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

This list includes news about land use, related infrastructure investments, coastal conservation, real-estate prices, and associated values in the countries bordering the Yellow Sea, as well as relevant articles from elsewhere. This list is neither complete nor up to date. However, the most-recent version will be posted indefinitely at this web address. Feel free to pass along relevant articles to james.hadley@factplusfancy.com.

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2012 Archive

China Daily, 2012.12.29, "Volunteers safeguard 'lake city' [Wuhan]" by Xu Wei and Zhou Lihua, http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-12/29/content_16067278.htm

Dredging Today, 2012.12.25, "CCCC Shanghai Dredging Wins Diaoliang Land Forming Project (China)", http://www.dredgingtoday.com/2012/12/25/cccc-shanghai-dredging-wins-diaoliang-land-forming-project-china/
[Selected quote] On December 14, CCCC Shanghai Dredging Co., Ltd. won Section III of the reclamation works of Zone B of Phase 1 land forming project in Diaoliang, Xingang Park, Zhejiang Zhoushan Economic and Development Zone (ZSEDZ), with a contract value of 235 million yuan and a construction period of 205 days. Located in the north of Zhoushan Island, with a reclamation area of some 1.63 square kilometers, the project involves cofferdam construction, sand fill and drainage. The project will provide mass land for ZSEDZ's harbor industry, and be of great significance to make up the scarcity of construction land resources in the core block of Zhoushan's marine industry agglomeration area and promoting the construction of Zhoushan Archipelago New District. [23 USD per square meter, 94,000 USD per acre]

JoongAng Daily, 2012.12.18, "Built-from-scratch Songdo starts coming to life" by Sarah Kim, http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2964114&cloc=joongangdaily|home|online
[Selected quote] The United Nations Green Climate Fund (GCF), dubbed the World Bank of the environment, announced in October that it had chosen Songdo as its headquarters over such stiff competitors as Geneva and Bonn. One of the reasons it chose Songdo is because it is a city built to be eco-friendly from its inception. Another is that Incheon offered the GCF seven floors in the I-Tower for free.[...] The project was initiated by the Kim Dae-jung administration to develop 1,500 acres of unused land and make an international business hub."This area was just undeveloped mud flats even five years ago," said Lee Jin-baek, 30, a resident of Songdo. [...] Gale International has a 70 percent stake in the project with Morgan Stanley Real Estate. The remaining shares are shared by Posco Engineering and Construction, Incheon Free Economic Zone and other investors. [...] Songdo boasted a population of 60,377 as of the end of November, according to the IFEZ, up from 30,000 at its official opening in May 2009 and 40,000 a year ago. There are currently 927 foreign residents, not a particularly impressive number.

Guardian, The, 2012.12.04, "No one likes a city that's too smart: Let's hope Rio rather than Songdo or Masdar is the inspiration for the urbanists gathering in London this week" by Richard Sennett, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/04/smart-city-rio-songdo-masdar

Wall Street Journal, The, 2012.12.03 21:08, "U.S. Sues Big Firms Over China Audits" by Michael Rapoport and Ben Dummett, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324355904578157252180759338.html
[Selected quote] Securities regulators took aim at the Chinese affiliates of big global accounting firms Monday, after a wave of accounting debacles at publicly traded Chinese firms that led to billions of dollars of shareholder losses. [... Also,] In Canada, the top securities regulator accused Ernst & Young's Canadian affiliate of missing problems during its audit on Sino-Forest Corp., a timber company that filed for bankruptcy protection this year amid questions about its disclosures. [...] According to the commission, for instance, one Ernst & Young auditor in its Canadian affiliate acknowledged in an email to another auditor that the firm had no way of knowing that the trees the audit firm was inspecting were actually owned by Sino-Forest: "I believe they could show us trees anywhere and we would not know the difference." In addition, the commission said, several of Ernst & Young's senior partners at the affiliate involved in auditing Sino-Forest couldn't read or speak Chinese.

China Daily, 2012.11.12 21:39, "China issues preliminary wetland regulations" by Cang Wei, http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-11/12/content_15919474.htm

USA Today, 2012.11.12 00:30, "Chinese farmers fight back against state controls: Chinese reform advocates say entrenched interests, such as the state farm system, hold back the economy, deepen corruption and provoke regular unrest." by Calum MacLeod, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/11/11/china-farmers-protest/1697381/

JoongAng Daily, 2012.11.10, "SUNY hosts kick-off party in Songdo" by Sarah Kim, http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2962095
[Selected quote] Kim Choon-ho, president of SUNY Korea, provided opening remarks [...] "The development happening here in Songdo is an amazing opportunity," said SUNY Stony Brook Professor Arie E. Kaufman, chairman of the department of computer science and chief scientist for Center of Excellence in Wireless & Information Technology, Korea established in 2010 as Stony Brook's IT research center. Kaufman first visited Korea around the 1988 Olympics and since then has remained invested in the country.

