-Framework-missing-for-reclaimed-land.html.

Zhuhai Information Center, 2010.06.28, "Dwindling land resources valued on [National　Land] protection day", http://www.zhuhai.gov.cn/english/Citynews/201006/t20100628_106047.htm.
[Selected quote] In response to the challenge, the CPC Municipal Committee and government are working on four aspects: revising overall land use planning, developing 2 sq km of additional arable land, renovating industrial facilities in downtown areas, and reclaiming land from the sea. [...] At least 2 sq km arable land will be developed out of low-performing garden plots or hilly land in Doumen District and Jinwan this year. A large number of empty old factory buildings, mostly in Jida, Nanshan and Beiling industrial zones, cover 1.15 sq km in downtown areas. With deserted factories in rural or suburban areas, the area totals 4 sq km, 2.5 times that of the old in-town villages for innovation. Old industrial facility renovation is seen as an effective way to expand usable land, the official pointed out. Zhuhai was designated a pilot city in reclaiming land from the sea last year by provincial authorities. Some 295 hectares have been reclaimed in the Gaolan Port Economic Zone. With vast territorial waters and long coastlines, Zhuhai is ideal for land reclamation. It is the only way that Zhuhai can maintain its development pace in the future, the official noted. The municipal government issued a circular on boosting land reclamation from the sea last April. China boasts massive land resources, but faces a shortage of arable land. The per capita level of some 0.1 hectares of farmland is about 45 per cent of the world's average amount. China has verified arable land of some 130 million hectares. Losses in farmland have been increasing every year with a record set last year of 962,000 hectares claimed for construction and other non-farming purposes.

China Daily, 2010.06.26 14:27, "Land reclamation from sea worthwhile?", http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2010-06/26/content_10024448.htm.
[Selected quote] Jiang Gaoming, a PhD tutor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Botany, pointed out the uncontrolled attempts to create land in the sea will result in a large variety of side effects over a long period such as droughts, decreasing fishery resources and more floods. [...] Liu Yun, from the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, suggested a comprehensive review be held before the reclamation projects start in order to avoid future grievous results.

JoongAng Daily, 2010.06.21, "Incheon's international school finally rings its bell" by Kim Mi-ju, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2922103.

Dredging Today, 2010.06.16, "China: Dredging and Land Reclamation Works at Changxing Island Underway", http://www.dredgingtoday.com/2010/06/16/china-dredging-and-land-reclamation-works-at-changxing-island-under-way/.

Korea Times, The, 2010.06.08 17:27, "Songdo global campus has niche clients" by Kang Hyun-kyung, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/06/113_67289.html.
[Selected quote] This year the University of North Carolina and the State University of New York at Stony Brook, are welcoming students for the fall semester at their Songdo campus. Next year, the University of Delaware and George Mason University are scheduled to open classes there. The offshore campuses are located in a Global University Campus zone occupying 295,000 square meters. This cluster is based on a shared network of facilities such as libraries, student union buildings and gymnasiums. On-campus dorms, staff and faculty quarters and guest houses are also available.

Korea Herald, The, 2010.06.08 17:05, "Incheon Free Zone aims to be Asia's business hub" by Cho Chung-un, http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20100608000622. [Selected quote] The Korean government has been offering deregulation policies to compete with other free economic zones in Asia. It offers real estate for foreign invested companies, foreign education and medical institutions and R&D facilities at prices below costs. It also transferred some of its property rights to commissioners of FEZs to help foreign invested companies or factories move into the zone without the bureaucracy involving acquiring approvals from the central government. Tax exemptions for large-scale foreign-invested companies in the country's free economic zones were expanded from five years to seven years. The new tax benefits will apply to foreign manufacturing or tourism business with at least $10 million of investment and to logistic and medical firms with foreign investment of at least $5 million. The government will also ease immigration rules for investors engaged in logistics and research center developments who respectively report at least $5 million and $2 million in investments. The government also plans to ease the visa issuance process for employees who are to work in foreign-invested companies in FEZs. However, the IFEZ Authority is putting in additional effort to offer more benefits and ease legal requirements for foreign investors. It plans to offer visa exemption for foreign visitors to the Yeongjong District, more tax incentives for local and foreign firms, and improved administrative systems in attracting foreign education institutions.

Lexington Herald-Leader, 2010.06.07, "Insta-city: Asian urbanization begets supermodern boom towns" by John Boudrea, http://www.kentucky.com/2010/06/07/1296089/insta-city-asian-urbanization.html.

Korea Times, The, 2010.06.07 19:51, "Incheon aims to be home to international business" by Kang Hyun-kyung, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/06/123_67234.html.

Korea Times, The, 2010.06.04 17:57, "Green growth demystified in Korea" by Mark D. Whitaker, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2010/06/137_67090.html.

BirdLife International: Community, 2010.06.03, "Birds Fly into the Red", http://www.birdlife.org/community/2010/06/birds-fly-into-the-red/.
[Selected quote] The sudden drop in shorebird numbers in the Yellow Sea has been mirrored by declines in the populations of migratory shorebirds occurring in Australia. Two species have been particularly hard hit: the Eastern Curlew and the Great Knot. The declines in these birds' numbers have been so dramatic that both have had their official conservation status on the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species (the most objective and authoritative system for classifying species in terms of the risk of extinction) upgraded to Vulnerable: they are considered to be at 'high risk of endangerment in the wild' on the basis of past and predicted future declines. They were previously classified as being of Least Concern.

