May 31, 2002 - May 31, 2012

Ten years ago this very day, 2002 FIFA World Cup kicked off in the brand new Seoul World Cup Stadium. Defending champions France lost to Senegal 0-1, before drawing 0-0 with Uruguay in Busan, and conceding 0-2 to Denmark in Incheon.

I had tickets for each station of the cross, including ICN and CDG: Les Bleus and I shared the same flight back to France. But I never felt sad, because this excuse for a team didn't deserve to go any further.

Furthermore, there was happiness all around. With that growing red wave about to engulf the whole country.

Frankly, in the years and even in the months ahead of that kick off, I really doubted the event could turn out to be a major popular success. Soccer was by no means the national pastime, and you couldn't feel any fervor build up.
Then, on June 4, South Korea won its opening game against Poland - the country's first victory ever in a World Cup. Massive celebrations followed, each time greater and more impressive. Far beyond victories and qualifications, a complete nation was on the streets, sharing moments of pure happiness for the whole world to see.




Dae-han-min-guk. Korea, united in peace. This side of the DMZ at least.

That was 10 years ago.

Whatever happened to that 2002 spirit?

Seoul Village 2012
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FC Seoul Expats Day

A perfect weather, a friendly atmosphere, a lively game with five goals... total success for this second edition of the FC Seoul's Expats Day !

Thousands of expats were invited by the club, Seoul Global Center, and 10 Magazine for an afternoon of animation and a K-League clash between FC Seoul and Daejeon Citizens at the Seoul World Cup Stadium (a very special place for me : I attended its inaugural game, the 2002 FIFA World Cup opener - a stunning but well deserved victory of Senegal over France -, or the last confrontation between ROK and PRK) :

Gathering all communities for a festive moment, there's no better way of promoting the club, the league, and the game. The club hosted the event wonderfully, from the organizers backstage to the fans in the tribunes to the players on the field.

Beyond Seoul's own trio of Expats Dejan Damjanovic (three goals for the Montenegrin), Adilson (impressive coverage by the Brazilian), and Mauricio Molina (even in a mediocre day, the Columbian managed to score the final goal), the whole team delivered a very convincing game, leveraging on a strong defense, a swift midfield, and diversified attacks. Daejeon players too felt in a giving mood, offering a few gifts, starting only a few minutes after the kick off with an assist to Damjanovic for his first goal. Park Sung-ho could have played a bit faster to bring more danger, but the Citizens never gave up. Even a little tension at the end of the game didn't spoil the mood : the referee promptly exposed a few cards matching his yellow jersey, and after all, the game itself was not supposed to be friendly.

4-1. This glorious day brings FC Seoul closer to the play-offs (preferably with a ticket for next AFC Champions League - and another K-League title ?), and to a more than ever international audience.

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PS : thanks to Korea4Expats for the tickets !

DMC aims at Tinseltown - welcome to Hallyuwood !

In L.A., ex-Gobernator Schwarzie is willing to get back to the studios. In Seoul, the D.M.C. is flexing its own muscles, aiming at global stardom in the movie industry.

We've already seen how committed the city is to transforming this former foresaken area into the country's media mecca ("Seoul Digital Media City tour"). The next steps are already considered and by 2014, the DMC wants to become Asia's Hollywood (or rather Hallyuwood). OH Se-hoon obviously made the most of his recent trip in Los Angeles, where Seoul also signed a MOU for green development (BTW electric vehicles and OLEV technology will also be implemented in the DMC).

KRW 170 bn will be injected into this second phase, adding to the already ambitious master plan (570,000 sqm) the space liberated by an oil storage complex (35,000 sqm) and a driver's license test site (65,000 sqm). If you take the map of our previous focus, the "T" of the DMC will turn into some kind of a fat "M" with the test site under the Western bar (at the corner of Guryongro and Namjido-gil), and the oil complex under the Eastern bar (at the corner of Namjido-gil and Jeungsanro, facing the World Cup Stadium).

The driver's license test center will be transformed into "Seoul Culture Contents Center", some kind of a Universal Studio Seoul urban thema park with a strong focus on virtual reality and 3D. By 2013, DMC 2.0 will boast the world's largest CG complex and propose the complete value chain to movie makers : the capital is already becoming an international magnet but until now, the DMC was more specialized into pre-prod than post-production. Beyond new infrastructures for the whole movie / multimedia industries, Seoul wants to build the equivalent to LA Live, the huge complex operated by AEG on West Olympic Boulevard in Los Angeles, complete with residences, hotels, and a shopping center. Of course, spas are also in the program.

Decades after deserting Chungmuro for Gangnam, Korea's movie stars could be moving back in greater numbers to the other side of the Han river.

