By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter
Korea plans to build a robot-themed park in Incheon, west of Seoul, which will house a total of 340 robots that will function in areas such as security, education and health-care, by 2103.
Incheon Metropolitan City announced Thursday at a public hearing that a large-sized complex, dubbed "Robot Land," will be constructed in the city's Free Economic Zone.
"It will be like a theme park, but with futuristic robots. A water park resort, research institutes and universities will also be accommodated there," Jung Myeong-oh, an Incheon official said.
"People will be able to touch and interact with robots when the project is completed. The place will be a tourist attraction as well as an exhibition on robots," he said.
The central government and Incheon plan to spend 59.5 billion won on the project, which Jung predicts will induce private corporations to invest a total of 665.5 billion won through 2013.
Several companies, including Shinhan Bank, LG CNS and Byucksan Engineering & Construction, have already promised to participate. Colleges such as Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology (KAIST) will also be involved.
Incheon is set to break ground for the project later this year and partially open the facility midway through 2012 in time for the Yeosu World Expo 2012, before launching full operations the following year.
"Up to 2.8 million tourists are expected to visit Robot Land every year, which will generate 9.3 trillion won in production and create approximately 19,000 jobs," Jung said.
"Topping things off, we hope Robot Land will open up the commercial market for robots, which is currently too small to encourage developers to focus solely on the field," he said.
Most robot producers have been facing financial problems due to a lack of demand, with consumers reluctant to purchase expensive machines whose features are still limited.
However, things could be different by the time Robot Land launches - by that time, robots may have been developed to a more advanced level and their prices could be lower due to increased production.
The idea of building a pair of robot-themed parks was originally presented by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Energy, currently the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, back in 2007.
In addition to Incheon, Masan in South Gyeongsang Province is poised to set up its own robot complex.