Modern South Korean Developments

While some people might only envision Seoul when thinking about South Korean technological advancements and cultural heritage, the truth is that South Korea has many other cities which have contributed to the country's growth and development. Once one of the poorest countries in the world, South Korea has propelled to becoming one of the planet's biggest economies and a huge point of interest for people all around the globe. These accomplishments were reached with the combined effort of all Korean people, and as such it is important to give credit where its due and explore what Korea has to offer outside of its capital.
Seoul
Seoul - a huge metropolis located in the center of East Asia. The capital and heart of South Korea, it is the center of Korean culture, education and economy. Seoul is also an international hub of East Asia, as well as a popular destination for tourists all over the world. Especially with the increasing popularity of Korean pop culture, Seoul has young people interested as the center of Korea's most outstanding musical, cinematic and other cultural events. The capital and heart of Korea’s culture, education, politics and economy, Seoul offers a myriad of attractions for all to enjoy.
However, it is important to remember that Seoul is far from being the only city in South Korea that has seen significant development. Among such cities are Sejeong, Daejeon, Incheon and many others, which continue to contribute to the economical growth of South Korea, as well as its cultural and technological developments which have led the country towards becoming the 5th largest exporter while having the 11th largest economy in the world.
Sejong
One of the most important cities of South Korea is the city of Sejong. It was named after King Sejong the Great, who is remembered for an era of innovation and technological progress and is most known for creating Hangul, the Korean national alphabet, in 1443.
Such measures were taken in an effort to decentralize Seoul and bring investments into the country's central region. Many have reported about the significance of this move of state agencies further from the North Korean border, as Sejong is located about 121 kilometers south-east of Seoul. However, during his meeting with international journalists as part of the 2019 World Journalist Conference, the mayor of Sejong city, Lee Choon-hee, revealed that the consequential distancing of ministries away from the North Korean border was not one of the motivators for Sejong to be the administrative capital of South Korea, as the difference in distance with Seoul and modern technological advancements make such intentions pointless. Nevertheless, Sejong's government is making big efforts to bring new residents and increase the population of the city, by offering maternity care services, as well as higher financial rewards (1.2 million won/$1,110) for each new child.
Saemangeum
One of the latest ongoing developments of South Korea is the Saemangeum land reclamation project. Located on the Central West coast of the country, this currently bare land is planned to become "Northeast Asia's essential business center" and the hub for futuristic industries, leisure and tourism. It will reclaim an area of over 400 square kilometers of coastal tidelands, which is bordered by a 33.9 kilometer long seawall - the longest seawall in the world registered in the Guinness World Records in 2010.
Among the planned developments on this land are hotels, theme parks, convention centers, malls and other entertainment and business establishments. Saemangeum is also planned to have an international airport to become an international hub of Southeast Asia. With over 14.5 billion dollars already invested in just 6 years, the government is trying to bring in even more companies to work with them by offering various perks like tax reductions, affordable land prices, exemptions on raw imported materials and others. Moreover, their first task is hosting the 25th World Scout Jamboree - an international assembly of thousands of scouts aged 14-17 that has been taking place since 1920. This event is planned to happen in 2023, so Saemangeum and their developers are eager to create the city of their dreams by then.
Gwangju
Due to its history, Gwangju is one of most important places for modern South Korea. This Southwestern city is known for its powerful political history and is considered the birthplace of Korean democracy. The Gwangju Uprising, which took place in May 1980, was a mass protest against the authoritarian military regime of the time, and resulted in up to 606 fatalities from army forces suppressing pro-democratic demonstrations.
The uprising eventually resulted in establishing democracy in South Korea, while the 1980 archives of the Uprising located in Gwangju's city hall were included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. Nowadays, Gwangju hosts the largest and most modern bus terminal, as well as the largest drinking, dining and clubbing district in the country. Moreover, Gwangju is famous for its cuisine, as many South Koreans consider this city to offer the most delicious food in the country. In summer of 2019 Gwangju will also be hosting The FINA World Championships for aquatics sports.
Daejeon
Located in the center of South Korea is Daejeon - the country's heart of innovation and the city of science. Daejeon has the largest cluster of private and public R&D (research and development) institutes and is often referred to as Korea's Silicon Valley. One of its R&D facilities is ETRI - Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, which helped develop 4G LTE-Advanced Technologies, among others, and continues to contribute to Korea's economic and social development through "research, development and distribution of industrial core technologies in the field of information, communications, electronics, broadcasting and convergence technologies".
Other R&D centers of Daejeon include Samsung, LG, Korea University of Science and Technology, and over 200 others. Most of these are located in the Daedeok Science Town within Daejeon, locally referred to as "Daedeok Techno Valley". All of this has led to the municipal government rightfully calling Daejeon a core city of research and development and the heart of Korea's cutting-edge science technologies.
Incheon
While most famous for its international airport that connects South Korea with the rest of the world, Incheon is also a big metropolitan city with a population of almost 3 million people. It serves as a transportation hub not only by air, but also by sea, thanks to its huge harbor. It is a very important city in South Korea and its significance will only continue to increase with the governments’ intents towards its developments.
One of such developments is Songdo International Business District - a smart city built completely anew along Incheon's waterfront. It is set be designed around technology, with computers built even into its streets, and is to feature huge sustainable city-scale developments. Another development is the Incheon Free Economic Zone, which includes three regions of Songdo, Cheongna and Yeongjong, and is set becoming one of the top economic zones in the world.
Afterwords
As one can conclude, South Korea has countless treasures and many developments in its economic, technological and cultural spheres. Sejeong, Daejeon, Incheon and other cities demonstrate that Seoul is not the only source of South Korean prosperity. Tourists might be missing out on remarkable experiences by limiting their visits to the capital only. As such, it is unfortunate that Kyrgyz residents are not yet offered the possibility to apply for a tourist visitor visa for South Korea. However, one can hope that Kyrgyz tourists might get to experience the scales of South Korean developments in the nearest future.
These cities and attractions were introduced to international journalists as part of the 2019 World Journalists Conference in an effort to increase the awareness and knowledge of modern South Korean developments among the global audience.
M.Taabaldiev,
South Korea - Bishkek