Here is an interesting story about how Korea has literally built a city from scratch in their hopes of being a regional business hub in northeast Asia:
A 20-minute drive from South Korea’s main international airport, a new city is rising out of the mud flats at the edge of the Yellow Sea.
Songdo lies at the heart of a $200bn (£100bn) development which its creators hope could reinvigorate the country’s flagging economy.
Growth is slowing in the world’s 13th biggest economy, thanks to the global credit crunch and South Korea’s place on the map, squeezed between low-cost China and hi-tech Japan.
But the government is hoping to turn that geographical position to its advantage and transform itself into a regional business hub for north-east Asia.
Songdo is central to that ambition. [BBC]
What I found most interesting about this story is that the Songdo construction plan was first agreed upon in 2001 and since then massive progress as seen by the above picture has been accomplished. Now compare this massive progress on constructing a new city on reclaimed ocean to the current progress to expand Camp Humphreys which has been hit with delay after delay by the Korean government. The Camp Humphreys expansion was agreed upon in 2004 and if the Korean government gets its way with their delay games the expansion will not be completed until 2016. 12 years to expand a camp and this if USFK is lucky and there are no more delays!
How is it that the Korean government can get an entire city built on what was once ocean faster then expanding a military base for a few thousand soldiers?
Popularity: 3%
:mrgreen:...
12:01 pm on July 4th, 2008 1
Songdo = Private sector and power to decide on issue resoution. I know two of the program managers working there, and decisions are being made by them on all aspects of the project in their respective zones of the project. With the Humphreys, no one can make decisions on the ROK side. Issues linger for months at the ROK MND; hence the decision to spend host nation funds on much of the design and construction. The last I heard, we are looking at possibly making the first move sometime in 2012 and having the site ready for full occupation in 2015.
12:43 pm on July 4th, 2008 2
Foreign capital, I guess, is leaving South Korea. USFK ain’t
1:08 pm on July 4th, 2008 3
So this is a surprise
3:58 pm on July 4th, 2008 4
I have blogged extensively on the local community being cleared away from the land for our “soldiers” to have more land for their “activities” at Humphreys. No matter what your stand on the US occupation here, I don’t think anyone can credibly argue that the troops will be loved here in 2015.
Heck, my dad was stationed here, and I still don’t think its a good idea.
Songdo is a great project, the father of one of my students at Ehdae foreign language womens high school is a lead contractor on the project, and I have often talked with him about it when I go over their place to help Ji-young with her school work.
Shoot the message, not the messenger.
Word.
4:35 am on July 5th, 2008 5
If you can’t see the difference then you shouldn’t be calling yourself a serious commentator.
Songdo is built on the sea, with reclaimed land that got created.
USFK base is to be built on land that’s already occupied by farmers.
One is designed to bring income and foreign investments, the other is just a monumental waste (since long term wise, USFK is moving out of Korea). Why build something if it’s going to be empty and not going to be used in several years time?
4:38 am on July 5th, 2008 6
“USFK base is to be built on land that’s already occupied by farmers.”
which makes everything difficult, having to negotiate and buy up land.
5:59 am on July 5th, 2008 7
People are moved off their land in Korea and the US and elsewhere every year for developmental projects like road or rail construction.
So, the big deal is that it is for a base for those USFK soldiers who are “occupying” South Korea…?
Right….
As for the bases not being used in a few years — IF the US military leaves, it won’t be “occupied” by GIs. It will be “occupied” by ROK soldiers — and if you compare the standards by which the US builds its bases to those of ROK bases, both the Korean soldiers and government will be tickled pink.
But hopefully, one day, the US government will bring our “occupation” forces home….I wish I had a vote on that…
6:28 am on July 5th, 2008 8
The sob story about moving farmers off their land for the Camp Humphreys expansion doesn’t fly with me because farmers get moved off their land all the time in Korea.
A huge portion of downtown Dongducheon for example was knocked down for the subway line expansion there. The number of buildings and land claimed by eminent domain by the Korean government just to build that subway line expansion between Uijongbu and Dongducheon easily dwarfs the amount of land bought by the government around Camp Humphreys.
While they were building the subway line you could see some building that weren’t knocked down from people who were holding out but they were all eventually forced out and Hanchongnyun, PSPD, KCTU, and the rest of the loons protesting the Camp Humphreys expansion could care less.