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Seoul Digital Media City Tour

I was looking forward for that one : a promotional tour of the DMC organized by its developers, Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Beyond each stop (DMC Gallery, Haneul Park, Nuritkum Square Digital Pavilion, DMCVille, DMC High Tech Business Center), I wanted the big picture and a general feeling : I knew the ambitions, and I saw the area change dramatically over the past few years, but could this Digital Media City fly ?

Even if it's only about halfway towards completion, the answer is yes : the DMC will be a success. For three good reasons : there's a consistent concept, there's a will from all key players, and compared to many Korean pharaonic projects, the progression seems sustainable. We'll know for sure later this year, when new railway connections are opened, and ground really broken for Seoul Lite, the landmark building.

In my mind, the DMC was a little bit like Songdo, an ambitious business oriented new town / pervasive computing utopia, but with a completely different scale and modus operandi :
- the World's most expensive private real estate development ever, Songdo, stretches over 6 million square meters, partly on a polder off Incheon, and is operated by Gale International and POSCO. The Songdo International Business District (IBD) has a strong trade and convention flavor, with the ambition to become a Northeast Asian hub, illustrated by the NEATT (NorthEast Asian Trade Tower) and the proximity to Incheon Airport. It's a brand new city targeting pioneers.
- the DMC covers "only" 570,000 square meter and is operated by Seoul city within the city limits, in Mapo-gu. It is meant to become the national cluster for media and entertainment industries. A significant portion of tenants are migrating from previous sub-clusters.

In spite of the global business climate, Songdo and the DMC are not competing against each other, but both expect completion in 2015, and both are supposed to inaugurate a landmark skyscraper that same year : the 151 Incheon Tower (151 floors, 601 m) in Songdo, the Seoul Lite (133 floors, 640 m - 540 without the antenna) in the DMC. Also, both present massive green lungs : a big central park in Songdo (bonus: a golf course), the World Cup Park in the DMC (bonus: the nearby World Cup Stadium itself).

Does size matter ? Definitely, but Songdo is a complete city built from scratch, and the DMC a city within a city, whose size and focus make things easier. For instance, Songdo boasts 80,000 apartments compared to 8,000 for the DMC (6,000 have been delivered, 2,000 will be later this year), but that's without taking into account major urban developments just a few hundred meters away : Susaek New Town in Eunpyeong-gu, Gajaeul New Town in Seodaemun-gu. Songdo boasts a Yonsei University branch and a foreign school and the DMC will "only" claim the Japan School in Seoul, but there are already many universities and foreign schools in a close distance.

In the DMC, if only half of the buildings have been completed, 82% of the land has been attributed and 42 of the 51 lots sold (this maps spots the place for sale in this big "T"). About 300 companies already moved in, creating 23,000 jobs (80,000 targeted by 2015) and for the moment, 43% are in IT, 38% in Media & Entertainment, and 13% in services. The M&E proportion is expected to rise with the arrival of the big fishes.

Because the business success is guaranteed. All the industry's major players have decided to join the party : TV broadcasters (KBS, SBS, YTN, MBC... ), press groups (DongA, Chosun Ilbo, Hankook Ilbo, Seoul Daily, JoongAng Ilbo...), entertainment majors (CJ E&M is already there...). If you wonder what "old" medias will do there, consider this : press groups are already internet giants, and recent changes in media regulations make possible (and more than probable) aggressive moves and further concentration into the broadcasting arena. No wonder IT and telecom companies are also taking positions : LG Telecom, LG CNS, Trumpf Korea, and Pantech are here, and many others are likely to eventually open a branch there.

Everything is done to nurture the whole media, entertainment, and IT convergence ecosystem :
- Seoul Metropolitan Government provides key enabling infrastructures : a DMC R&D Center (Business-University Collaboration Research Center), a DMC High-Tech Industry Center (low cost lease space), and DMC Ville (serviced residences for foreigners, with SH Corporation). Seoul Business Agency animates the ecosystem and facilitates the emergence of a strong DMC identity.
- the Korean Government also plays a role in the national cluster : the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism operates a Culture Content Center (Korea Creative Content Agency, Korean Film Archive) and a Digital Magic Space (Korea Creative Content Agency), the Ministry of Knowledge Economy the Nuritkum Square (the National IT Industry Promotion Agency, where visitors can experience the future of converging technologies).
- business federations joined the party : the Korea Electronics Association is moving in, and the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business operates a SME Global Center
- among other 'convergence' tenants : the Korea German Institute of Technology (KGIT), a digital game stadium, movie and animation studios, the Korea Film Museum...