BirdingASIA, 2010.06, "Conservation Watch: Waterbird conservation in the Republic of Korea: the truth about 'green growth' and the 'green new deal'" by Nial Moores, Andreas Kim, and Park Meena, Volume 13, pages 90-95, http://www.orientalbirdclub.org/publications/birdingasia/13.html.

Korea Times, The, 2010.05.28 18:38, "Saemangeum has potential to become 'green city'" [interview with Brian Newman] by Cathy Rose A. Garcia, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/05/123_66693.html.

Shanghai Daily, 2010.05.26, "State acts over housing scandal" by Jane Chen, http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2010/201005/20100526/article_438178.htm.
[Selected quote] The ministries of Land and Resources and Supervision yesterday published a list of 16 city governments that had occupied 40,666.66 hectares of land without obtaining proper certification. All provincial governments across the country were guilty of improper land use, though to varying degrees, Land and Resources Minister Xu Shaoshi said. A total of 1,932 people have been referred to prosecutors over the issue.

Global Atlanta, 2010.05.20, "Korean-American Groups Honored Portman at High Exhibit" by Phil Bolton, http://www.globalatlanta.com/articlevid/23951/950/.
[Selected quote] [Regarding the importance of relationships, Acie Holt, vice president of development at Portman Holdings LLC] referred specifically to Incheon's mayor, Sang-Soo Ahn, as being an especially important supporter of the Songdo Landmark City project that the Portman company is working on. Songdo Landmark City is to be the symbolic gateway to South Korea since people arriving at Incheon International Airport will take the seven mile bridge from the island on which the airport is located through Songdo on their way to Seoul, the country's capital. [...] The district, also known as "Songdo," is an entirely new city being built from the ground up on recently reclaimed land from the Yellow Sea.

Forbes, 2010.05.20 18:00, "Brand New Cities: The Pearl in Qatar or Songdo in South Korea could be your next vacation spot" by Oliver Chiang, http://www.forbes.com/2010/05/20/travel-vacation-songdo-technology-cities.html?boxes=Homepagechannels.
[Selected quote] "The thinking is that by changing the way cities are designed -- the size of the buildings and streets -- we can fundamentally change the footprint of humans on the environment," says Karen Seto, an associate professor at Yale University in Urban Environment. She also notes that there is much to be gained from retrofitting old cities with new plans and technologies.

KBS World, 2010.0514 16:44, "Foreign Investor Forum Held for Saemangeum Reclamation Area", http://rki.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Ec_detail.htm?No=72598&id=Ec.

CapitalVue, 2010.05.12 21:52, "Bank Of Beijing Provides 5B Yuan In Credit To Tianjin Port Development", http://www.capitalvue.com/home/CE-news/inset/@10063/post/1185763.
[Selected quote] The Bank of Beijing (601169) signed an agreement on May 11 to provide a 5 billion yuan line of credit to Tianjin Lingang Investment Holding Co., Ltd., an investment holding company engaged in land reclamation from the sea, reports China Securities Journal. According to the agreement, in addition to the loan, the Bank of Beijing will also provide a package of financial services to Tianjin Lingang Investment Holding. Including this agreement, the Bank of Beijing has provided a total of 8.1 billion yuan in credit to Tianjin Lingang Investment Holding. At the end of 2009, Tianjin Lingang Investment Holding had completed reclamation of 60 square kilometers of land at a cost of 51.7 billion yuan and begun another 170 billion yuan of reclamation projects.

Korea Times, The, 2010.05.14, "Big question on Saemangeum: Will foreign investors come?" by Cathy Rose A. Garcia, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/05/123_65899.html.
[Selected quote] There is much potential in Saemangeum as a "Green City," as it is expected to follow the low-carbon, green growth development model. [Brian Newman, CEO of Green Cities Asia] believes that Saemangeum becoming Korea's first real "green city" can help make it stand out from other economic zones. "There is a wonderful opportunity here to implement a Green Economy model. It's not just about supporting corporations in green technology, but about taking all the wonderful entrepreneurial and technical expertise and bringing it and demonstrating it in a new city model... It is about city development, transportation and renewable energy," Newman said.

EcoSeed, 2010.05.12, "South Korea's Songdo Convesia bags LEED certification" by Claire M. Umali, http://www.ecoseed.org/en/general-green-news/green-topics/green-building/7143.

Dredging News Online, 2010.05.06, "South Korea's tidal flats shrinking due to reclamation projects claims report", http://www.sandandgravel.com/news/article.asp?v1=12956.
[Selected quote] According to the report by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, the nation's coastal wetlands stood at 2,489.4 square kilometers at the end of 2008, down 60.8 square kilometers from 2003. According to Yonhap news agency, the decline is attributed to large-scale land reclamation projects under way along the coastline near the port city of Incheon and other western parts of the nation, where reclaimed land is being developed mostly into industrial complexes or business-friendly international towns. Wetlands serve as a habitat for many species and threatened life forms, leading environmentalists to oppose such reclamation projects, which they claim do more harm than good. The report showed that South Korea's mud flats are located mostly along the western and southern parts of the nation.

KBS World, 2010.05.03, "Significance of the completion of the Saemangeum seawall", http://rki.kbs.co.kr/english/economynit/econit_issue_detail.htm?No=2245.

Korea.net, 2010.05.03, "Saemangeum Seawall: road to economic boom" by Cindy Kim, http://www.korea.net/news.do?mode=detail&guid=46194.