China Daily, 2012.11.06 20:55, "Land reclamation rules outlined", http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-11/06/content_15883534.htm
[Selected quote] The State Council, China's cabinet, has approved the ocean use plan (2011-2020) for Shanghai, Guangdong and Hainan to guide water use in a scientific and sustainable way, according to a statement on the website of the Central People's Government on Tuesday. [...] By the end of 2020, Guangdong can reclaim 23,000-hectares of land from the sea; Hainan can reclaim 11,150 hectares and Shanghai, 2,300 hectares, according to the statement. Land reclamation has become a common way for local authorities to solve land shortages caused by rapid urbanization across China, posing a threat to the fragile marine environment and to people living in coastal areas. The statement said local authorities should regulate and strictly control the land reclamation projects to guarantee the fishery industry and the sustainability of the marine development.

Inside Higher Ed, 2012.11.06 03:00, "Try, Try Again" by Elizabeth Redden, http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/11/06/george-mason-moves-ahead-south-korea-campus
[Selected quote] George Mason University's Board of Visitors has authorized the university to move forward in establishing a campus in Songdo, South Korea.[...] Songdo Global University is heavily subsidized by the Korean government. Participating foreign universities have each received a $1 million planning grant to study the feasibility of opening a campus in Songdo, and generous subsidies to support a campus in its first five years of operation. These subsidies take the form of cash ($1 million per year), rent-free use of facilities -- including faculty housing -- and free utilities. Mason's rent-free period has been extended from five to seven years. [...] Other universities that are moving ahead with planned campuses in Songdo are Ghent University, in Belgium, and the University of Utah, which is currently conducting a feasibility study. [...George Mason...] hopes to attract 80 students in two majors -- economics and management -- when the campus opens in the spring of 2014.[...] In February, George Mason's Faculty Senate endorsed the Korea campus [with two conditions, academic quality] and financially viable beyond the initial subsidy period. June Tangney, a professor of psychology and chair of the Faculty Senate, said that both conditions have been met and the Faculty Senate does not have any additional concerns.

Washington Post, The, 2012.10.31 11:57, "George Mason U. to launch South Korean campus" by Tom Jackman, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-state-of-nova/post/george-mason-u-to-launch-south-korean-campus/2012/10/31/3d120560-22b8-11e2-ac85-e669876c6a24_blog.html

China Daily, 2012.10.27 08:04, "Coasts, mudflats are vanishing, research shows" by Wang Qian, http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-10/27/content_15850884.htm
[Selected quote] The report, released by the State Oceanic Administration on Friday, said more shorelines and mudflats will disappear if no effective measures are taken to protect the country's fragile coastal environment. Guan Daoming, deputy director of the National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center, said authorities should control human activities in coastal areas because such areas are important to the marine biological system. [...] The State Oceanic Administration report took eight years to complete, involving more than 30,000 scientists and experts at a total cost of 2.3 billion yuan ($365 million).

Environmental News Service, 2012.10.25 23:20, "South Korea Will Host the Green Climate Fund", http://ens-newswire.com/2012/10/25/south-korea-will-host-the-green-climate-fund/

Korea Times, The, 2012.10.21 18:26, "GCF success makes Songdo global star city" by Kim Rahn, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/10/117_122786.html
[Selected quote] Besides the GCF, some 10 international organizations have already settled in Songdo, including the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) sub-regional office for East and Northeast Asia. The central government and Incheon City are making efforts to invite more international bodies, first aiming to set up the World Bank's Korean office, which will open next year.

Korea Times, The, 2012.10.21 18:09, "Songdo to host UN climate fund" by Kim Rahn, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/10/117_122781.html

Xinhua, 2012.10.20 20:45, "NE China to set up two drone bases for marine surveillance", http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-10/20/c_131919275.htm
[Selected quote] The drones will feature high-definition remote-sensing in marine surveillance, especially in quick response to emergency situations. They can also be used to identify illegal land reclamation activities and sand dredging, and monitor marine environments along the coast and on islets.

