Chosun Ilbo: "South Coast Economic Zone to Rival Seoul"

About a week or two ago I put in a news feed on my blog for Jeollanam-do and some of its cities. It's down below the links on the right side. Normally nothing good or recent turns up, but I came across this today. An excerpt:

The government will start building a mega economic zone on the south coast later this year by grouping Mokpo in South Jeolla Province, Busan and other southern cities. Tentatively named the Sun Belt economic zone, it will have as big a population and economic power as the Seoul metropolitan area. The government will subdivide the area into three zones: Busan, Mokpo and southern central zone, which clusters together six cities and counties in South Jeolla Province and South Gyeongsang Province. The economic zone will house industrial complexes and research and development parks.

The "related article" found on the above page points here, to a January article that talks about the government's plan to divide Korea into seven different zones. The "Jeolla zone," also the name of a strip joint in San Diego I think, would

link the Saemangeum project with tourist, leisure and corporate cities on the southwestern coast, such as Gwangyang and Yeosu.

Quite a few development projects underway in the area. The Muan International Airport opened last November and should be fully operational this summer. The airport is but one part of the "Namak New City" initiative, which is developing the village of Namak---actually the capital of Jeollanam-do---into a real city that will eventually have a population of 150,000 by 2019. In Haenam county there's a "Tourism and Leisure City" being built, which will have a waterfront park, casinos, hotels, a convention center, and an F-1 racing track. There is another F-1 track going up in Yeongam. There is, of course, the Gwangyang Free Economic Zone and the 2012 World Expo coming to nearby Yeosu and bringing with it all kinds of development. Four Jeollanam-do towns became the first Korean representatives in the Cittaslow movement back in February, and for some reason Naju---fucking NAJU---was named an "Innovative City" last November. Goheung's Naro Space Center is Korea's first, Hampyeong is hosting the world's first butterfly and insect exposition, and Gwangju is currently vying for the right to host the 2013 Universiade. Also some stuff happening around the Mokpo-Yeongam border, but I don't follow what goes on over there. And they have nude photo contests in Shinan.


I can't handle all this innovation.