Dredging News Online, 2010.04.30, "Korea and The Netherlands to collaborate on Four Rivers Project", http://www.sandandgravel.com/news/article.asp?v1=12939.
[Selected quote] The Netherlands was the third-largest foreign investor to South Korea in 2009 after the United States and Japan, with its investment totaling US$18.9 billion. The two governments have signed a contract to jointly develop Saemangeum in North Jeolla Province and on the transfer of technologies and researchers for the river restoration project

Arirang, 2010.04.29, "Korea & Netherlands Promise Cooperation in Korea's River & Land Development Projects" by Kang Che-ry, http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=102568&code=Ne2&category=2.

JoongAng Daily, 2010.04.29, "Netherlands, Korea aim at speady FTA" by Ser Myo-ja, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2919819.

Dredging Today, 2010.04.28, "Korea: Works on World's Longest Seawall Completed", http://www.dredgingtoday.com/2010/04/28/korea-works-on-worlds-longest-seawall-completed/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+DredgingToday+(Dredging+Today+-++The+industry's+grounQ-breaking+news+provider)&utm_content=Google+Reader.

JoongAng Daily, 2010.04.28, "Gov't seeks investment at dike" by Ser Myo-ja, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2919767.
[Selected quote] Lee also promised to spend 3 trillion won by 2020 to improve the water quality of the rivers near the area to be clean enough to develop tourism and leisure businesses in the region.

Arirang, 2010.04.27, "Pres. Lee Celebrates Completion of Saemangeum Dike" by Kang Che-ry, http://arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=102517&code=Ne2&category=2.
[Selected quote] [Interview : President Lee Myung-bak ] "The Saemangeum project is another part of our efforts to achieve low-carbon green growth in Korea, along with the four-river restoration project."

Korea Times, The, 2010.04.27 19:29, "Saemangeum to Draw Foreign Investors" by Kim Tae-gyu, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/04/123_64950.html.
[Selected quote] "The first development phase of the Saemangeum area will take 20.8 trillion won by 2020 in order to lay the groundwork to develop there," an official at the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries predicted. "To achieve the plan, foreign investments would have to play a big role. We will also attract multinational corporations to the region." Under the goal, the government would introduce a new name for the region, Ariul, as complaints have been raised that Saemangeum is too difficult for foreigners to pronounce. But suspicions remain whether just changing its name would automatically ensure overseas investors to the area, which the country hopes will evolve into a hub of Northeast Asia. In particular, some mega-sized development projects are overdue because of the lack of foreign interest as demonstrated by slow developments of New Songdo City in Incheon. A flurry of state projects are also pending, which will cost tens of trillions of won. For example, both the four-river refurbishment works and construction of Sejong City will need more than 22 trillion won, respectively, thus leaving little financial room for the Saemangeum expenditures. "It does not matter that much whether the Saemangeum sea dike is the longest in the world. What really matters is whether it will lure foreign direct investment for its full-fledged development," a Seoul analyst said. "Just an anemic incentive is not enough to draw offshore funds. The government is required to come up with proactive and broad-based measures to draw foreign investment," he continued.

Korea Times, The, 2010.04.27 18:45, "Why Dutch PM Is Excited About Saemangeum" by Kim Se-jeong, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/04/116_64934.html.

Korea Times, The, 2010.04.27 18:31, "Landmark Seawall: Time to Make Action Plan for Developmen", Editorial, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2010/04/137_64929.html.
[Selected quote] The construction of the seawall began as part of a pork-barrel reclamation project in 1991 backed by then-President Roh Tae-woo's campaign promise. Its original purpose was to turn the Saemangeum tidal flat, 280 km south of Seoul, into farmland. [...] The reclamation has so far cost the nation 2.9 trillion won ($2.6 billion) to create 40,100 hectares of land. It is good for the densely populated country to have new land equivalent to two-thirds the size of Seoul. What matters now is how to utilize the land and match its development with the environment. The nation does not need additional farmland, especially rice paddies, as stocks of the staple food have been on the rise while the overall agricultural sector is seeing a decline. In 2008, the Lee Myung-bak administration changed the course of the shovel-ready project to reduce the ratio of farmland from the original 72 percent to 30 percent. The move was inevitable. And early this year the government came up with an ambitious plan to transform the reclaimed tidal flat into a waterfront city resembling Amsterdam or Venice. The core of the 10-year blueprint is to set up an economic hub for Northeast Asia. The authorities are seeking to build an industrial complex, international business quarters, tourism and leisure facilities, ecological parks, and science and research centers. But, the all too rosy scheme lacks concrete action for development. It also faces a tough challenge over how to finance the mega city plan requiring 21 trillion won until 2020. The government plans to mobilize taxpayer money to shoulder half of the costs, while encouraging the private sector to take up the remainder.

Yonhap, 2010.04.27 15:10, "Lee says Saemangeum tidal flat to change S. Korea's history" by Lee Chi-dong, http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/04/27/50/0301000000AEN20100427005000315F.HTML.
[Selected quote] "Saemangeum is a strategic point linking the Eurasian continent and the Pacific economic zone," [President Lee Myung-bak] said in his congratulatory speech, pointing out there are 51 cities, each populated by at least one million people, within a three-hour flight distance from the site. We are now standing at the scene of a grand structure that will open South Korea's future. [...] If the four-river project is to revive dying rivers, the Saemangeum project is to construct a comprehensive and planned green city for the first time in South Korea," Lee said. "But today's completion of the seawall construction is not an end to the Saemangeum project we dream of. We have lots more things to do. In a sense, the real beginning is now."