Korea Herald, The, 2012.10.17 20:07, "Songdo touted as green, foreigner-friendly city" by Sang Youn-joo, http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20121017000931

Korea Herald, The, 2012.10.16 19:39, "Songdo, a place cut out for U.N. operations: With 10 U.N. agencies already settled, city looks to become Asian hub for international organizations" by Lee Sun-young, http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20121016000771

Architizer, 2012.09.28, "Dror Unveils Futuristic, Net-Positive-Energy Island In Istanbul", http://www.architizer.com/en_us/blog/dyn/52884/dror-unveils-futuristic-net-positive-energy-residential-island-in-istanbul/#.UKEqvxKppcY

Chronicle of Higher Education, The, 2012.09.15, "President Ghent University Campus in Songdo (South-Korea)" [advertisement], http://chronicle.com/jobs/0000742305-01/
[Selected quote] As part of the Songdo Global University Campus, Ghent University will offer bachelor and master degrees in the life sciences, more in particular molecular biotechnology, food technology and environmental technology. The President will be expected to start these programs, taught in English, by March 2014.

Yanhap News, 2012.08.27 09:00, "World's largest tidal power plant threatens the old man and the sea" by Malte E. Kollenberg, http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/n_feature/2012/08/23/3/4901000000AEN20120823003100315F.HTML
[Selected quote] "The people were dependent on the ocean," said Han Kyung-koo, a liberal studies professor at Seoul National University who was part of a four-man team that investigated the effects the Sihwa project had on inhabitants of the area. "They were compensated, but did not know what to do with the money," Han said. The residents did not know how to start over, having only experienced one way of earning their livelihood. "Back then, I could feel how lives were destroyed at Sihwa," he said.

Recharge, 2012.08.17, "Korea plans tidal test-centre with aid of Scottish know-how" by Andrew Lee, http://www.rechargenews.com/energy/wave_tidal_hydro/article320184.ece
[Selected quote] Incheon Metropolitan City (IMC) in the country's northwest will build the test centre to support Korea's fast-emerging marine renewables sector. IMC has signed a co-operation agreement with the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) that will see the Scottish facility provide technical assistance on design and operational issues. Although described as “very tough to work in”, the waters off Korea offer some of the world's most active tidal conditions, says EMEC. Korea already boasts the world's largest tidal-power facility with the 254MW Shihwa barrage, which began full operations last year. No details are given of project timelines for the IMC development. The deal is the third such to be struck in Asia by EMEC, which has already signed similar agreements in China and Japan. EMEC has operated its wave- and tidal-energy test centre in Orkney since 2003.

Read Write, 2012.07.31, "Sim City: Inside South Korea's $35 Billion Plan to Build a City from Scratch" by Dan Frommer, http://readwrite.com/2012/07/31/sim-city-inside-south-koreas-35-billion-plan-to-build-a-city-from-scratch

Korea Herald, The, 2012.07.30 20:26, "With ambitious new development on the rise... Do planned cities work?" by So Kyung-suu, http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20120730000803

Dredging Today, 2012.08.01, "CCCC Guangzhou Wins Xiongyue Land Reclamation Contract (China)", http://www.dredgingtoday.com/2012/08/01/cccc-guangzhou-wins-xiongyue-land-reclamation-contract-china/
[Selected quote] CCCC Guangzhou Dredging Co., Ltd. signed an EPC contract for the reclamation and coast restoration project at Xiongyue estuary, Yingkou Economic and Technical Development Zone, with a contract value of 710 million yuan.Located at Xiongyue estuary, Liaodong Bay, with a land area of 2.05 square kilometers, a reclamation area of 1.3 square kilometers, the project involves sea reclamation and beach treatment. Revetments measuring a total of 1,313 meters will be constructed.

Global Times, 2012.07.24 19:15, "Rising from the ocean" by Li Qian, http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/723015.shtml

Salt Lake Tribune, The, 2012.07.15 23:15, "The Korean connection: University of Utah explores branch campus outside Seoul" by Brian Maffly, http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54490090-78/songdo-university-utah-campus.html.csp
[Selected quote] The South Koreans have been courting Utah since 2008 when construction of the Songdo campus began, and recently gave the [University of Utah] $1 million to plan the proposed Asian Campus with the promise of a $1.5 million annual subsidy when it begins operating. Three other universities are involved, and South Korea eventually wants 10 schools participating, each responsible for 1,000 students. [...] New York's Stony Brook University has already admitted students at Songdo, and Virginia's George Mason University is on track to open its doors next year. Utah and Belgium's Ghent University are working together to start operations between September 2013 and March 2014. But the [University of Utah] must complete ongoing feasibility studies. The school has hired consultants to do a market analysis, and its lawyers are exploring Korean labor laws. The goal is to determine whether the proposed campus fits with the university's mission and its economic viability [...] "No one wants to exit. If we go into it, we want to succeed," [Robert Payne, University of Utah, General Counsel's office] said. "We need to understand Korean labor laws, what would happen if we had to pull out."

