Large-scale resort complex planned for Gangwon's Mangsang district

The Mangsang district in Donghae, Gangwon Province, is set to build a large-scale resort complex — including hotels, a resort and a golf course — as part of its push to become Northeast Asia's top tourism hub. Meanwhile, Incheon's Cheongna International City will be developed into a media and cultural complex in line with the growing global popularity of K-content.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Monday it held the 149th Free Economic Zone Committee meeting and approved revised development plans for three zones: the Mangsang district of the Gangwon Free Economic Zone, Cheongna International City in the Incheon Free Economic Zone, and the Galsa Bay shipbuilding industrial complex in the Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone.

The Mangsang district's plan was revised to support its growth into a global resort destination and Northeast Asia's premier tourism hub. The updated plan calls for expanding lodging infrastructure using the area's mountains and coastline, developing leisure facilities including a golf course, and offering residency status to investors in tourism and resort facilities to attract more foreign investment.

Under the revised plan, the project timeline has been extended by nine years to 2035. Approvals were also granted for an expansion of the project area and changes to the land-use plan.

Cheongna International City in Incheon will be developed into a media and cultural complex in line with the rising global popularity of K-content. The plan envisions a one-stop support system covering the entire content production and distribution pipeline, as well as a mixed-use cluster linking intellectual property-based cultural and tourism experience facilities. The project timeline will be extended by four years to 2031, and the land-use plan will be revised to facilitate smooth progress.

The Galsa Bay shipbuilding industrial complex in the Gwangyang Bay Area will seek a new path through business model diversification. Building on efforts to identify new business models — including renewable energy and energy logistics — and attract investment, the project timeline will be extended by two years to 2028.

Alongside this, the committee received a report on a proposed amendment to the enforcement decree of the Free Economic Zone Act, which includes measures to streamline support procedures for companies returning to South Korea and to apply differentiated pricing for industrial land supply.

Je Gyeong-hui, head of the Free Economic Zone Planning Division, said the ministry plans to refine development plans to suit each zone's characteristics and conditions, and to improve the regulatory regime, "so that free economic zones can be reborn as the driving force behind regional growth and foreign investment attraction."