Now what I saw yesterday was a city in the making, with people living, walking, eating in restaurants, enjoying the shade of the trees on the streets... very much ahead of other places under complete renovation because the business is already there, there's a clear purpose, and a clear roadmap for the next steps. This is not a new town, but a neighborhood with all the ingredients. The only thing is that the Northern half of the "Digital Media Street" - the curvy road in the bar of the "T" - is not yet constructed, which kind of creates a buffer zone of empty lots (the DMC's DMZ ?) between the center and the subway stations. The railways themselves are another frontier, and I hope something will be done to cover or bury them, for a seamless connection and better synergies between Sangam-dong and Susaek-dong. Even though, the DMC is a self-sustaining concept, and very well connected to Seoul and beyond.

3 train / subway stations serve this area :
- North : Susaek Station, Gyeongui Line (built in 1906 to link Seoul with Pyeongyang)
- East : World Cup Stadium Station, Line 6
- at the Northeast corner : DMC Station, the same two lines + AREX, the express line to Incheon and Gimpo airports. The AREX connection will be inaugurated by the end of 2010 : the trip to both airports will be even quicker, and the line will go up to Seoul Station.

The Southern frontier of the DMC is the World Cup Park : a green ocean which used to be the Nanjido landfill, a stinking disgrace completely metamorphosed ahead of the 2002 World Cup. One could almost talk about a Green Cluster now : first comes Najicheon Park, then the two hills of Noeul Park ("Sunset Park", West) and Haneul Park ("Sky Park", Center), plus the Pyounghwa Park (East, connected to the World Cup Stadium), and to the South, between the Gangbyeon Expressway and the Han river, the Nanji Hangang Park. Nanji meaning "orchild" and Nanji-do "orchild island", the name used to be a joke when the place was covered with garbage. But yesterday, at the top of Haneul Park, overlooking the DMC, the Stadium, the other side of the river, I could hardly believe how this previously forsaken place was blooming with nature.

The Mapo-gu I knew 20 years ago has dramatically changed, an industrial nightmare evolving into a greener and more service oriented district. Of course, many neighborhoods have always been charming and lively, but the "gu" long suffered from its key location as a logistics hub : a Western gate to the capital city, Mapo is a major entry point for ships (Mapo actually owes its name to a ferry crossing the Hangang), and a major axis for ground transports. The main road bordering the DMC, Susaekno, leads straight to Goyang to the West, and to Gwanghwamun to the East : on the way, it becomes Seongsanno (between Yonsei and Ehwa Universities), and then Sajikno, Yulgokno... City Hall is only 7 km away, Yeouido 5 km, and the nearby expressway provide shortcuts to Northeast Seoul (Naebu Expressway), and both sides of the Han river (ie Gangnam or the future Yongsan IBD via Gangbyeon Expressway).

Location, focus, purpose, strong political support... all key success factors are here. Over the next years, this new cluster might suck quite a few businesses from other parts of the city (ie Mok-dong for TVs, Yeouido for LG, downtown for press groups), but in Korea more than anywhere else, natures abhors a vacuum and one shouldn't worry for them*.
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DMC's website : dmc.seoul.go.kr

* I'm being ironic here. New Towns are never a zero sum game.

A World Cup Bridge for 2015

Just kicked off : the construction of the World Cup Bridge (월드컵대교) on the Hangang, between Mapo-gu (North) and Yeongdeungpo-gu (South), and between Seongsan Bridge (East) and Gayang Bridge (West).

This 30.7 x 1,980 m shoot will prolong Jeungsanno, a road that cut between World Cup Stadium and World Cup Park, so now you get an idea where the name of the bridge comes from.

The name of Jeungsanno comes from its mountain of origin : Jeungsan, in Jeungsan-dong, Eunpyeong-gu (it continues even further Northwards as Yeonseono). The road follows a stream, Bulgwancheon, and Subway Line 6 until Susaek Station, now the new Digital Media City. A few hectometers were added when the stadium and parc were built, but Jeungsanno stopped right in front of the Han river, waiting for a bridge to come : a big diving board hovering over the main entrance to Seoul from Incheon Airport (Gangbyeonbukno highway), and Nanji-Jigu riverside park.

On the other side, World Cup Bridge will land in Yeongdeungpo-gu in Yanghwa-dong, with a branch stretching Eastwards to Yangpyeong-dong, where traffic will merge with that from Seongsan Bridge on the way to the Seobu / Western Expressway (서부간선도로). Another branch will go Eastwards, cross Anyangcheon, and reach Gangseo-gu at Yeomchang-dong, where it will join another major axis : the road to Gimpo Airport, Gonghangno ("airport road").

If you're lost with all those gus, dongs, and cheons, the big picture :
- the World Cup Bridge will be delivered in 2015, and cost KRW 334.5 bn
- a lot of traffic will be diverted from Seongsan Bridge, easing the way from Gimpo and Incheon to the World Cup Stadium, DMC, and Eunpyeong.
- more asphalt loops and noodles ? you betcha. Cars still rule, but this new bridge does include bike lanes.


Seoul Village 2010