Business Times (The New Straits Times Press, Malaysia), 2012.07.14, "Big Money in land reclamation" by Goh Thean Eu, http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20120714002158/Article/index_html
[Selected quote] Analysts said since 2006, the sector had grown by a resounding 68 per cent, largely due to the funds provided by the government under the 9th Malaysia plan. [...] Among the major players in land reclamation locally are Benalec Holdings Bhd, Muhibbah Engineering Bhd and Galactic Maritime (M) Sdn Bhd.

Climate Action, 2012.06.27, "Four urban sustainability projects you may not know about" by Ashley Halligan, http://www.climateactionprogramme.org/analysis/four_urban_sustainability_projects_you_may_not_know_about/

Sacramento Bee, The, 2012.06.26 8:03, "Korea's Songdo International Business District -- One of Asia's Largest Green Developments -- Surpasses Milestone of 13 Million Square Feet of LEED Certified Space" by Songdo International Business District (IBD) [PR Newswire], http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/26/4589844/koreas-songdo-international-business.html

ABC News [KGO-TV/DT San Francisco, CA], 2012.06.25, "American tech companies help shape new Korean city" by Cheryl Jennings, http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/assignment_7&id=8714174

GlobalAtlanta.com, 2012.06.19, "Georgia State Expanding Korean Initiatives" by Chris Shattuck, http://www.globalatlanta.com/article/25606/
[Selected quote] [Dr. J. P. Shim, Executive Director, Korean-American Business Center, Georgia State University] said the South Korean city of Incheon is currently working with 10 major American universities to establish campuses in the city's Songdo area. Georgia State has entered into preliminary discussions to determine to what extent it will offer classes there, but it expects to offer a masters degree in CIS by next year with opportunity to develop additional programs in coming years.

Korea Herald, The, 2012.06.14 20:29, "Construction begins on Saemangeum sea port" by Chung Joo-won, view.koreaherald.com/kh/view.php?ud=20120614001085&cpv=0
[Selected quote] Planned to be built upon Saemangeum, a massive plot of reclaimed land along the southwest coast, the new port will induce the creation of 22,400 jobs, the Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs said. The Land Ministry plans to pour 2.5 trillion won ($2.1 billion) into the project, which will be completed in 2030. [...] A crucial part of the Saemangeum Development Project, the harbor program consists of the construction of a 3.5-kilometer seawall, a 4.1-kilometer pier and an 8.0-kilometer revetment. As an initial step, the government plans to finish the construction of a 3.1-kilometer pier and four berth container ports by 2020. The new Saemangeum port is expected to have 18 berth container ports and a 3.5-kilometer seawall by 2030. Once completed, the new port, located 280 kilometers south of Seoul, will be able to handle 17.29 million tons of freight per year.

Korea Times, The, 2012.06.14 11:27, "Construction begins on Saemangeum sea port", https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/06/182_113024.html

MSN News, 2012.06.14 04:48, "S. Korea starts work on international seaport: South Korea started work Thursday on a major international seaport, part of a massive project to turn reclaimed land into an industrial, tourism and agricultural hub.", http://news.malaysia.msn.com/business/s-korea-starts-work-on-international-seaport-3
[Selected quote] An artificial island will be built for the Saemangeum port [...]

Korea Herald, The, 2012.06.12 19:09, "FEZs totter with meager foreign investment: Government curtails areas and projects, postpones additional designation indefinitely", http://view.koreaherald.com/kh/view.php?ud=20120612001267&cpv=0
[Selected quote] According to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and the Planning Office of Free Economic Zones, foreign direct investment in six free economic zones from 2004 to the first quarter of 2012 amounted to $4.11 billion. The nation's total foreign direct investment reached $98.41 billion over the same period, meaning the six zones took up a mere 4.47 percent of the country's total foreign direct investment. In the case of the Incheon Free Economic Zone, which boasts the fastest pace of development among the six, foreign direct investment as of late April 2012 amounted to $2.7 billion, or 50 percent of all the zones. The Busan-Jinhae FEZ chalked up $1.32 billion and the Gwangyang FEZ $700 million. The remaining three zones marked poor performances. The six zones have shown little progress not only in light of the absolute investment amount, but also in inducing high tech, high value-added companies. As of 2011, they attracted just five foreign research centers. [...] The area of the leading FEZ in Incheon, west of Seoul, shrank from 209 sq. km to 169 sq. km, Busan-Jinhae FEZ saw its area decrease from 104 sq. km to 83 sq. km, Gwangyang FEZ from 92 sq. km to 85 sq. km, Saemangeum FEZ from 66 sq. km to 50 sq. km, and Daegu-Gyeongbuk FEZ from 39 sq. km to 34 sq. km. [...] Incheon, which hosts the nation's No. 1 FEZ envied by the other five zones with some benchmarking it, is in severe financial trouble. Fiscal difficulties stemming from lavish projects have stopped Incheon from pushing ahead with large construction and international events. [...] Presently, Incheon Metropolitan Government is mired in debt, with its amount marking 2.7 trillion won and the ratio 40 percent. At last, the city unveiled a package of measures to overcome financial difficulties late last month, which call for the disposal of city-owned properties, a two-year postponement of a city train project and appeal for the central government to give aid to the preparation for the 2014 Asian Games to be hosted by the city.

