A twenty-minute drive from Dae Chong Ho, the scenic reservoir that provides water to all of Chungchong, is the Ochang Techno Ville, an industrial park for high-tech industries which will likely serve as model for other such endeavors. Located in a northern suburb of the city of Chongju in Chungchong-pukto (or northern Chungchong), Ochang Techno Ville is nestled in the natural splendor of thickly forested foothills. With such verdant surroundings, the park has the most scenic environment of all the country's state-of-the-art industrial zones. Because it was carefully developed so as not to spoil the natural beauty of the rolling hills surrounding it, Ochang Techno Ville is awash in greenery. It is possible to find oasis-like woods here and there throughout the industrial compound. Instead of levelling the existing environs during construction, Ochang was specially designed to adapt to, and thus preserve, the existing topography and flora. Therefore, it may be considered the proto-typical industrial park in harmony with nature. The Techno Ville was conceived with the aim of blending with the surrounding region while meeting the needs of an industrial zone. In establishing the distribution and systematic organization of the industrial zone area, every effort was made to respect the natural environment. Taking into consideration the needs of the zone to fulfil certain functions and the necessity of being environmentally-friendly, space was allocated to correspond with the special purposes of an ultramodern industrial park. Accordingly, the plan for Ochang involved the following sectors: a research area; a production lot; a business affairs section; a residential area; a park-cum-greenbelt; and a public facilities area. "Because it was developed in a region that has an airport, a excellent road network, a plentiful supply of water, a neighboring mid-sized city and excellent social facilities, Ochang Techno Ville is a full-package deal," said Chungchong-pukto governor, Joo Byung-duk. "It is a cheap investment because the various expenditures that are required during an initial investment phase can be cut by making use of what is already available at Ochang." Governor Joo also pointed out financial support is available for high-tech industrial companies. "Our province will make Ochang Techno Ville into an ideal new city that brings together people, nature and industry in an harmonious fashion," he said. A Magnet for Industry Begun in January 1997 after the Korea Land Corporation committed itself to investing 599 billion won in 9.45 million square meters of land in Chungchong-pukto, Ochang Techno Ville is slated for completion by 2001. Within the land so allocated, 1.099 million square meters has been designated for the research sector; 2.658 million square-meters for the production lot; 400,000 square-meters for the business sector; and 1.174 million square-meters for the residential sector. The communal areas and other miscellaneous facilities comprise 4.091 million square-meters. The types of businesses that will be allowed to occupy the Techno Ville are those in such state-of-the-art areas as electronics, electrical engineering, aviation, materials science, bio-mechanical engineering and optics, to mention just a few. Currently, 48 percent of the space in the production sector has already been leased out. Companies that have already signed contracts to rent space at Ochang include such high-tech industry leaders as LG Semiconductors, LG Electronics, Heesung Wire, Hallim Metal, Yoohan Pharmaceuticals, Kookbo Pharmaceuticals, Rosee Cosmetics, Daisung Oxygen, and Korea Industrial Gas. In addition to its existing two plants in the region at Chongju and Kumi, LG has leased 660,000 square-meters in the industrial zone to build a high-tech factory that will produce the most technological advanced of LG Semiconductors' products: its 256 megabyte D-RAM memory chips and non-memory chips that have a circuit interval of 0.2, and more. Aside from semiconductors, LG is also examining the prospect of producing thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCDs) at Ochang. Yang Hee-sun, head of LG Semicon-ductors' general affairs office explained his companies choice of Ochang Techno Ville for its third factory. "First of all, it is closely located to our semiconductor factory in Chongju, so we can profit because the proximity makes it possible for us to use our existing facilities, workforce and performance power," he said. "Also, transportation is made easy here, and when our distribution center, which is still under construction, is completed, the distribution and transportation system will allow us to become a power force within the region." Mr. Yang also said the clean and reliable source of water from the Dae Chong dam reservoir and the natural beauty of Ochang's surroundings played a part in LG Semiconductors' decision to build a factory in the Techno Ville. The economic crisis that has broadsided the country has had surprisingly little impact upon the building of the Techno Ville. Construction has been progressing according to plan because the project is under the auspices of the central government in conjunction with local regional governments. Together, they are concentrating their resources towards supporting small- and mid-sized businesses, fostering ultramodern industries, and a variety of other initiatives to increase Korea's international competitiveness and ability to attract more foreign direct investment.. Ochang Techno Ville is, in many ways, optimally situated. Only an hour away from Seoul, 30 minutes from the Taeduk Scientific Research Zone, and 10 minutes from downtown Chongju, Ochang has a central location which makes it easy to reach from anywhere in the country. Because of its auspicious position, Ochang is not only highly marketable to potential in-vestors, but is also poised to create and meet demand. Also, Ochang's combination of production and research facilities together with a residential area makes it a city in its own right. As such, the Techno Ville will not only provide support to Chongju city, but will also use the city's administrative apparatus, production facilities, university and research centers to develop into an advanced industry future-oriented industrial zone. At the Center of Things As a strategic transportation hub, Ochang Techno Ville boasts a complete and solid social infrastructure. Located at the geographic center of Korea, the industrial park is close to highways, railroads and airports from which traffic runs in all directions, forming a comprehensive transportation web that links the entire country together. When the planned Complex Cargo Terminal is constructed the web will widen, making it easier to move product throughout the country and greatly reducing the high transportation costs that have been a nagging problem to the Korean economy. Ochang is situated on both the Kyongbu and Jungbu Highway routes, close to a stop on the national railroad, and only four kilometers from the Chongju International Airport (a direct road connecting the Techno Ville to