President Park Geun-hye attended a ceremony to open the Jeju Center for a Creative Economy and Innovation and has stressed that Jeju Island, with its natural ecology and beautiful environment, and being one of Korea's top tourist destinations, has huge economic potential in terms of the arts, software and renewable energy.

"I hope that Jeju rises to become a place where an environment of creativity can flourish," said President Park.

"There is a newly coined phrase these days, 'Live on Jeju for one month,' because Jeju Island is one of the most popular places where people want to live," said the president. "Software and IT companies are moving to the island one after the other. People who are involved in the arts are also moving to the island and the size of its creative space is rapidly expanding."

"Look at the fact that 28 percent of electric cars in Korea are operating on Jeju Island, and that new renewable energy industries on the island are also very strong," she added.



"We are trying to combine information and communications technology (ICT), the arts and sports, and to commercialize electric cars and a smart grid, in order to develop Jeju into a 'smart' tourist island and an island self-sufficient in energy. That is why we are opening the Jeju Center for a Creative Economy and Innovation," said the president. "I hope that all Jeju residents, new-comers here who are involved in the arts and companies that have moved to the island can cooperate so that Jeju as a whole can rise to become a place where an environment of creativity can flourish."

"The Jeju Center for a Creative Economy and Innovation will lead the building of such an environment in the arts, tourism and in new renewable energy industries, building on the foundation of Daum Kakao's software and IT capabilities," said the president, referring to the tech company that is headquartered on Jeju.

"With a favorable living environment, this center will pursue connections and a fusion between the arts and software innovators, such as IT companies, on Jeju, in Korea and across East Asia," said the president. "To that end, we will support residence programs for developers in the arts and software industries and for entrepreneurs, along with networking and mentoring programs."

The president said that in addition to the office space available at the center, the government will provide vacant houses and guesthouses on the island for work and residential purposes, and run collaborative programs with the Culture and Creativity Fusion Center in Seoul.

"We will transform Jeju Island into a hub for tourism industry training programs and for the tourism industry more broadly," said President Park. "At the Jeju Center for a Creative Economy and Innovation, we will build a basis for a 'smart' tourism industry in order to reinforce the existing tourism industry. We also intend to provide customized services for Chinese tourists, the biggest source of international tourists on the island, by providing tourism programs in real-time and by analyzing big data."

The president said that Amore Pacific, a makeup company that has successfully commercialized cosmetics using green tea leaves and nutmeg trees, will help establish a second Center for a Creative Economy and Innovation in Seogwipo and support the development of Korean cosmetics and experience-oriented tourism programs.



The president stressed that other key roles of the Jeju center are that it can help transform the island into a center for electric cars and for renewable energy.

"Jeju is pursuing a vision of relying on new renewable energy sources for 100 percent of its energy needs, and replacing all vehicles with electric cars by 2030 through its 'Carbon-Free Island Jeju by 2030' plan, which is an innovative vision," said the president. "The Jeju center will assist the entire startup process, from supporting startups in the beginning through to testing and verifying their technologies. I hope that innovation and new ideas are created and that startup companies in the arts, software, tourism and renewable energy industries will be born here."

By Jeon Han, Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writers
Photos: Cheong Wa Dae
hanjeon@korea.kr