Dong-A Ilbo, 2012.06.05 06:00, "Japan casino mogul pledges big investment in Incheon", http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=020000&biid=2012060565668
[Selected quote] "We will directly invest 60 percent of the project's cost, so please provide us with land at a very cheap price." This is what Japanese casino mogul Kazuo Okada proposed to the mayor of Korea's second-largest port city of Incheon on Monday. Incheon Mayor Song Young-ghil said in response, "Since we plan to invest in the construction of a world-class shopping mall at the center stage of Yeongjong Island, let's work together to create a synergistic effect with a casino project."

China Daily, 2012.05.28 10:46, "Gift of land from the sea" by Hu Yang, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-05/28/content_15401772.htm

China Daily, 2012.05.14 07:26, "Development, urbanization threaten wetland" by Wang Qian and Zheng Jinran, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-05/14/content_15280528.htm
[Selected quote] Experts explained that the cost for 1 square meter of land reclamation from wetlands is less than 300 yuan ($47), much less than the price of land available through the market. [...] Wetland losses from the total 91 national protected wetland zones was about 8,152 square kilometers (almost equivalent to the area of eight Hong Kong) from 1978 to 2008, according to a four-year-assessment by the [Institute of Remote Sensing Applications, Chinese Academy of Sciences], which was released in February. Nearly 80 percent of the wetland had been poorly protected, especially those areas located along the Yangtze River and the coast, the assessment said.

Korea Times, The, 2012.05.08 19:42, "University of Utah to offer program in Songdo", http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/05/117_110601.html
[Selected quote] The University of Utah will follow up its agreement with the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) Authority to set up college programs in Songdo City in September next year. IFEZ Authority Commissioner Lee Jong-cheol met with Michael Hardman, the university's senior vice president for academic affairs at the Sheraton Incheon Hotel in late April to discuss the establishment of the American school at the Songdo global campus. The university has agreed tol launch its own education, natural sciences and social sciences undergraduate and graduate programs there. The State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook opened a computer science department and a graduate school of technology and society in March in the IFEZ. Currently 200 students have enrolled. Other universities are likely to follow the two American schools, including Belgium's Ghent University, Alfred University, the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, North Carolina State University, George Mason, Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins, Boston University and a number of Korean universities, such as Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Incheon University and Gacheon University.

Korea Times, The, 2012.05.07 17:14, "Policymakers still favor coastal reclamations" by Tim Edelsten, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2012/05/137_110487.html

Korea Herald, The, 2012.04.30 10:27, "To boost tourist rush", Editorial, http://view.koreaherald.com/kh/view.php?ud=20120430000263&cpv=0
[Selected quote] On the official level, careful study needs to be made as to whether more casinos should be opened at Songdo in the Incheon Free Economic Zone on a proposal to make it a second Macau.

Maritime Professional, 2012.05.04 3:59, "Incheon launches into expansion mode" by Greg Knowler, http://www.maritimeprofessional.com/Blogs/Far-East-Maritime/May-2012/Incheon-launches-into-expansion-mode.aspx
[Selected quote] Here's a question for US ports: Would it be possible to get planning approval to reclaim 220 square kilometres of land? Nope is probably the answer [...] Despite [Incheon] being just an hour's drive away from the city that houses half of Korea's population and produces half its GDP, the Incheon Port Authority handles only 28 percent of the seven million containers generated in the metro area. Incheon port's problem is that it can only handle ships with a maximum size of 4,000 TEUs. This rules the port out of any long haul services, and even on the intra-Asia trade the vessel size is increasing as larger vessels cascade down from Asia-Europe. The port also has a shortage of logistics space [...] By 2014 Phase 1 of Incheon New Port will be up and running, adding six berths along 1.6km of quay that will be able to accommodate vessels of up to 10,000 TEUs. By 2030, 25 container berths are planned and four general cargo berths. Two logistics complexes are also under construction. But does Korea really need a new deepwater port? Busan in the south is the country's busiest container handler and surely all the growth at Incheon will come at the expense of Busan. Incheon Port Authority president Kim Choon-Sun disagrees. He reckons the roles of the two ports will not clash. Busan will continue to perform as a predominantly transshipment facility while Incheon will benefit from increasing trade with North China and the attraction of long haul lines. That is probably correct in the long term, but when Phase 1 of Incheon New Port opens in 2014, there no argument that it will provide a far better solution than trucking boxes for six hours to get them to or from a ship. Here are the container numbers expected by Incheon: 2011 -- 2M TEUs, 2012 -- 2.1M, 2014 -- 3M, 2020 -- 5.4M.