Also the vast majority of the people around Camp Humphreys voluntarily took the money from the government and moved. The last remaining households were either holding out for more money or actually didn’t want to move. By the time the final showdown happened it was only a few families left that didn’t want to move and then buildings that were emptied were occupied by protesters to make it appear more people were there then there really was.
Camp Humphreys after USFK leaves will be a feature base for the Korean Army. Many of the ROK Army camps in the 2ID area are old US military bases and Camp Humphreys will be no different. That is if the US can ever get out of Korea in the first place.
7:52 am on July 5th, 2008 9
I agree!
Screw those farmers.
Just because a few generations of their families lived on that land doesn’t mean it won’t be put to better use as a golf course for occupying military forces and community “leaders”.
Besides, one Good Neighbor ajuma (technically) introduces more rice to the Korean economy at a lower cost of production (via the Black Market) than any of those rag-tag farmers.
It just makes me want to go back to the States and tear down a little old lady’s house to build a Hyundai car dealership parking lot.
Snarkines aside, does anyone know what the farmers were paid?
Eminent domain compensation in a situation like this is frequently less that the real value of the land… meaning that a small-time career farmer lacking any other skills will find it impossible to purchase equivalent land elsewhere and get back to business… not including the trauma of lost lifetime community ties, etc.
While I don’t know what their compensation was, I suspect it was less than the true value as evidenced by the People From Seoul Who Knew the Plan Well in Advance didn’t purchase any of that property to turn a quick gub’ment payout buck but did buy up a good deal of the Anjung-ri commercial property as well as outlying farmland to build apartments.
GI, there is a difference between moving farmers off their land to build a public transportation system for the benefit of society and moving farmers to build a golf course for a few foreigners and gangsters.
Imagine, if you will, the outrage if eminent domain was used in the States to tear down a retirement community, a VA hospital, a low-income daycare center and a popular strip club, so the Korean embassy could build a dog farm.
Well… maybe not. The only time Americans have violent demonstrations these days is when their basketball team wins… although that might be more like “looting” than demonstrating.
9:03 am on July 5th, 2008 10
Having to work hard for the moral outrage one this one, I see…
It’s just a golf course and useless amenities for the US military….sure….
…all that fat cat stuff to stomp on the peasants….right….
9:32 am on July 5th, 2008 11
Occupying Korea Now that some funny stuff.
Its amazing to me how little some people know what they are saying
9:33 am on July 5th, 2008 12
I don’t have time now to dig through my archives but the land owners were compensated with cash and land near Seosan just down the road. The compensation was based off a formula of how much land they owned. The majority of land owners took the settlement and left and few held out for either more money or legitimately didn’t want to move.
Yes it sucks people have to move but it happens every day in Korea be it for a subway system or to put up a new Home Plus. The city of Uijongbu is literally getting knocked down block by block by developers with hardly anyone batting an eyelid.
The Camp Humphreys expansion is to the benefit of Korean society because a foreign military base in the middle of Seoul will be removed and if the apartment developers do not get their hands on all of it, it will become a huge city park for the citizens of the city. Just imagine the beef protests that could be held there!
Likewise cities in Area 1 are also getting extremely valuable land in return that can be used to create parks and other public buildings for the citizens of those communities.
10:55 am on July 5th, 2008 13
“The Camp Humphreys expansion is to the benefit of Korean society ”
Yeah right. By the time that camp is finished, the USFK would have long high tailed out of ROK. What will be left will be useless high priced golf courses that got built by billions of dollars of Korean tax payer’s money. The same billions of dollars that could have been used to develop cruise missiles and jets that will be needed once the USFK is no longer.
12:38 pm on July 5th, 2008 14
Actually, the Camp Humphreys expansion is marching on at a pretty brisk pace.
6:13 am on July 6th, 2008 15
Kingkitty,
“Occupying Korea Now that some funny stuff.”
Of course it is… with a narrow, Ameri-centric world view, it appears to be satire.
While, snarkiness aside, you and I know that it isn’t an “occupation”, what does it look like to the demonstrators… or even average Korean citizens which might pull themselves away from Starcraft long enough to read some Internet propaganda about it?
When the American military gets the Korean government to take productive land from highly-regarded Rice Farmers to build a golf course, what are Koran citizens supposed to think?
And, USFK “leadership”, on a non-caring two year tour, runs most of their business like this… with little regard for the feelings of the Korean people (except shameless azz-kissing of “good neighbor community ‘leaders’”)… as they expect the Korean government to keep citizens in line and sell the Programs.
Hmmm… and they may be right.
