제주평화연구원

The Pride of Asia, Jeju Island – Its Future Value

  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="151"] Ko Sung Kyu
ex-Executive Director, Investment Planning & Promotion Div., Jeju Free International City Development Center[/caption] The Jeju Special Self-governing Province has seen rapid increases in the number of tourists and migrants following substantial Chinese investments in recent years and has posted higher economic growth than other provinces in the nation as a result. Nevertheless, the island province is suffering from serious growing pains: rising land prices, reckless development disrupting the environment, and a housing shortage and traffic jams. Consequently, the residents are unable to enjoy the benefits of the economic growth in their daily lives. Responding to the effects of this growth, civic and academic circles have started a discussion on the environmental carrying capacity and tourist quota system. If the future is what we choose and not just what is given to us, the “future value” of Jeju Island is a matter of choice and might also become an ultimate goal in and of itself. Jeju province is now at a crossroads to choose its future value.   1. The Definition of the Future Value of Jeju   Future value is measured by adding the returns over a certain period of time to the present value. For a community, the future value plays a significant role as a compass in the course of decision-making on sustainable growth policies. If the community fails to produce viable strategies and policies for growth and reach a consensus on the policy, the opportunity cost would outgrow the returns, thus lowering the future value below the present value. Therefore, it is important to identify the fundamental characteristics of the intrinsic value of the island to minimize the opportunity cost, including the social costs, and maximize its future value.   2. The Fundamental Characteristics of the Intrinsic Value of Jeju   The intrinsic value of Jeju means the value Mother Nature has endowed the island with, irrespective of the people on the island.   (a) The Inherent Characteristics of the Geographical Conditions of Jeju   The location of a regional community has a definitive influence on the fate of the community. The three Northeast Asian countries, Korea, China and Japan, form a gigantic economic bloc whose economic size, population and trade volume account for more than 20 percent of the world. Seoul in Korea, Shanghai in China, and Osaka in Japan are economically and culturally vibrant cities, and Jeju Island is located at the center of the triangle the three cities form on the sea.   The island located at the intersection of the pan-Yellow Sea economic zone and the trans-Pacific economic bloc sees the clash of the continental force and oceanic force, as it occupies a strategic position as an outpost from which the continental force can advance to the Pacific and also as a gateway for the oceanic countries to the Asian Continent via the Korean peninsula.   Singapore and Hong Kong, the island countries neighboring a continent that was once a role model for Jeju Island, had an advantageous position as a gateway to the continent and as a transportation hub, but Jeju Island has better inherent conditions, as it could serve as a park, resort, shopping mall and convention hall shared by the people of the three Northeast Asian countries.   Therefore, Jeju residents should be aware of the fact that the Korean island can serve as a front garden for the people of the three countries, and such a geographical characteristic is a significant constant factor for the island’s growth. They should also be tolerant, open-minded and generous toward the people from neighboring countries and the world while maintaining their own identity.   Thanks to these geographical features, the island may play the role of a catalyst to promote Korean unification and produce the future value of the peninsula in the post-unification era in the most ideal case.   (b) The Characteristics of the Island Similar to a “Limited Edition”   It would not be an overstatement to suggest that Jeju Island has an intrinsic value similar to a “limited edition.” The various ecospecies in clean air and water of the island are natural treasures that are regenerated but should be constantly protected. The treasures are valued because of their scarcity which enhances their value all the more, which is the reason why I likened them to a limited edition. Jeju Island is like a limited edition that gives its owner a greater sense of satisfaction and pride.   If we regard the entire island as a national park, the residents of this island must be chosen, blessed people. They are living on the island enjoying many kinds of benefits in the national park without paying any price to be free from the noise, chaos and pollution of cities. They only enjoy the benefits of the clean and beautiful nature. It is the privilege given by the island to the islanders. It is a sorry fact that the residents and leaders of the island community fail to develop strategies and marketing tools to make the most of the intrinsic value of the island. For instance, the “one plus one investment immigration system” which grants permanent residence to those who invest more than $500,000 in the island’s real estate and quantity-oriented tourism policy are foolish policies that sell off the island’s future value at discounted rates. They also lack a strategic mindset that enables them to perceive the island itself as an exhibition hall or a promotional booth. There are little efforts to utilize the exhibition hall that annually accommodates 15 million tourists staying for an average of three days to return the tourism revenues to the residents.   3. The Future Vision of Jeju: Asian Pride   “A happy community of Jeju Island” is the core concept of the future value and the vision of the island, though it might be described in other words or terms.   An international free city, the government-initiated vision for Jeju Island, is an outdated vision which other leading global cities have already achieved. The incumbent local government led by Governor Won Hee-ryong redefined the core value of the island as cleanness and coexistence in its pursuit of the new vision called, “Jeju for coexistence of mankind and nature.” However, the vision, described with overly static terms such as cleanness and coexistence, is in need of future-oriented dynamic connotation. I would like to suggest that cleanness be interpreted as “respect for nature” following the concept of Natural Capitalism, and coexistence as “growing together” which is true to the principle of mutual growth.   Jeju Island is more like a rough diamond than a treasure island. A cheap rough diamond may turn into a valuable gem with a price a thousand times higher than a raw stone after being finely cut and artistically designed. Likewise, the island should rediscover its future value by designing itself under creative development policies combining its inherent value with the future value.   Given the earnest efforts of the residents, the island could become a “resort destination for healing, business and shopping” for the people of Korea, China, and Japan and those who visit these three Asian countries in the near future. I do hope that Jeju as an island of peace would also become ‘The pride of Asia’ beloved by all Asians.