Korea Times, The, 2012.04.17 17:43, "Restoration of tidal flow for Saemangeum" by Tim Edelsten, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2012/04/162_109158.html
[Selected quote] "No matter how far you have gone down the wrong path, turn back" is ancient wisdom. Ideally Saemangeum should be returned to its natural state, while it is still possible to do so -- in line with other nations, who are endeavoring to reverse their reclamation mistakes. Interestingly, "ecological restoration" was the title of a recent government symposium, hosted by the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Environment last November (2011). However there was no discussion about restoring mudflats, fisheries, or the Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Instead, more infrastructure was proposed: cycle tracks and parks. It seems the current concept of "green growth" does not include protecting biodiversity, and all this despite the fact that Korea had publicly signed commitments at the Ramsar Convention and the Convention of Biological Diversity. A limited tidal exchange, maintained until at least September 2011, allowed for significant shorebird concentrations, including several Spoon-billed sandpipers. A few people still harvest a small, simplified catch of shellfish in these damp areas. However, sluice gates have since been shut to allow for construction of the inner dykes. For Saemangeum development plans to garner any environmental respectability, a significant area of tidal mudflat must be restored and safeguarded. What is most urgently needed, however, is to restore at least some tidal flow, to relieve water quality and maintain biodiversity.

Korea Industry and Technology Times, 2012.04.09, Interview with Incheon Mayor Song Young-gil: "Incheon is Moving to Business Hub of Northeast Asia" by Lee Kyung-min, http://www.koreaittimes.com/story/20841/incheon-moving-business-hub-northeast-asia
[Selected quote] Q: World renowned economists stress that the national growth engine depends on the use of ocean resources. Would you introduce Incheon City's vision to develop the area's marine resources? A: The Incheon coast is one of the world's top five mud flats. We need to develop the city's marine industry by properly using the mud flats and surrounding sea. The fishery sector is changing from a fish-catching primary industry to a secondary and tertiary industry due to the process of marine products, and improvement of distribution channels. We also plan to develop a marine general tourist estate by utilizing the sea and various ocean leisure tour programs. In addition, Incheon City is moving to develop the well-being green industry using seaweeds and launch the ocean's bio energy research & development project as a means of creating value added chains and expanding the income of the city's fishing workers. [Emphasis added]

Making It Magazine, 2012.04.04, "Songdo International Business District: Building the architecture for green growth -- Soogil Young [Presidential Committee on Green Growth ] explains how the Republic of Korea is leading the way in de-linking economic growth and environmental degradation", http://www.makingitmagazine.net/?p=4510

China Daily, 2012.03.27 07:33, "Arable land idle as farmers work in cities" by Cheng Yingqi and Jin Zhu, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-03/27/content_14918222.htm
[Selected quote] With farmers moving to cities amid fast urbanization, China has 7.6 million hectares of idle land that could be used as farmland and land for construction, a study has found. "One-fourth to one-third of land in traditional agricultural regions is not in use, being occupied by empty houses and abandoned farmland," said Liu Yansui, author of the report and a researcher with the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The number of rural residents could fall to 280 million by 2020, from 300 million now, according to the report issued on Monday.

Stony Brook University -- Press Release, 2012.03.19, "SUNY Korea Welcomes Inaugural Class of Graduate Students: Funded by South Korea, classes are in session for students pursuing SUNY Stony Brook Graduate Degrees in Technology & Society and Engineering", http://commcgi.cc.stonybrook.edu/am2/publish/General_University_News_2/SUNY_KOREA_WELCOMES_INAUGURAL_CLASS_OF_GRADUATE_STUDENTS_printer.shtml
[Selected quote] [...] located at the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) [and] funded by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the IFEZ, and the Metropolitan City of Incheon, the SUNY Korea partnership makes SUNY the first foreign university to have a permanent physical presence within the global university in the IFEZ. [...] The SUNY Korea partnership has been awarded funding under a Ministry of Knowledge Economy grant entitled "Fostering Premium IT Professionals." The total grant is for approximately $50 million for 10 years, and SUNY Korea will work with the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), a top-notch engineering university in Hyoja, for a 20 percent allocation of the grant.

