Gyeonggi Province Investment Division announced

 
A super-advanced virtual reality system boasting “monstrous” capability of was released on February 1^st.
 

Do you know the game name “SimCity”?
 
The city construction simulation game “SimCity” has been attracting gamers around the world. In this game, a player can construct buildings, pave roads, and dig holes in the ground for water piping in any chosen place. What would you say if SimCity were not a game but reality? You can start virtual construction using 3D technology on an actual piece of land anywhere in Gyeonggi Province. Then, when investors make a decision, this can become…
 
Reality!
 
A businessman in New York, 20,000 km away from Korea, takes out his laptop and glances at a site in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. After navigating several pages just as he does for Internet shopping, he makes an instant decision, saying “OK, this is just the place for our company’s building,” without even landing on Korean soil.
 
Is it really possible? Maybe, the Gyeonggi Province Investment Promotion, which is officially released today (February1^st), can make it come true.
 
The location analysis system “secures sufficient database for it to be operated immediately”.
 
Location analysis data at can be accessed a glance. You can get an aerial view of industrial complex construction, current resident companies, and future space availability. You can even view publicly notified individual land prices or land sites at a touch.
 
By now, other media will also have received the press release and prepared articles. I have been fortunate enough to be able to pass on to you the detailed information about the system by attending the launch presentation in the conference room of the Gyeonggi Province Promotion Division a few days ago.
 
The system is based on technology that collects all the information required to obtain optimal results, such that a businessman can use it if he wants to erect a building, acquire a factory site, or even open a theme park in the province.
 
Up to now, investors, whether at home and abroad, have needed to continually search new information due to constantly changing location requirements and collateral circumstances, struggling with a mountain of real estate data and visiting several sites many times over. But from now on, those investors, using this system alone, can and make their choice as conveniently as buying clothes online.

Database development is naturally an issue. However, the Gyeonggi Province Promotion Division is confidently saying, “The system is fully up and running and is completely operational now, with data for 31 cities and counties already secured.”
 
A location requirement like “69 km from Incheon International Airport,” can be viewed just like a strategic map in a battlefield military headquarters.
 
How many miles from here to the rear lines? How long will it take to move logistics and soldiers?
 
Management in a modern society is rather like war. In particular, an investor is just like a military commander who looks at the map and sets up a strategy. The employees working with him share their destiny. Depending on the commander’s skill, can be winners or losers.
 
The more I look at it, the more I like it. The map was made from aerial photographs (GIS) of Gyeonggi Province, and its accuracy is really impressive.

What about a business like import and export, where the emphasis is on exchanges among people? You can calculate the straight line distance from Incheon Airport to the site you’re considering investing in. Furthermore, you can check the transportation network in the vicinity. Accurate information on transport conditions is among the details taken into account.
 
 
Suitable for computers, smart-phones, and tablet PCs. Also, available on any OS.

The system can be accessed by anyone without the need for membership, just by visiting the “Global Inspiration GyeongGi-Do” homepage. Ko Tae koan, a staff member of the Gyeonggi Province Promotion Division, asserts, “There are no restrictions regarding devices or operating systems.”
 
“Identical interfaces and outputs are provided for both iPad and smart-phone, and regardless of the OS.”

Kim Jong-suk, the deputy director in charge of investment policies in the same department, who also has contributed to the development of this system, made it clear that conditions at home and abroad have been taken into account from the outset.
 
“In the U.S., Chrome is in very popular due to the influence of Google. On the other hand, Safari is the mainstream web browser for smart-phones. Firefox users cannot be ignored either. Considering these circumstances, the system was designed to be implemented without any entry barrier for OS or device conditions.”
 
He also explained that the smart-phone OS is also immaterial, whether it is Android, iPhone, Google Phone, or Symbian. However, this is not the only feature aimed at attracting foreign investors.
 
National feelings have also been taken into account, with four different languages and four different display colors being made available.
 
I find it interesting as a reporter to look at these features, just as much as the technical aspects.
 
Currently, four different languages are available for the portal site of the Gyeonggi Province Investment Division. Korean is provided by default for domestic users, plus English, Japanese, and Chinese. We may expect more languages to become available later, like French. However, at the moment, the information can be provided to European investors in English only; Japanese and Chinese were adopted first because the investment rush from those countries is as strong as from English-speaking countries like by the U.S.

The portal site offers much more. The average Internet connection speed was analyzed by country, and different platforms (list type, default type) were configured. For the home page, even the favorite colors for different countries were analyzed and installed. We can see that preparations have been extremely thorough!
 