JoongAng Daily, 2010.04.26, "World's biggest dike finished after 19 years of construction: Project to host industry, residences and resorts on 70,000 acres of reclaimed land" by Jung Ha-won, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2919669.
[Selected quote] The much-delayed project has cost the government 2.9 trillion won ($2.6 billion) already, and it's planning to spend a further 21 trillion [won] from the state budget and private sector investments to reclaim land and build basic infrastructure. [...] Now comes chapter two of the Samamgeum project, which may be even more challenging: developing the area. Unlike in 1971, Korea is no longer a poor, hungry nation, and Korea's rice production has long outstripped demand. So Samamgeum will not be used for rice paddies. The current administration wants 70 percent of the new land to be used for industrial-related facilities, renewable energy-related businesses, scientific research centers, hotels and resorts and residential properties. The remaining 30 percent will be home to various farming unions and agricultural, horticultural and food businesses. Efforts to convince investors to come to Samamgeum are expected to start this year.

New York Times, The, 2010.04.25, "From New York Harbor's Depths, Muck to Restore Islands in Jamaica Bay" by Sam Roberts, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/science/earth/26dredge.html.

Korea Herald, The, 2010.04.25 17:03, "Out of control?", Editorial, http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20100425000169.
[Selected quote] The debt held by 23 large state-owned corporations is growing at an alarming rate. It has doubled during the past three years. What is even more unsettling is that growth will not be curbed anytime soon. The combined liabilities of the state-owned corporations are increasing by a whopping 100 trillion won every three years. But the government is unperturbed. Instead, it makes the dubious claim that the liabilities pose no serious problem because the assets are also growing. The government's complacency is in sharp contrast with the concern an international ratings agency has recently voiced. According to figures provided by the government, the state-owned corporations, whose debt surpassed the 100 trillion won mark for the first time in 2006, added another 100 trillion won during the next three years. The debt is projected to top 300 billion won by the end of 2012.

Stony Brook Press, The, 2010.04.23, "When the Windmill Stopped Spinning" by Colleen Harrington, http://www.sbpress.com/2010/04/when-the-windmill-stopped-spinning/.
[Selected quote] Southampton is not the only Stony Brook campus that is to be abandoned due to budget issues. Stony Brook had been exploring the development of a new campus in Songdo, South Korea, as part of a "global university" where 14 other schools from around the world are represented. One Stony Brook administrator said the university was "indefinitely suspending plans for a campus in Korea," and that South Korean authorities have not yet been told of the suspension. Melucci clarified these remarks by saying, "We will only move forward on the Korean initiative if there are contractual assurances against losses to Stony Brook." It is unclear if the school has any such assurances.

AOL News, 2010.04.22, "How Asia Is Paving the Way for Cleaner, Greener Cities" by Dave Thier, http://www.aolnews.com/article/how-asia-is-paving-the-way-for-cleaner-greener-cities/19447009.

Korea Times, The, 2010.04.18 18:45, "'Great Wall on Sea' to Open April 27", http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/04/117_64397.html.

inhabitat.com, 2010.04.13, "Songdo Convensia is First LEED-Certified Convention Center in Asia" by Yuka Yoneda, http://inhabitat.com/2010/04/13/songdo-convensia-is-first-leed-certified-convention-center-in-asia/.
[Selected quote] Of the certification, Stanley C. Gale, chairman of Gale International, the development company who worked on the project, said, "The fact that the Songdo Convensia has achieved the distinction of being the first LEED-certified convention facility in Asia is a testament to the commitment the developer, architecture firm, City of Incheon and IFEZA have to foster environmental awareness. It engenders a real sense of eco-responsibility within the larger Songdo IBD community."

Korea Times, The, 2010.04.13 20:27, "Convensia Cited as Green Building", http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/04/123_64150.html.
[Selected quote] The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has awarded the Songdo Convensia a LEED NC 2.2 "Certified" rating [...] The building's undulating design is iconic and has already become a symbol of Songdo IBD as it reflects the beauty and skyline of the mountainous Korean landscape.

Bloomberg Businessweek, 2010.04.08 , "How Korea Fretted Its Way to Success: Years of worrying about being squeezed by China and Japan helped Seoul stand up to its rivals. Now it's obsessed with finding the Next Big Thing" by Moon Ihlwan, http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_16/b4174056697361.htm.

JoongAng Daily, 2010.04.07 , "Foreign investment drops in Q1: U.S. and Japanese companies reduce spending" by Limb Jae-un, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2918863.
[Selected quote] The major investments in the first quarter include Dar Al Salam of Saudi Arabia investing $150 million in tourism projects in the Saemangeum reclaimed land [...] and SD of Ireland spending $200 million on pharmaceutical production. Seoul and the metropolitan area including Incheon and Gyeonggi attracted over half of the money with 62.3 percent invested in the area, the same percentage as in 2009.

Technology Review, 2010.04.05, "Chinese Wind Power Heads Offshore: Breezy tidal flats offer green power on the doorstep of China's bustling seaboard" by Peter Fairley, http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/24978/.

Shanghai Daily, 2010.04.03, "Reclaimed land sinking" by Wang Xiang, http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2010/201004/20100403/article_433123.htm.