the airport is being built). In addition, research, development and actual production is facilitated by access to support services in all areas including the administrative and financial, as well as in information and communications. Also, by way of providing a basic necessity of industrial production, over 55,000 tons of industrial water from the neighboring Dae Chong Dam water reservoir will be channelled daily to the Techno Ville. To meet the Techno Ville's twin goals of protection of the environment and harmony with nature, a high-capability sewage and solid waste treatment center for the exclusive use of the corporations within the compound will be built. Ochang Techno Ville is the first of its kind to be built in Chungchong-pukto. Other high-tech industrial parks in the planning stage like Wangnam, Chongju, Chongju Techno Town, Kumwang, Maengdong, Iwol Chungpyong and the Koesan Industrial Complexes will be built alongside the Jungbu Highway. When completed, they will form an "industrial zone belt." The central province hopes to build 10 industrial zones around Ochang to achieve its goal of developing an industrial belt based on businesses of the future. Although internationally, the success rate of science and industrial parks is only 20 to 30 percent, Ochang Techno Ville is confident because of its exceptional geographic location and the timing of the project. With their emphasis upon technical skill and constant research development, knowledge-based industries are extremely picky about the conditions of the industrial zones in which they wish to locate: specialized and technical human resources and research capabilities must be of an adequate level; highways, airports and other means of transportation must be easily accessible and well-linked; a market must be available for new products; already existing related businesses must be willing to cooperate and share their accumulated know-how and other invisible assets; and of course, the industrial zone must be environmentally-friendly. Though it is important for industry to be cautious when making a choice concerning location, Ochang meets every criterion. By avoiding the overcrowding of Seoul, the capital, knowledge-based industries can cultivate their international competitiveness in a location like Ochang. Industries which break with the centripetal pull of Seoul and its mindset serve to enhance the positive aspects of economic development, by using the capital's expertise and capital to build knowledged-based industrial zones in outlying regions that have potential for rapid growth. One of the most suitable regions for this type of expansion is Chongju, which neighbors the capital but is far enough away to have its own reserve of research professionals and an existing network of mature support companies. The Chongju area is especially attractive because its vast industrial zones already house cutting-edge semiconductor and microelectronics companies. New entrants to the industrial park and these older businesses will benefit mutually from their proximity to each other. "As the already overcrowded industrial sector of Seoul reaches a critical point, quite naturally, many industrial companies will shift their basis of operations to Chungchong-pukto which is geographically next door to the capital," said Sung Ki-so, chief of commerce at the Chungchong-pukto International Cooperation Bureau. "That is why our province plans to create a 3.757 million square-meter Foreign Investment Zone within Ochang Techno Ville through close cooperation with the Ministry of Technology, Industry and Energy." If the province gets approval to establish a Foreign Investment Zone, then special tax exemptions, buying and selling rights and certain other privileges will be implemented. In addition, the province is drawing up special plans to help foreigners deal with bureaucratic problems they face in Korea. This is not to say the province has not already been successful in attracting foreign investment. As of the end of 1997, there were 108 foreign companies in Chungchong-pukto which had invested a total of U.S. $7.76 billion. The businesses, which are owned by Japanese, American and German parent companies, are engaged in a wide range of industrial endeavors from aviation and machinery to electronics and the electrical sector. With average investment per project at $100 million, most of the foreign-owned companies are small or medium in scale. The Investment Option A discussion within Korea is currently raging about an escape route from what has become known as the IMF currency crisis summed up in the cry: "How can Korea overcome its economic plight? The basic consensus is that increasing exports and thus boosting profits from trade, along with attracting more foreign investment and thereby increasing the inflow of foreign currency, are the best ways to pay off Korea's crippling foreign debt. It is true that there is a general wariness towards multinational companies and a collective gut reaction against hostile mergers and acquisitions. And though anxious demands for counter-measures against foreign intervention within the country are not completely unheard of, no one will deny the absolute need for foreign investment to generate an inflow of foreign currency, create new jobs, introduce new technology and generally improve the economy through free-market competition.  For foreign corporations looking to invest in Korea, Ochang Techno Ville has a particular drawing card in its highly-educated human resources and solid system of cooperation between industry and local educational institutions. Along with the highly-skilled workforce available in Seoul, Taejon and the Taeduk Scientific Research Zone, Chongju City itself has fine universities, top-class employee training centers and specialized institutions for high-tech industrial training, all of which provide a vast pool of highly-educated and extremely qualified workers. Also, the experience and infrastructure of existing semiconductor companies in the area can be tapped in establishing full-fledged investment projects. In addition, Ochang Techno Ville will strive to attract research and development companies that complement the corporations already committed to the industrial zone in order to increase the competitiveness of the entire compound. Finally, it is impossible to put a value on the cooperation between the park's high-tech industrial companies and research centers in exchanging information and knowledge, another intangible asset which truly serves to put Ochang on the investment map.
For futher information by Jae-Kwan Kim
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Chungpoong Myungwol: the name means land of the cool breeze and the bright moon. This poetic-sounding phrase well describes Chungchong province with its beautiful mountains and clear rivers. Under the brightness of a full moon, the province's mountainous landscape assumes an ethereal nature, an other-worldliness further engendered by a cooling, crisp breeze which comes out of the inky blackness to bring shivers to the nighttime visitor.