Out of 47 million Koreans, a million or so yelling, “Yankee go home!” with no real effect on America’s interests, apart from some unsold beef and an occasional new roll of chain link fencing, hardly makes the situation worthy of attention… except by bitter Korea-hating Internet whiners.
Anti-Americanism doesn’t spontaneously occur in a vacuum because they “hate our freedoms” or other manufactured soundbite nonsense.
There are valid reasons for it which become blindingly obvious when looked at from a local point of view. And, until everyone is willing to sit down, stop lying to themselves and make an honest appraisal of the situation, there will continue to be Anti-Americanism… and the belief that USFK is “occupying” Korean soil.
6:16 am on July 6th, 2008 16
usainkorea,
“Having to work hard for the moral outrage one this one”
Of course you are.
A lack of empathy is one of the defining signs of a sociopathhe.
Just because you breezed into Korea, made a lot of money “teaching” substandard English and zipped back to the States to get a job based on your “teaching experience”, doesn’t mean life is so easy for settled farmers who lack your education and experience just because you won the English Speaking Whitee Man’s Lottery and they didn’t.
(By the way, congratulations, fellow winner.)
6:17 am on July 6th, 2008 17
It is incredibly stressful and difficult to uproot a lifestyle based on generations of tradition and move to a new and unknown piece of land where it will take time and hard work to learn how to coax the maximum amount of rice each harvest… while having to hold important family meetings in an unfamiliar place. Etc.
Keep in mind, before the hating starts, I’m not making any point as to the long-term rightness or wrongness of this expansion for USFK, the Korean government and the Korean people… because I don’t know.
6:19 am on July 6th, 2008 18
I am saying these farmers have had a very traumatic incident occur in their lives and the majority of posters here are smartazzes about it instead of showing sympathy and generosity to unfortunate people who have had a difficult time through no fault of their own…
…but that is likely a reflection of general character… as I notice a lot of posters here tolerate, and even make excuses for, other facets of USFK corruption and general crapinesss.
6:21 am on July 6th, 2008 19
Sorry for the broken down post… just trying to test the limits of the rather arbitrary and unpredictable spam filter…
I finally found the word that was holding up the post… I just can’t believe it.
8:20 am on July 6th, 2008 20
It’s really hard not to empathize with the farmers. My Great Grandfather was kicked off of his farm and paid a pittance for it during WWII. The government took it, and a whole bunch of others’ land, to make way for a military training area, which is now a State Forrest by the way. Today, families are still trying to get fair compensation out of Uncle Sam, but in my opinion it’s never going to happen.
9:09 am on July 6th, 2008 21
Chickenhead…..Chickenhead!!….bemoaning smartazzes….
You sound like you’re talking about some third world country half a step away from the stone age rather than an advanced industrial nation whose bread and butter is exporting industrial products around the world.
And I guess if USFK was nothing more than a few stops on the PGA tour, your recurrent use of “golf course” to justify your big hearted empathy, you might have something.
I have looked at things from enough of Korea’s point of view:
My wife’s family was moved out of its homes twice within 2 years recently. Once to make way for a road. The other to make way for a few more Hyundai apartment buildings.
Both times, they got money for the house (which they owned) but not for the land (which they didn’t). Both times, they had to make due with a little less on the new place they moved to.
It sucks being moved off your land — but it happens. It happens in Korea, the US, any industrialized nation on the planet.
It certainly isn’t unheard of in Korea. We’re not talking about some underdeveloped nation where the evil GIs are burning down hooches.
So, what makes the removal in Pyongtaek so immoral? Because it is so a bunch of whities can play golf?
If that’s what you need to believe to pat yourself on the back for being so empathetic with Koreans, and put down other expats as ignorant and cruel to accomplish the same, I guess that works for you….
9:15 am on July 6th, 2008 22
THEY ARE RUNNING OUT OF DIRT
12:54 pm on July 6th, 2008 23
lol Mike!
The golf course, if it’s ever built, will be one of the very last things to be built. And if it is, the Koreans will get Seongnam GC back, which is an absolutely beautiful course in one of Seoul’s most expensive areas. I’d much rather drive up there and play than to play on a course on the Pyongtaek River. Ugh!
Sure, I empathisize with the farmers, just as I do with my Great Grandfather for having lost his land in WWII, but imminent domain happens all the time for a lot less worthy causes, imho anyway.
12:56 pm on July 6th, 2008 24
^^
in WWII“during WWII”