Korea Herald, The, 2012.03.14 19:33, "Incheon to bid for U.N. Green Climate Fund [Secretariat headquarters location]" by Choi He-suk, http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20120314001015

Times Beacon Record, 2012.03.14 16:38, "SUNY Korea opens its doors: Sister campus of Stony Brook University offers graduate degrees" by Brittany Wait, http://www.northshoreoflongisland.com/Articles-News-i-2012-03-15-91667.112114-sub18235.112114-SUNY-Korea-opens-its-doors.html

China Daily, 2012.03.08 08:13, "Oil giants looking to add capacity, stockpile zone to port of Tianjin" by Zhou Yan, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-03/08/content_14783619.htm
[Selected quote] [Yu Rumin, chairman of Tianjin Port] said the port is too small to accommodate additional LNG terminals. He said the port nonetheless plans to build one or two such terminals after 2015, when the southern part of the port will be expanded eastward through land reclamation.

Korea Industry and Technology Times, 2012.03.06, "A Look into the Smart City [Korean Ubiquitous City (U-City) plans at Sejong city, Incheon, Seoul Yongsan International Business Zone, Busan, Ansan, Naju, Namyangju, Yeosu, and Pyeongchang (host of the 2018 Olympics Winter Games)]" by Kim Sung-mi, http://www.koreaittimes.com/story/20111/look-smart-city

George Mason University News Desk, 2012.03.05 10:50, "Faculty Senate Endorses Songdo Proposal, with Reservations" by Robin Herron, http://newsdesk.gmu.edu/2012/03/faculty-senate-endorses-songdo-proposal-with-reservations/
[Selected quote] At its meeting on February 29, the Faculty Senate voted to endorse the proposed Songdo, Korea, initiative, subject to two conditions. The issue was studied by the Faculty Senate's Academic Initiatives Committee, which found that the proposal for a Mason campus in Korea "does have merit." The conditions are: (1) That deans of the colleges or schools that offer degrees in Songdo certify that the programs will meet all requirements for graduation, and that the sequence of courses will satisfy prerequisite requirements for the major degree program. (2) That the senior vice president certify that the program in Songdo will be self-supporting and financially viable beyond the initial five-year subsidy period.

China Daily, 2012.03.03 08:00, "Keep a red line for arable land" by Yang Liangmin, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-03/03/content_14745950.htm
[Selected quote] Some local people have even reclaimed parts of Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province and Dongting Lake in Hunan province during their dry seasons for planting in order to gain subsidies from the government. And a campaign has been launched in parts of Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan and other provinces in the Yangtze River valley to convert lakes into farmland. Such shortsighted behavior has played a role in helping keep the country's cultivated area from drastically decreasing and contributed to its continuous agricultural harvests, but such actions only offer temporary benefits and are likely to have catastrophic environmental and ecological consequences in the future.

Information Age, 2012.02.23, "IBM, Cisco and the business of smart cities" by Pete Swabey, http://www.information-age.com/channels/comms-and-networking/company-analysis/2087993/ibm-cisco-and-the-business-of-smart-cities.thtml
[Selected quote] Back in 2005, through his philanthropic organisation the Clinton Foundation, the former US president [Bill Clinton] challenged network equipment maker Cisco to use its technical know-how to make cities more sustainable. As a result, Cisco dedicated $25 million over five years to research the topic, spawning what it called the Connected Urban Development programme. This involved working with the cities of San Francisco, Amsterdam and Seoul on pilot projects to prove the technology's potential. In 2010, when Cisco's pledge to the Clinton Foundation expired, it launched its Smart and Connected Communities division in order to commercialise the products and services that it had developed during the programme. [...] Cisco's smart city projects so far range from brownfield projects -- such as a partnership with the Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York to improve rail and station monitoring -- to greenfield sites such as Songdo, an entirely new, sustainable city being built on reclaimed marshland in South Korea. [...] "We always take an ecosystem approach," explains Cisco's [Gordon] Feller. "In some cases, there might be just a few partners. In the case of Songdo, our partners include the local economic development agency, the national government, the local steel giant and an urban developer."

Dredging Today, 2012.02.22, "Guangzhou Dredging Lands YETDZ Reclamation Project (China)", http://www.dredgingtoday.com/2012/02/22/guangzhou-dredging-lands-yetdz-reclamation-project-china/
[Selected quote] CCCC Guangzhou Dredging Co., Ltd. won [...] the auxiliary port and steel industry park in Yingkou Economic and Technical Development Zone (YETDZ) [Liaoning, China], with a contract value of 1.14 billion yuan, a construction period of 569 days [and] a reclamation area of 2.6 million square meters, the project involves revetment, cofferdam, temporary breakwater, land forming and Angang Steel's water channel reconstruction works.