Global Times, 2010.04.01 23:05, "Industry by the sea" by Sun Zhe, http://business.globaltimes.cn/comment/2010-04/518383.html.
[Selected quote] Caofeidian started reclaiming to make space for Capital Iron and Steel, a former major air polluter in Beijing. The steel maker was moved out of Beijing after the city won the bid of the 2008 Olympics, and it began operating late last year in Caofeidian. The air quality of Beijing has since improved since the removal of the Capital Iron and Steel. The city's environment bureau said Beijing had only about 100 blue-sky days in 1998, but it enjoyed 256 in 2008, though it cost around 50 billion yuan ($7.3 billion) to move the steel maker out. Beijingers joked that one blue-sky day cost 140 million yuan ($20.51 million) in 2008. Tangshan itself is already heavily polluted, however, and there are fears that the Caofeidian reclamation project could eventually add to the problem that it is partially trying to alleviate. [...] In 2006 and 2007 President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao paid respective visits to Caofeidian. Hu instructed that Caofeidian be built as a "model zone of scientific development," and Wen said that Caofeidian was to become an "international-level port." The reclamation area totaled 160 square kilometers by March 2010, and is ongoing until 310 square kilometers are reclaimed by 2020, bigger than Tangshan's six urban districts which has been a heavy industry base for more than a hundred years. [...] About 1,000 square kilometers were reclaimed each year in coastal areas from 2006 to 2010, Liu Shuxi, a researcher with the China Marine Environment Monitoring Center, estimated in a survey report. [...] Developing Caofeidian won't wipe out any farmland or demolish a single house because it has more than 1,000 square kilometers of shoal to fuel its development, as the local government stated in its introduction. Disputes and bloodshed caused by housing demolitions has long been a headache for homeowners and all levels of government, while reclaiming can also be money maker for local governments. A piece of reclaimed land as big as 12 square kilometers is worth more than 10 billion yuan ($1.46 billion), according to Liu's report.

SERI Quarterly, 2010.04, "Euh Yoon-Dae on Nation Branding, Korea" interview by Lee Keon-Hyok, pages 70-75,http://www.seriquarterly.com/wldQArticle.html?psq=20100208&atseq=124&ssq=&mcd=2000.

Hanopolis, 2010.03.30 7:23, "Pushing the envelope in tidal flat reclamation: Korean engineers have become world leaders in mud flat reclamation: China may have the Great Wall, but Korea has the Saemangeum, the longest man-made seawall in the world", http://hanopolis.com/?articleNo=21313&story/Pushing-the-envelope-in-tidal-flat-reclamation.
[Selected quote] While the environmental impact may be a problem, [Cho In-hyun, head of the Korea Rural Community Corp.'s (KRC) development of Saemangeum ] is one who believes further reclamation projects should be undertaken. (Of course, it's in his economic interest that it does so) According to experts, 400,000 hectares of seabed can be reclaimed for agriculture and other uses. Hitherto, just 150,000 hectares have been reclaimed. "We have developed a little over 30 percent of sea that can be reclaimed, while the numbers for Japan and many European countries stand at 80-90 percent," he said. [...] "Concerns of environmental impact by various authorities are delaying development even in areas where farmland is to be created," a KRC [Korea Rural] official said.

Dredging Today, 2010.03.29, "World's biggest dredging companies: the facts!", http://www.dredgingtoday.com/2010/03/29/worlds-biggest-dredging-companies-the-facts/.
[Selected quote] CHINA HARBOUR ENGINEERING COMPANY (CHEC) Founded in 1980, CHEC merged with China Road and Bridge to create China Communications Construction Company in 2005. It is China's largest international contractor and the second-largest dredging company in the world. CHEC focuses on basic infrastructure, such as marine engineering, dredging and reclamation. CHEC has been involved in most of the major dredging and reclamation works along China's coastline, while most of its projects have been in Asia, Middle East and Africa.

Korea IT Times, 2010.03.29, "Saemangeum to Be Reborn as the Stronghold of Global Business" by Yeon Choul-woong, http://www.koreaittimes.com/story/8174/saemangeum-be-reborn-stronghold-global-business.
[Selected quote] The Saemangeum Gunsan Free Economic Zone (SGFEZ) Authority plans to go all-out to develop Saemangeum into the world's strongest green growth base and stronghold of international business, a top official of the authority said. "Saemangeum is the nation's biggest project to create a total space of 401 square kilometers, which is equivalent to two-thirds of Seoul, and the world's biggest tide embankment," said Lee Choon-hee, commissioner of SGFEZ Authority. In an interview with Korea IT Times, he said, "To achieve US$40,000 in per capita national income, the country has to create more space for new growth engines. The Saemangeum project will help the nation achieve the target by offering valuable land."

Market Watch, 2010.03.29 22:00, "Incheon Metropolitan City and Cisco in Strategic Collaboration to Accelerate the Future of City: Cisco Global Center for Smart+Connected Communities to Serve as a Springboard for Network-Enabled Services and Solutions in Incheon", http://www.marketwatch.com/story/incheon-metropolitan-city-and-cisco-in-strategic-collaboration-to-accelerate-the-future-of-city-2010-03-29?reflink=MW_news_stmp.

New York Times, The, 2010.03.29 10:30, "Land Smugglers", http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/29/land-smugglers/.

