The move was made under the vision to transform Jeju into a truly international city, just like Hong Kong and Singapore, with free flow of people, goods and capital.
If the Special Governing Province is to make headway like a cruise, however, it is important for Jeju to have stable financial backing. Presently, Jeju's financial self-reliance is reported to stand at about 34%, far lower than the nation's average of 54%. Such a financial status has prompted some people to have concerns that Jeju's so-called Hongapore project will end up as a rosy dream that cannot be fulfilled.
People have also voiced concerns and pointed out that the special law for Jeju is not any different from other similar legislations and that it should be amended. In the process of drafting the special law, too, Jeju has requested liberalizing the air traffic and the complete opening of the education and medical services market. Despite such wishes by Jeju, however, the attempt has failed due to conflicting interests. And yet, these stumbling blocks don't seem to be an enough reason to be any pessimistic for those working on the frontline.
'The so-called Hongapore Project aims to make Jeju a free international city,' says Kim Tae-hwan, governor of Jeju, 'But, this does not mean that we should follow the footsteps of Hong Kong and Singapore in full.' In contrast to Hong Kong and Singapore that were able to make independent and integrated systems as nation states, Governor Kim says that Jeju, being an integral part of Korea, will gradually expand its autonomous rights and selectively promote core industries. 'By doing so,' he said, 'we plan to develop Jeju into an environment-friendly, free international city possessing characteristics unique to Jeju.'
In an age when well-being has become the catch phrase that illustrates the 21st century, Jeju has become synonymous to the image of cleanness. Jeju Samdasoo, a mineral water brand, is now an unrivalled leader in the domestic mineral water market. In less than a decade since it appeared on the market, it became one of the top 100 brands in Korea. With a long-term goal to make inroads into the global market, too, Samdasoo has embarked on a research to industrially use the volcanic seawater that is rich in health-giving minerals such as vanadium, germanium, and selenium.
In the meantime, nine companies in Jeju were selected in June this year as export hopefuls by the Small and Medium Business Administration for having competitive edge in BTrelated products, such as Korean blackberry wine and citrus chocolates as well as those made of healthy ingredients such as chitosan, oligosaccharide and microorganic compounds. In the IT field, too, there are diversified efforts, such as the Digital Island Jeju project launched to make Jeju a haven for IT businesses.
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