Have you heard of the smartest city in South Korea, using drones for quarantine, and operating resource circulation stores for eco? There's more!
Seongnam City is located immediately southeast of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province. The city has a population of 940 thousand people (4th in Gyeonggi Province) and a size of 141 square kilometers (18th in Gyeonggi Province).
The first modern planned city in Korea, development of Seongnam was conceived in 1973 to industrialize the nation through the concentration of electronic, textile, and petrochemical infrastructure. The city has also featured a well-developed road network connecting it with Seoul and other major cities on the peninsula from the early 1970s onwards. Today, Seongnam is integrated with the metropolitan networks of the Korean capital region.
Bundang, one of the districts in Seongnam, was developed in the 1990s to disperse Seoul's population and relieve congestion in the capital region. The Korean government has provided stimulus packages to large public corporations and private companies that situate their headquarters in the Bundang district, which is now home to prominent companies such as KT (formerly Korea Telecom). Pangyo Techno Valley, a district in Bundang, is also home to many business-leading IT companies such as NAVER as well as large game companies like NC and NEXON.
The city is also home to the K League football club Seongnam FC, which plays in the K League 1 (1st division). Founded as Ilhwa Chunma FC in 1989, its name was changed in 2014 when the club was sold to the Seongnam City Government. The club has won seven national league titles and two AFC Champions League titles. Former English Premiere League player Kim Do-hyun (in West Bromwich Albion, 2008/2009 season) used to play in this club.
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| Dolmagag at Bundang Central Park ⓒGyeonggi Province |
Current Policies and Industries
Quarantine Drones
Seongnam City's policy of using drones during the COVID-19 pandemic was broadcast on the BBC's tech news program "Click” in the episode "The Race To Save Lives", where it was introduced as an advanced example of using drones as part of pandemic countermeasures.Air quarantine using drones can be undertaken in areas inaccessible to vehicles and workers, and the downward draft of drone propellers can facilitate the disinfection of large areas. Also, by using drones, direct inhalation of disinfecting agents by workers can be prevented.
Of particular note, the disinfectant dispersion rate of drones is about 50 times higher than that of other methods, making disinfection easier and quicker while supporting social distancing measures between disinfecting personnel and the public.
Smart Resource Circulation City
Seongnam City, for the first time in Korea, is operating the “re100(100%)" resource circulation store in cooperation with environmental groups.
The city aims to become a smart resource circulation city. To that end, it will allocate a total of KRW 177.3 billion for the construction a waste disposal facility capable of processing 500 tons of waste daily on the site of the Daesangwon-dong garbage incinerator. Once the plant is completed, the stable incineration of domestic waste as well as the supply of heat to the district will become possible.
In addition, various resource circulation initiatives are being pursued, including the construction of large-scale waste facilities, the establishment of an integrated environmental management system, the revision of food waste disposal fees for apartments, and the production and distribution of promotional materials for foreign residents.
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| The Cathedral of Saint John has a replica of Pieta sculpture by Michelangelo in the world ⓒGyeonggi Province |
Latest News and Action Plan for 2021
2035 City Comprehensive Plan
Seongnam City announced on June 8 of 2020 that Gyeonggi Province had approved the "2035 Seongnam City Comprehensive Plan," which would now see full-fledged implementation. The plan is a top priority that coincides with Seongnam's future image and mid to long-term development plans.Seongnam City has also set its urban future goal of becoming a "global city of communication and harmony." To that end, it has established integrated urban space infrastructure and a global economic foundation, and it also plans to create regional customized infrastructure.
Of particular note, the global economic foundation has been prepared through the creation of an “Asian Silicon Valley,” the core of which is Pangyo Techno Valley, which currently houses many companies. This will be further advanced with Pangyo Techno Valley 2, which is currently under construction.
Such techno valleys are important because of the high-tech industries they support. Although traditional manufacturing industries are on the decline, IT companies operating in Pangyo Techno Valley are actively investing in the improvement of their capabilities. Large-scale development projects are expected to be actively carried out, and industrial and residential demand is projected to increase due to expectations for the creation of the 2nd and 3rd Pangyo Techno Valleys. Such efforts have enabled the area to firmly established itself as "Korea's Silicon Valley" and has accelerated its emergence as a key hub for the 4th Industrial Revolution.
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