China Daily, 2010.03.26 7:00, "Land reclamation harms sea ecology" by Wang Qian, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-03/26/content_9644201.htm.
[Selected quote] Excessive land reclamation from the sea poses a growing threat to oceanic ecology and aggravates coastal pollution, a top administrator has warned. Sun Zhihui, head of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), said strict laws to protect arable land have prompted local authorities to resort to sea reclamation to meet growing land demand. "China is experiencing a new wave of land reclamation in its coastal regions," he told China Daily. Reclaimed land accounts for 3 to 4 percent of the mainland's total new construction area annually. In coastal provinces and municipalities, the figure is 13 to 15 percent. From 2002 to 2009, 74,100 hectares of land was reclaimed from sea, mainly for construction of industries, tourism and ports, according to the SOA. The State Council has so far approved seven coastal economic zones in Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi and two are being planned in Shandong and Zhejiang, Sun said. Sun, however, warned that land reclamation may go out of control due to the absence of a national macro-control scheme. "Overdevelopment of coastal zones can bring adverse effects such as environment degradation and seafood pollution," Sun said.

Korea Times, The, 2010.03.24 19:36, "North Jeolla to Become Food Capital of Asia" by Na Jeong-ju, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/03/113_62943.html.

Ethical Investor, 2010.03.23, "Tidal Flats Turned into Fatal Shores" by Tiffany Inglis and Danny Rogers, Issue 90, pp. 36-38 http://www.awsg.org.au/pdfs/Ethical-Investor-23Mar10.pdf.

Times of London, The, 2010.03.23, "The black marketeers stealing Indonesia's islands by the boat-load" by Richard Lloyd Parry, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7071243.ece.
[Selected quote] Sea reclamation projects in China, Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore are driving a black market in Indonesia's abundant supplies of soil, sand and gravel. Since 2005 at least 24 small islands have disappeared as a result of erosion caused by sand mining. Even where they remain above the waves, the mining process clouds and muddies the sea, devastating fish populations and destroying livelihoods.

Korea Times, The, 2010.03.23 18:07, "Chadwick Plans to Open Songdo School in August" by Kang Shin-who, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/03/117_62874.html.
[Selected quote] Incheon Metropolitan City government has invested 150 billion won in 7,000 square meters of land for the international school.

Korea Times, The, 2010.03.22 19:59, "Sejong Bill to Be Submitted to Assembly" by Lee Tae-hoon, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/03/116_62832.html.

Chosun Ilbo, The, 2010.03.22 12:09, "Free Economic Zones to Open to Korean Firms", http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/03/22/2010032200862.html.
[Selected quote] The government will amend regulations for free economic zones and give incentives such as tax cuts that were only available to foreign companies to Korean firms as well. [...] Current law gives such incentives only to foreign companies. Incheon was the first city to be designated as a free economic zone in 2003 with the aim to attract more foreign investment, and five additional areas -- Busan/Jinhae, Daegu/North Gyeongsang Province, Gwangyang, Hwanghae, and Saemangeum/Gunsan -- were later added. One of the reasons cited for their lackluster performance is difficulty in exchanges between foreign and Korean companies. Without Korean firms present in the free zones, it is hard to generate synergy effects.

Coastal Environmental and Ecosystem Issues of the East China Sea -- Nagasaki University Major Research Project: Restoration of Marine Environment and Resources in East Asia, 2010.03, Edited by Atsushi Ishimatsu and Heung-Jae Lie, http://www.terrapub.co.jp/onlineproceedings/fs/nu/index.html.

emagasia.com, 2010.03, "Korea tour shuttle service launched in Jeollabuk-do starting 20 March", http://www.emagasia.com/korea-tour-shuttle-service-launched-in-jeollabuk-do-starting-20-march.

Korea.net, 2010.03.19, "Five regions to lead the way for eco-growth in Korea" by Kim Hee-sung, http://www.korea.net/News/News/NewsView.asp?serial_no=20100319014.

Korea Times, The, 2010.03.18 20:35, "Songdo School Opening to Be Delayed Again" by Kang Shin-who, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/03/117_62635.html.

[NOAA] Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR) Review, 2010.03.09, "Marine Environmental Responses to the Saemangeum Reclamation Project in South Korea" by SeungHyun Son and Menghua Wang, http://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/star/documents/meetings/extReview/presentations/4WW/posters/WW-p07_Son.ppt.

Bird Guides, 2010.03.07, "Spoon-billed Sandpiper: teetering on the brink of extinction" by Jez Bird, Alex Lees and Rob Martin, http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=1979.

China Daily, 2010.03.03 07:34, "Coastal development threatens ecosystem" by Wang Qia, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-03/03/content_9527822.htm.
[Selected quote] From 2006 to 2007, the illegal reclamation of land reached 189 square kilometers. The fines imposed for disturbing offshore wetlands yielded less than 5 billion yuan, SOA figures show.

JoongAng Daily, 2010.02.26, "[Viewpoint] Reviews required for good reason: State finances will take a beating without a proper review process for large construction projects" by Lee Cheol-ho, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2917093.

Korea Herald, The, 2010.02.26, "Songdo becoming compact, smart and green city" by Jin Hyun-joo, http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/02/26/201002260055.asp.

Korea Herald, The, 2010.02.23, "U.S. IT research center opens in Korea [SUNY Stony Brook at Songdo]", http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/02/23/201002230098.asp.

Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 2010.02.23, "Integrating ecological damages into the user charge for land reclamation: a case study of Xiamen, China" by Peng Benrong, Chen Weiqi, and Hong Huasheng, http://www.springerlink.com/content/86331216x52t019l/.

Architects + Artisans, 2010.02.19, "A New, Green City for South Korea", http://architectsandartisans.com/index.php/2010/02/a-new-green-city-for-south-korea/.
[Selected quote] Songdo is part of a master plan by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates for Gale International of the U.S. and Posco Engineering and Construction of South Korea, each acting as developer. [...] They began work in 2004, after a free economic zone was established in 2001, and the government had invested about $10 billion for backfill in low-lying areas, a bridge to the Incheon airport, subways and a new highway spur.

