KoreaToday Yeongam Prepares for Roar of F1
The race track for the 2010 Formula 1 (F1) Korean Grand Prix is under construction in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province. More than 90 percent of the public works project is done. Once completed, it will be the largest sports venue in South Korea. / Courtesy of Korea Auto Valley Operation
By Matt Flemming
Staff Reporter
In just over a year from now, the Formula 1 race series will roar into South Korea for the first time ever. Construction on the nation's largest sports venue in Yeognam, South Jeolla Province, 320 kilometers south of Seoul, is well underway with the track, grandstands and pit lane starting to take shape.
The multi-million dollar project, the first ever international race track in the nation will allow more than 130,000 spectators to watch the race. It will come at a serious price - 340 billion won. But the venue is expected to be home to seven Korean Grand Prix races over the next seven years and hopefully, for race organizers, beyond. It's being billed by organizers as Asia's best race track and a potential symbol for a nation that has shown over the last quarter century that it's not afraid to hold major sporting events.
The World Motor Sport Council held a meeting in Paris on Monday where the provisional schedule for the 2010 Formula 1 season was announced. The first ever Korean Grand Prix is slated for Oct. 17, and is one of eight races ― along with the Bahrain, Malaysian, Chinese, Singapore, Japanese, Turkish and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ― held in Asia on the 19-race calendar.
In 2006, Formula 1 approved South Jeolla Province as a site for a race in the 2010 season, to be operated by a partnership between the provincial government and private firm M-Bridge Holdings. Construction began a year later.
Kim Jae-ho general manager of marketing for the Korea Auto Valley Operation (KAVO) said of the 340 million won price tag, 200 million won comes from financing and the rest will come from the government. Kim told the Korea Times that the track is "52 percent complete, officially."
"The public works is more than 90 percent done. For the track, we have only paving left. The outline of grandstands and pit can now be observed."
Construction on the facility began in 2007 and is slated for completion next July.
Once the finishes touches are done, the result will be a 5.615-kilometer track with a 1.2-kilometer straight away, which will allow speeds of up to 320 kilometers per hour.
"Usually a track has patterns for down-force and high-speed. Our style is combining both," said Kim.
Formula 1 racing has become one of the biggest sporting events in the world, and a big part of the appeal is speed ― something KAVO chief Chung Yung-cho hoped the Korean track would emphasize.
"We will do our best to build a 'speed mecca' both in name and reality when the track opens in July next year," Chung told Agence France Presse.
German track designer Hermann Tillke has been hired for the project. Tillke is the man behind several F1 track designs and redesigns, including circuits in Shanghai, China; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The facility will cover 1.72 square kilometers along the scenic Yeognam coastline and will have a uniquely Korean flavor.
"The environment will be constructed with the style of traditional Korea. The roof of the main grandstand will have traditional eaves. And around the stadium, nine Bongsoodae, a traditional fire alarm, will be constructed."
Of the 130,000 fans expected for the race, organizers say about 14,000 will be coming from outside of Korea, including about 3,000-4,000 staff.
The rest will be coming from around the country and Kim says one of the biggest challenges KOVA faces will be convincing people that Yeognam isn't that far away.
"With improvements to transportation, the real distance is not that far. It's that people perceive it to be a long way away."
"The Muan International Airport opened last year. It takes only 20 minutes to reach to race track from there. In addition, it takes less than 30 minutes from train station to race track. And now that the high-speed railway has been launched to Mokpo station, it takes about three hours from Seoul. When the whole track is converted to high speed, it will take only two and a half hours."
The race will be a boon for tourism in South Jeolla Province and preparations are being made to accommodate all the visitors. People will have the option of "temple-stays" at Buddhist temples, and there will be shuttle buses from the temples to the track, providing visitors with a cultural experience to go along with the weekend of racing. Many of the other stops on the F1 circuit have festival atmospheres surrounding the race weekend, and the Yeognam race will be no different, complete with concerts and parades.
KOVA has an agreement with Formula 1 to hold seven races over the next seven seasons, with the possibility of a five-year extension beyond that. Kim said the event is expected to begin making a profit after two or three years.
In addition to the F1 race, the facility will be used for three other international events and 20 other domestic events, including races that were previously held at two other tracks, as well as other sporting events and performances. The track will also be used for testing.
While Korea has hosted major sporting events in the past, such as the Seoul Olympics in 1988, the FIFA World Cup in 2002 and Asian Games in 2002 and 1986 but this will be first opportunity for the world's sporting eyes to be on South Jeolla Province.
Provincial governor Park Joon-Young says the track will have a significant impact on the region and the nation as a whole.
"I believe the track will become an icon representing South Korea," Park told Agence France Presse.