Blue, the color used by Gyeonggi Provincial Government, is used for the Korean homepage. It was found that Koreans generally prefer cool blue or white with a touch of ivory.
 
Can you see the difference between Chinese and Japanese? Even though both people prefer the red, Chinese prefer red mixed with a touch of yellow, whereas Japanese prefer bright red.
 
Taking into account findings of preference for light green and light blue, green is used in the English version homepage.
 
However, the surprises do not end here.

Just a touch will open the door! Preparations for mobile investment.
 
In the early 2000’s, this type of desk was frequently talked about as a thing of the future. This would be the first time for me to see such a desk in reality.
 
When we softly tap an object like a smart-phone, name tag, or cube with a QR code on the screen, an afterimage appears. Just as when a device is inserted into a USB port, related information appears on the screen.
 
This desk is a piece of advanced portable equipment. Unlike the connection type system we used in the past, this system enables a presenter to visit a location chosen by an investor and deliver a presentation. If this system had been available 20 years ago when analog devices were being replaced by digital devices, it would have been called a “magic box”!
 
Although Windows 7 is still the standard, Windows 8 is now attracting more and more attention even though it is still an “incomplete” OS, since the touch interface is the mainstream of the future. Actions shown on this desk give us an impression of analog emotion, as well as a hint of what the current online system will evolve into.
 
I came to wonder if all this might be just a “castle in the air”. However, precise and detailed information is provided; analysis of site information like an area can be completed within a few seconds, and an area around the spot touched becomes the focus of information provision.
 
The virtual reality maps are obtained from satellite images provided by MS. We can see the entire province and its 31 cities and counties in detail. Even though there are some images like military restricted areas blurred for security reasons, the public areas appear so clear that I can feel that I’m sitting on a cloud like Goku.
 
This is the largest area of output. Residential areas, green belt, roads, and even the shadows of trees in the street are captured accurately.
 
Gyeonggi Province’s masterpiece, of with a budget of 1.2 billion, and a one year 8 month development period. “This is a world first.”
 
Kim Jong-Seok, the deputy director in charge of investment policies recalls when the development of the system began.
 
“It was May 2011 when the governor returned from an official visit to China, and said that we need a system for foreign investors to access information related to real estate as well as business investment. After that the system was under planning for one year, and a KRW 1.5 billion budget was secured. Actual development started from May 2012, and took 8 months in total. Up to now, a budget of KRW 1.2 billion has been secured.”
 
When I asked him whether any other cases had been benchmarked, he answered “No.” There has been no system in Korea that has pursued technical completeness and precision up to this level. In particular, the GIS based on Internet maps is the first of its kind in Korea. He continued cautiously, “I haven’t found any similar systems in the world yet. Maybe, we might have developed the world’s first system in this area.”
 
“There have been similar attempts. Gangwon and Jeonnam Provinces attempted to develop navigation-based GIS, but they experienced some glitches. We have succeeded in developing a portal system and have achieved today’s success.”
 
More general applicability is expected. For instance, it could be helpful for students studying Business Administration.
 
The system released today also has something interesting to see for the public, besides investors at home and abroad. For example, if we search “Suwon,” the history, population, and status of this city are displayed like in an encyclopedia, which means that the system can also be utilized as a learning tool.
 
Basic general knowledge can be provided to students of Business Administration. Currently, the Gyeonggi Province Investment Promotion portal points out that the main industries of Gyeonggi Province include semiconductor & display, automobile manufacturing, BT, renewable energy, tourism digital contents, and logistics and distribution. This information is posted for foreign investors who are not familiar with the domestic situation. However, the information shown includes the province’s industrial and economic foundation. For instance, with reference to the status of car manufacturing, the portal provides information on manufacturers and parts suppliersin the province.
 
Positive responses are expected from investors at home and abroad. For example, even though the textile industry, which was the leading export industry in the 1970’s, is seen as having a downward tendency, it continues to be a significant sector part of the Korean export industry. Textile factories located in the past in Seoul and Daegu have moved to the northern part of Gyeonggi Province, and a new textile cluster complex is being created. One spokesman commented that “We expect continued movement of textile companies to the northern area. Any company considering moving can search for an appropriate site using this system.”
 
We can cautiously foresee that depending on its achievements, the system can make a new historical mark in the investment environment of the metropolitan area. As the scope of its utilization is so diverse, we will watch with interest how the system will develop in the future.
 
One more comment to add! This system might be just one case of Internet portal extensions where we will be able to witness continuously evolving technologies.

New version of Gyeonggi FDI system is now available online!
http://invest.go.kr/en/index.jsp#