Arirang, 2010.02.19, "US Ambassador Compliments the Saemangeum Project" by Eoh Jin-joo, http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=100387&code=Ne2&category=2.
[Selected quote] The United States Ambassador to Korea, Kathleen Stephens expressed amazement at the Saemangeum Seawall currently under construction in Buan, North Jeolla Province. During her one-hour visit to the site on Friday, the ambassador quoted a Chinese proverb saying "seeing for oneself is better than hearing from others" as she noted that Saemangeum was just as huge and fabulous as she had heard. Stephens said she was excited to be the first US ambassador to visit the area and hopes for a successful completion as she compared the project to the Great Wall of China. [...] The US ambassador complimented the government's effort to develop the estuarine tidal flat into a multipurpose site and to move forward the completion date for construction. (Reporter : ) Ambassador Stephens also showed interest in the expected amount of foreign investment that will be made in the area and environmental issues regarding the project.

European Pressphoto Agency, 2010.02.19, "US envoy visits Saemangeum", http://www.fotoglif.com/f/k7gs6m5tp1r7.

Stony Brook Independent, 2010.02.17 17:13, "South Korea Satellite Campus Still in the Works" by Micah Danney, http://www.sbindependent.org/node/3838.
[Selected quote] "The major issue is financing," said Deputy Provost W. Brent Lindquist in an e-mail. Lindquist, who is in charge of the plans for the new school, said that no New York State money can be used to operate the campus. This means that "substantial financial support" will need to be provided by South Korea.

Urban Neighborhood, 2010.02.17, "Real estate lotteries, bidding wars, and tax audits in New Songdo" by Dan, http://urbanneighbourhood.com/?p=5015.

JoongAng Daily, 2010.02.16, "Scope of free trade zones to broaden", http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2916644.

Burke Connection, 2010.02.12, "Ready for Incheon Patriots?: George Mason University may open campus in South Korea" by Veronica Garabelli, http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=337619&paper=61&cat=104.

Daily Commercial News and Construction Record, 2010.02.11, "Construction Corner: China steams ahead with megaprojects" by Korky Koroluk, http://dcnonl.com/article/id37511.

JoongAng Daily, 2010.02.11, "Cisco considers Korea as site of new data center: Company would join other technology leaders in Songdo hub" by Moon Byung-joo, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2916501.

Korea Times, The, 2010.02.05, "KOTRA invites investors to Saemangeum", http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/02/124_60396.html.

Contra Costa Times, 2010.02.04 19:07, "Large piece added to Novato's Hamilton wetlands project" by Mark Prado, http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14336686.

JoongAng Daily, 2010.02.03, "Overseas investors may initially avoid biz cities" by Moong Gwang-lip, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2916129.
[Selected quote] "The Korean government would love to create multi-economic activity sites, taking the pressure off Seoul, but as international investors, we would be unlikely to lead the way in doing development in an uncharted market with our clients' money," [Jacques Gordon, international director and global strategist with LaSalle Investment Management] said. "This kind of investment will be led by the Korean government and local investors much more than international investors."

JoongAng Daily, 2010.02.03, "The importance of Ariul", http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2916105.
[Selected quote] But there is a lot of work to be done before this project can live up to its ambitious design. The trickiest part will be gathering up the 21 trillion won in funding for the project, the bulk of which officials say will come from the private sector. If the government contributes funds from its coffers, other regions - already sensitive to the issue because of the Sejong City project - would likely hit the roof. Despite the funding question, we sincerely hope the government diligently pushes ahead with the action plan and succeeds with the Saemangeum project. The country has devoted 19 years to filling the world's largest estuary amid contentious disputes. We cannot put all those years of hard work in the trash. We must make the project a success, but at the same time we must keep in mind its bitter lesson. We should no longer give into or tolerate reckless campaign promises like building a new administrative city. The Saemangeum Embankment is another live example of how indiscreet extravagant campaign promises can squander national resources and place a burden on the country for many years.

Korea Herald, The, 2010.02.03, "American university to set up school at Incheon", http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/02/03/201002030090.asp.

PGATOUR.COM, 2010.02.03, "Insider: Tour in 'good shape' with new faces, places" by Vartan Kupelian, http://www.pgatour.com/2010/s/02/03/ct.insider/index.html.
[Selected quote] Stevens is next off to Korea in advance of the Champions Tour's first experience in the Far East. The New Songdo City Championship will be held at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Songdo City September 10-12. The purse is $3 million. Songdo City is a massive trillion dollar development 30 miles outside of Seoul, South Korea. "It was Jack who brought the opportunity to us," Stevens said of the three-year Korean deal. "We think it's a great opportunity. It fits well with our strategies and it's a good time for the Champions Tour to stick our toe in the water and see how viable it is for us to grow. "We're not looking to do a bunch of international events. I want to set the record straight on that. This is one of those that made sense."

UQ News, 2010.02.03, "Bird migration becoming more hazardous", University of Queensland, Austrialia, http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=20528.

JoongAng Daily, 2010.02.02, "A reclamation by any other name" by Hoh Kui-seek, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2916048.

