New Songdo, the South Korean "ubiquitous city" of the future

Sans flying cars and cold fusion, we were really just starting to let ourselves get acquainted with the idea of living in the future with our 3G and OQOs and what have you—then boom, the South Korean reality check comes and bursts our bubble yet again. Seems they're whipping up a brand new metropolis called New Songdo, a "ubiquitous city" being built 40 miles outside Seoul, which, like the world's largest gadget, will serve as one of the largest integrated technology testbeds ever conceived. Billed as the next stage of development for technology-enabled living, New Songo will equipped with a $297 million RFID research center when completed in 2014, and its 65,000 residents will all have homes with electronic locks, integrated videoconferencing, VoD, and unified systems and services down to details like each resident having a non-identity linked smartcard that transacts purchases, grants entry to mass transit, parking, and opens your front door at the end of the day (uhh). There are some seriously high hopes for the $25 billion project, of course, but we've still got another nine years until they've wrapped up their spankin' new city to see exactly how obsolete this now-futuristic lifestyle setup will really seem.

[Justin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I'm sooooo totally there.

[Justin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I'm sooooo totally there.

[Auri @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Amazing how they can build an entire city for $25 Billion, but we can't even get out of Iraq for less than $1 Trillion.

[Andrew Stone @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

So what you are saying is I... er... somebody could grab one of these "non-identity linked smartcards", go buy everything I want, use it to fill up on gas if i please, and then go back to the card owner's home to cook dinner with all the groceries i just bought?

Putting a little too much faith in our species if you ask me. There better be some sort of back up security for those things. Retina scan or whatever, but yeah.

[Killian @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Too bad they already basically have this in Japan... NTT DoCoMo's "osaifu keitai" has an IC card in it that you can use to purchase things, unlock your electronic door locks, ride the train, etc., not to mention videoconferencing on everyone's cell phone. Sounds like a big waste of money if you ask me.

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

65000 residents?
So, 16-bit addresses will do.
How much of a premium for the oh-so exclusive "0000000000000001 New Songo" then?

[paul @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

#4, it sounds like you're not the right sort of candidate to live in the city anyways. don't project your own faults onto other people. why assume that other people, especially people not in a western culture, would take advantage of the city? i doubt just anyone will be allowed to move in anyways.

[Rusty Shackleford @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Hmm, let's see, this future city features a two-way video screen you can't shut off, universal employment, electronic payments so all your purchases will be recorded by agents from the 'ministry of truth,' perpetual war with the enemy to the north, and every aspect of your social life controlled by the government. It's utopia, I tellya.

I run screaming from it, thank you very much.

"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."
-George Orwell

[jedda @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

"Amazing how they can build an entire city for $25 Billion, but we can't even get out of Iraq for less than $1 Trillion."

That's because in Iraq we are rebuilding an entire nation/region/culture that has been devastated by the backward teachings of militant Islam and murdurous regimes. We're not simply there to "build an entire city"

[daivd @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

65000? That number is too good to be a coincidence. My guess is that the city is supposed to hold exactly 65536 (hmm.. or 65535 to keep from overflowing) residents. Just for techno-geek chiq value.

[Chapu @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Get Wesley Snipes in that town and we'll need the Demolition man to take care of it all. Hollywood made New Songo several years ago. Old news.

[Kang @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

songo is the Cuban rhythm with modern electronic instrument accompaniment. Comparing building a CITY in a 1st world country and occupying a third world COUNTRY with many cites is obviously not the same.

[Mystic Alpaca @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Ever get the feeling the US is getting left behind and becoming technologically irrelevant?

[Ryan Block @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Careful with the topic now, don't make us shut comments!

[Quicksilver @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Well by the time they implement all this stuff it will be older technology. I dont it will work if they even go through. Its bound to be plagued with problems and stuff like this never works. Whenever you do massive technology pushit always has problems. Society accepts technology gradually and we need to be sppon fed. The Market will implement it when it need to

[Spencer Akers @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

by 2014, imagine how much of this technology will be obsolete. they will have to adapt building methods as they go.

[Bryan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

wow 25B for the city of the future or 200B for the big easy...

decisions decisions

(not meaning to be political or get anything shut down)

[Justin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

"Get Wesley Snipes in that town and we'll need the Demolition man to take care of it all."

What seems to be your boggle?

[enzo @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

#3 I was thinking almost EXACTLY the same thing. How come we don't have enough money to go building super hi-tech cities? Oh yeah, because we're wasting it all on an unecessary war.

#11 lol.

[Paul @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Now all we need is all that technology and all those great ideas... but available in America.

:(

[Daniel Nicolas @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I want to live there.

[Lightleaf @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

#9
"That's because in Iraq we are rebuilding an entire nation/region/culture that has been devastated by the backward teachings of militant Islam and murdurous regimes. We're not simply there to "build an entire city"

or

Due to the West supporting the "backward teachings of militant Islam and murderous regimes". Therefore enabling us to go back later and use that $1 trillion of tax payer money to support our false economy.

Imagine if we spent $1 trillion on new schools, infrastructure, new technology cities like the one mentioned here, but no we have to do things covertly and trick the apathetic sheep that we call the American public.

I wish we could build something like this in the US. Why do the Asian countries always have to beat us?

[KC @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

It's actually Songdo, not Songo. You can check out the developer's website at www.newsongdocity.com Be sure to hit the "Movie" link on the home page for some real Utopian bliss.

[alaiN- its french @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Yea just imagine what a natural disaster, like an earthquake perhaps, would do to a beautiful, picture perfect city like this.

[Iago @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

"That's because in Iraq we are rebuilding an entire nation/region/culture that has been devastated by the backward teachings of militant Islam and murdurous regimes. We're not simply there to "build an entire city""

I thought we were there to find those darn WMDs... Oh how quickly we forget.

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

so let me get this straight..

they're building a new city
it's going to be high tech
it's going to populated by korean girls

man, a geek's wet dream

*thumbs down

[Dave @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

The city is called Songdo, not Songo.

See http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.php?artid=1192 for more info

[Richard @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

It's Songdo, not Songo

[duke @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Yes, It's Song-Do ('Song' means pinetree not a song, 'Do' means an island ).

[Galley @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

That's the type of city that Dean Kamen envisioned when he created the Segway.

[TAZ427 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Sounds like it's going to be in Incheon close to the Airport. They've been reclaiming land from the sea in that area for years. That's where the new Internation Airport is located (I had the pleasure of being on a flight there a month after it opened.)

The road inland goes by a lot of landfill area projects where they're reclaiming the land from the sea.

All I got to say is I hope it doesn't sink.

[Manish Jani @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Wanted to make a note here on the name of the city. It has been mis-spelt. The South Korean ubiquitous city is New Songdo, not New Songo. You can check out http://www.new-songdocity.co.kr/ for the horse's mouth!

[Jason Anderson @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Will they build that city on rock and roll?

Someone had to say it. Or just me. I've got Starship blasting out of my iTunes right now. Sorry.

[KAMA @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

uh work has already started on the New Songdo City by the way... all the land has be reclaimed awhile ago

Currently, they started building the Trade Center building and the Convention Center, both of these structures look amazing.. They are also developing residental areas now.. its going to be one hell of a city.. the international school in New Songdo will be established by HARVARD UNIVERSITY..!!