Dredging Today, 2012.02.16, "China: Third Harbor Engineering Nabs Dalian Linkong Land Reclamation Deal", http://www.dredgingtoday.com/2012/02/16/china-third-harbor-engineering-nabs-dalian-linkong-land-reclamation-deal/
[Selected quote] [In the] Jinzhou Bay Sea Area [...] western side, the revetment is 6433m long, with reclamation area of 6.22 square kilometers, reclamation volume of 87 million cubic meters, dredging volume of 25 million cubic meters. The construction period will last for 24 months, with contractual value totaling RMB 3.815 billion.

Beijing Review, 2012.02.13, "Not So Paradise Islands: Unregulated land reclamation threatens China's marine environment" by Li Li, http://www.bjreview.com.cn/nation/txt/2012-02/13/content_425165.htm
[Selected quote] Longkou, a coastal city located in the northwest of the Shandong Peninsula and on the southern bank of Bohai Bay, is embarking on an ambitious expansion plan. A chain of seven artificial islands with a total area of more than 35.2 square km, almost two thirds the size of New York's Manhattan Island, are being created by filling the ocean with tons of earth and stones quarried from a nearby hill. The sea in the area that is currently being reclaimed averages 7 meters in depth. The entire operation will require a 440-million-cubic-meter landfill and the total estimated cost of the project stands at around 20 billion yuan ($3.17 billion). [...] Building artificial islands in order to enable cities to expand also avoids destroying farmland, which is strictly protected by the Central Government. To ensure food security, China has set a "red line" to guarantee that its arable land never falls below 120 million hectares, making it difficult for local governments to expand municipal boundaries to include the surrounding countryside. It also allows local governments to skirt the issues that normally accompany land expropriations in urban areas, such as compensating home-owners and demolishing existing buildings. [...] "Extravagant profits are driving this craze for reclamation," said [Liu Hongbin, Professor, China Ocean University, Qingdao, Shandong], noting that the cost of filling varies from 450,000 yuan ($71,349) to 4.5 million yuan ($713,490) per hectare, while earnings can be as high as 100 times the cost. [...] "Apart from subsidence, earthquakes and tsunamis also pose serious threats to buildings on reclaimed land," said Yang Guanxiong, a former geographical researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

China Daily, 2012.01.13 07:33, "Fishermen ride wave of discontent: Depleted stocks mean catch is harder to come by, Cui Jia and Liu Ce report from Shandong and Liaoning provinces", http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/china/2012-01/13/content_14435394.htm
[Selected quote] Bohai Sea, where Shidao port sits, used to have 70 types of marine products with commercial value, according to a study released in July by Tianjin Bohai Sea Marine Products Institute. Pollution and overfishing have cut that number to 10. "China's overfished and depleted waters are forcing Chinese fisherman farther and farther out into sea, where they are running into more and more trouble with Korean coast guards." [said Li Yongkai, deputy director of oceanic administration of Rongcheng city].

Korea Times, The, 2012.01.08 17:13, "Still time for Songdo City to protect biodiversity" opinion by Tim Edelsten, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2012/01/137_102458.html
[Selected quote] Tidal flats play an important role in sustaining healthy environments and marine ecosystems. A 2006 study by the Korean Ocean Research and Development Institute found that the average economic value of mudflat (mostly due to its fisheries) was over [US]$32,000 per hectare annually. Assessing Incheon's tidal flat in 2007, the Korea Environment Institute found that just one hectare provided $27,972 of benefits in water purification, and sequesters 10 tons of carbon per annum. The economic and ecological value of tidal flats was also well-known in 2000, when Incheon publicly committed itself to its "Charter for Tidal Flat Preservation." Despite this, Incheon recorded the largest loss of tidal flats of all South Korean localities between 2003 and 2008 -- an area of 33 square kilometers.

Korea Herald, The, 2012.01.04 19:30, "Lotte to set up shopping complex in Incheon zone" by Shin Hyon-hee, http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20120104000631

the network: Cisco's Technology News Site, 2011.01.04, "Cities of the Future: Songdo, South Korea -- Episode 1" by Wendy Tanaka, http://newsroom.cisco.com/feature-content?type=webcontent&articleId=630153
[Selected quote] South Korea is one of the world's most densely populated countries. When the Songdo project began in 2001, there was no available land to build it. Fifteen hundred acres had to be reclaimed from the sea.