Korea Herald, The, 2010.02.02, "Specialization key to revitalizing FEZs" by Kim Yoon-mi and Cho Chung-un, http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/02/02/201002020068.asp..
[Selected quote] The Roh Moo-hyun administration opened the first FEZs in Incheon, Busan-Jinhae and Gwangyang in July, 2003. The current Lee Myung-bak administration added three more - in the West Sea, Saemangeum-Gunsan and Daegu-Gyeongbuk areas - in 2008. However, the FEZs in Incheon, Busan-Jinhae and Gwangyang have attracted only 83.2 trillion won ($71.1 billion) of investment over the past six years, compared with the original target of 367.9 trillion won, according to a report by Konkuk University for the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. The report also showed that foreign capital accounted for only 13.5 percent, or 11.2 trillion won, out of the 83.2 trillion won investment. [...] Experts attributed the sluggish foreign investment to the fact that the Korean FEZs are offering less attractive incentives than those in other countries like the United Arab Emirates. While Korea exempts corporate tax for foreign investors in FEZs for three years and gives a 50 percent cut from the 27 percent corporate tax rate for another two years, UAE exempts corporate tax for 50 years for foreign investors in the Dubai FEZ. [...] Another problem pointed by critics is the investment imbalance among the three FEZs. Out of the 83.2 trillion won investment, 70 trillion won all went into the Incheon FEZ, and the rest into the two other FEZs established in 2003, the report showed. [Jeong Hyung-gon, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy] also noted that the government should scrap regulations in FEZs so that foreign companies can easily make investment decisions. According to government data, it takes about 9 months for a project to be approved by FEZ authorities. [Shin Ki-taek, a director at the planning office of Free Economic Zones, Ministry of Knowledge Economy] said that the government has been making efforts to eliminate administrative hurdles for foreign companies. "The government cannot dramatically cut off all the measures because it needs to study the feasibility of every project to be undertaken in the FEZs," he said.

Asia Pacific Business and Technology Report, 2010.02.01, "Korea: Environmental Problems & Solutions" by Christopher Sanders, http://www.biztechreport.com/story/417-korea-environmental-problems-solutions.

Fast Company, 2010.02.01, "Cisco's Big Bet on New Songdo: Creating Cities From Scratch" by Greg Lindsay, http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/142/the-new-new-urbanism.html.

Korea Times, The, 2010.02.01 17:08, "Waterfront City Plan: Saemangeum Should Be Last Pork-Barrel Project", http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2010/02/137_60072.html.
[Selected quote] It appears to be fantastic news that the nation will have an international business and tourism city resembling Amsterdam or Venice. [...] For the success of the project, the government needs to overcome some obstacles. First, it should work out concrete measures to raise the astronomical amount for the development costs. Twenty-three percent of the 21 trillion won will be funded from taxpayers' money, while the rest will be raised by tapping private capital from investors at home and abroad. However, skepticism is growing over the government's ability to attract the necessary investment. The Lee Myung-bak administration has already set aside 22.2 trillion won for a four-river refurbishment project, while seeking to inject 22.5 trillion won into a to-be-revised Sejong City plan that calls for the construction of a business-education-research complex instead of an administrative town. Policymakers must bear in mind that the budget problem is a critical factor in deciding the fate of the Saemangeum project. The second problem is how to upgrade the quality of water to be supplied to the planned waterfront city that will cover 400 square kilometers. The government has promised to spend 3 trillion won to ensure higher water quality. But officials should see that the quality has deteriorated even though 1.3 trillion won was spent over the last eight years. We have to point out that the government is too optimistic about the project which lacks concrete action plans and financial resources. It is time to overhaul many other government-led development projects across the country. Undoubtedly, reckless and poorly-organized pork-barrel projects may do more harm than good to the economy and the nation. Such projects could only stoke property speculation and waste taxpayers' money as seen in the case of the free economic zone in Songdo, Incheon, which has so far drawn only speculators instead of foreign investors. Thus, Saemangeum should be the last pork-barrel project. It is imperative that politicians, lawmakers, governors and majors refrain from wooing votes on populist promises of massive regional development projects.

Xinhua, 2010.01.31 15:54, "China pledges new efforts to boost rural development", http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-01/31/c_13157837.htm.

JoongAng Daily, 2010.01.30, "New $18 billion city is planned for southwest" by Ser Myo-ja, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2915991.

Korea Herald, The, 2010.01.30, "Final blueprint for Saemangeum unveiled" by Kim So-hyun, http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/01/30/201001300033.asp.

Korea Times, The, 2010.01.29 17:24, "'Ariul' to Become Waterfront City in Saemangeum Site" by Kang Hyun-kyung, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/01/113_59932.html.

Yonhap News, 2010.01.29 14:13, "Gov't unveils plan to build int'l business city on southwest coast" by Shim Sun-ah, http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/01/29/50/0301000000AEN20100129005000315F.HTML.

Bloomberg.com, 2010.01.19 22:19, "GS Engineering to Construct World's Largest Tidal Power Plant", http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072&sid=aZQEn2Bk.FM4.

National, The, 2010.01.16 18:36, "China to span an economic divide" [Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge] by Clifford Coonan, http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100116/BUSINESS/701169966/1005.

TradingMarkets.com, 2010.01.14 08:17, "Grand Power Subsidiary Signs Mou to Develop Yangshan International Container Transit Logistics Park", http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/press-release/gpw_grand-power-subsidiary-signs-mou-to-develop-yangshan-international-container-transit-logistics-park-703265.html.

EcoSeed, 2010.01.05 04:23, "Korean province appears a magnet for green investment" by Oliver M. Bayani, http://www.ecoseed.org/en/general-green-news/green-topics/green-policies/incentives/5757-Korean-province-appears-a-magnet-for-green-investment.