HS Seoul, the Global City, Striving to Be Even More Global
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
Seoul is a global city that is striving to become even more global.
Its over-10 million population has a sizable presence of foreign residents among them and the local government is actively engaged in making the capital more comfortable to live and do business in, ensuring that nationality, race or culture are no longer hurdles.
Infrastructure from financial centers to leisure facilities is also being beefed up.
As of last year, Seoul accommodated 255,000 foreigners from 152 countries among 10 million residents. The number of residents has jumped five-fold during the past 10 years from 51,000 in 1998.
Among the different nationalities, Chinese took up three quarters of the total at 193,000. The second largest ethnic group was American with 12,800, followed by Taiwanese, Japanese and Vietnamese.
A survey of 1,000 foreigners in Seoul conducted earlier this year showed that expatriates responded more positively to their living environment than Seoulites did. This is a result of the city's effort to enhance the quality of the foreign community's lives here.
Seoul Global Center
Seoul has designated ``Global Zones'' to provide language barrier-free areas in the city, so foreigners live more comfortably.
They are the Global Village Zones, Global Cultural Exchange Zones and Global Business Zones.
Located on the third floor of Seoul Press Center building near Gwanghwamun, the Seoul Global Center (SGC) is a control tower for the global village centers in foreigner clustered areas.
Alan Timblick, who worked for Barclays Bank Seoul, the British Chamber of Commerce in Korea and Invest Korea operated by KOTRA, heads the center for expatriates here.
The city has also held ``Town Meetings'' since 2000, receiving ideas and opinions from foreign residents.
For instance, during the last meeting in April 2008, the city gathered suggestions on medical services. Foreigners complained about the lack of explanations on health insurance for expatriates and the city explained how they can join the National Health Insurance or visit major general hospitals where their bills can be covered by overseas health insurance.
The 11th Seoul Town Meeting will be held on Dec. 11 on the subject of housing and leisure in the capital, inviting foreign community leaders and other expatriates interested in exchanging ideas to make Seoul a better global city.
The five Global Village Zones ― Yeonnam, Seorae Village, Ichon, Yeoksam and Itaewon-Hannam ― provide administrative convenience and support, organizes foreigners' communities, offers multicultural lectures and events for expatriates. An average of 300 foreign residents goes to the centers to receive assistance.
As the centers are popular among foreigners, the city will establish multicultural village centers to match the needs of migrant workers and multicultural families. The first center opened in Yeongdeungpo in September and the second one will open in Seongbuk-gu, Sunday.
The SGC will move into the global cluster building, construction of which is going to start next March for completion in 2012. The 14-story building will be dedicated to supporting foreigners' lives here.
Staffers speaking English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and more will assist with investment advice and multicultural families' daily difficulties.
Conferences rooms for both Koreans and foreigners, library and medical centers for expatriates will occupy the building as well as galleries and theaters.
``Facilities for foreigners will be divided into those for foreign businessmen and for immigrant workers and multicultural families,'' a city official said. ``However, the global cluster building will provide an integrated service for any expatriates in Seoul.''
Providing Better Environment
Seoul is nurturing Yeouido, where many banking institutions are situated, as a financial hub in Northeast Asia.
The city designated the area as the Yeouido financial district and the construction of the Seoul International Finance Center is underway. ``We will provide economic and administrative incentives to companies or institutions move into the area,'' a city official said.
The area has also been chosen as the Global Business Zone, providing administrative services in foreign languages. The city plans to equip the area with foreigner-only medical facilities, schools and daycare centers.
Other Global Business Zones include the City Hall vicinity, LG Tower area in Yeoksam-dong and the Korea World Trade Center in Samsung-dong.
SH Corporation, a city-affiliated company in charge of housing projects, built DMC Ville, a rental apartment only for expatriates in the Sangam area as well.
The city is also trying to provide better education services, so foreign businessmen can bring their families, especially their children.
As of January 2009, 20 foreigners' school are in operation in Seoul and the city will add three more by 2012. The Japanese school will move to Sangam DMC next August from its current location in Gaepo, southern Seoul. New schools will open in Banpo in next August, Sangam in August 2011 and Gaepo in August 2012.
Seoul's Global Status
As a result, Seoul's improving globalization status is reflected in various indexes.
Seoul marked ninth among 60 major cities worldwide in the Global Cities Index in 2008, rated by consulting firm A.T. Kearney and magazine Foreign Policy.
Foreign Policy defined the index as a list of the world's biggest and most interconnected cities that help set the global agenda on issues such as climate change, and serve as the hubs of global integration. The rankings are based on an evaluation in five areas ― business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience and political engagement.
Other cities on the list include New York, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Seoul was also ranked 35th out of 76 cities in the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) in September, jumping 18 steps in only six months. Supervised by the City of London Corporation and Z/Yen Group, GFCI is a ranking determining cities' position as a financial center twice a year ― in March and September. Thirty-fifth is the eighth highest in the Asia.
Seoul received relatively low grads by the GFCI, including 58th in March. The city decided to raise its international prestige in financial power aiming to become at least 35th in the GFCI. City officials sent out promotional brochures to domestic and overseas financiers and publicized the economic environment of the capital in financial magazines.
``We will keep up momentum by analyzing the result of the GFCI and developing more projects and promotions,'' a city official said. ``We will focus on providing a good business environment for global companies and improving living conditions of foreigners.''
The city emphasized that its effort is not only for foreigners but for the overall growth of the capital.
``Aiming to become a global city does not mean Seoul only benefits foreign residents,'' the official said. ``When Seoul becomes a city where expatriates want to visit, live in and invest in, Seoul will grow economically and socially as well, resulting in better living condition for Seoulites.''