Songdo is one of East Asia's newest cities, first beginning in the '90s. It is built on reclaimed land off the coast of Incheon. With some buildings completed, some still under construction, and some far from breaking ground, this place is like if New York and Pyongyang had a baby. The population is small, and residents enjoy all the finest conveniences of a modernist city, minus the traffic.

1.


In 2010, a religious company launched the Bible Expo in Central Park, offering life-size dioramas of scenes from the Bible including the birth of Christ, Crucifixion, the Garden of Eden, and the Golden Bull. Shortly after opening, a typhoon laid waste to the park. They fixed everything up, and it was hit by a second typhoon. Everything was ruined, save for the Golden Bull.

2. A picnic in the Garden of Eden.


3. Fun with crucifixion.


4. That's not the birth of Christ as I remember.


5. Today, much of the land in Songdo is unused, as the city is being constructed in its complete form, rather than starting simple and allowing for development.



6. Streets are still laid out in anticipation for eventual use.


7. Much of this area was built with infrastructure that sat neglected for years.


8. Central Park is located between G-Tower, the building with all the triangles, and Northeast Asia Trade Tower, the prismatic supertall past it.



9. Construction on NEATT topped off in 2009, but it sat empty until finally opening in 2014. At first it was Korea's tallest building, but it's been surpassed by Lotte Tower. Now, it is used as an office building by Posco and the upper half serves as a hotel.


10. When I stopped by to ask for permission to visit the observation deck, I was told there was no observation deck. Despite the fact that they originally had a completion party there. We contacted the building manager, and apparently they couldn't find an operator for the observation deck, so it just sits up there, neglected.


11. The view is pretty good despite the dirty glass. This is looking back toward the mainland. The mountainous area over there used to be a seaside resort area, before it was cut off from the sea.


12. There's Central Park.



13.


14. I was intrigued to hear about Tomorrow City, an exposition boasting robots, virtual reality exhibits, and showcases of futuristic technology.



15. I showed up looking for a tour, to find the place long since closed down.


16. They should've put the smart garden in charge of making this "futuristic" map.


17. Tomorrow City, abandoned.


18. This is the site of Incheon Tower, once planned to be Korea's tallest building at 151 storeys, then later 102 storeys. Apparently groundbreaking took place in 2008 with plans to finish in 2015.


19. Anyway, back in Central Park, I found the path to Rabbit Island closed down, so I guess this is technically infiltration.

Very cool. That would have been fascinating to visit. How many people currently live in the town? See any drains that begged for exploration?

Posted by Herm Very cool. That would have been fascinating to visit. How many people currently live in the town? See any drains that begged for exploration?

November 2012: 60 000
December 2013: 67 000
September 2014: 82 000

I don't have anything more recent, but it still seems pretty empty. Sometimes when a traffic light changes, it looks like there's a lot of traffic, but it's otherwise pretty quiet.

I'm unsure how drainage is handled here, but I don't think it would involve large accessible tunnels. I might get an answer on my next trip there.

I really enjoy your photos. Always interesting places and cool buildings. Thanks for the explanations, i appreciate those! and the view from #12 is awesome.

Posted by Steed November 2012: 60 000 December 2013: 67 000 September 2014: 82 000 I don't have anything more recent, but it still seems pretty empty. Sometimes when a traffic light changes, it looks like there's a lot of traffic, but it's otherwise pretty quiet. I'm unsure how drainage is handled here, but I don't think it would involve large accessible tunnels. I might get an answer on my next trip there.

Damn, that's pretty tiny, I live in a city of 500,000 an we only have two tall buildings in our skyline!

Are there any single family homes or small duplexes/complexes or does everyone live in one of the skyscrapers?

Posted by Herm Are there any single family homes or small duplexes/complexes or does everyone live in one of the skyscrapers?

Single family homes are for poor people and the elderly in Korea. Youre only worth the height of your building.

I love abandoned and decaying structures as much as the next guy, but it's nice to see something completely different once in awhile! This place reminds me of the city in Myanmar called Naypyidaw. It has similarly been built in anticipation of a large population in the future, but few people live there currently. Looks like a very interesting place to visit. Thanks for the excellent photos!

Is this in SK or NK?

Awesome post and write up, thanks for sharing!

love it!

Posted by DJ Craig Is this in SK or NK? Awesome post and write up, thanks for sharing!

He lives in SK. I'm pretty sure any photos you'd see of buildings in NK look like they're in terrible disrepair. As empty as this place is, it's rather well kept.

Man, I'd love to visit this place.

No Craig is seriously onto something with his farcical question, the place has a serious Pyongyang vibe. Architecture up there is way more monumental than you might think. Both cities are intended as showcases to represent the entire nations.

A couple days ago I went back with a few people and we did a more official tour. Central Park was crawling with activity and we stumbled into the local expat bar where a really great country band was playing.

wow.. very cool place !

Managed to get access to a not-yet-opened traditional Korean hotel on the edge of Central Park.



This is in the center of the International Business District.


That night ended in the main foreigner bar where we caught a country band playing, not something you expect to see in Korea.