“Leap to Become a Game Mecca City” … Busan City Announces Development Direction for the ‘Former Busan University of Foreign Studies Site’

Development Plan for the Former Site of Busan University of Foreign Studies.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] On the 2nd, Park Hyung-jun, Mayor of Busan, presented the development direction for the ‘former Busan University of Foreign Studies site’ at a press conference and announced plans to develop the area into a ‘game industry hub region.’

The Busan University of Foreign Studies site had been left unused for a long time since the university relocated to Namsan-dong, Geumjeong-gu in February 2014. The site’s neglect was a major cause of the decline of nearby commercial areas and the slumification of the surroundings, leading to regional stagnation.

In December 2019, the city signed a business agreement with the Korea Land and Housing Corporation to promote public development of the former Busan University of Foreign Studies site to revitalize the area.

The agreement faced difficulties last October when Seongji Academy, the landowner, sold the former Busan University of Foreign Studies site to a private developer.

To devise countermeasures, the city held multiple consultations and meetings with the Korea Land and Housing Corporation and made persistent efforts for public development. However, in January, the corporation informed the city that public development was impossible due to changes in surrounding conditions.

With public development no longer feasible, the city presented development guidelines for the former Busan University of Foreign Studies site to the private developer.

The main points include reducing the residential land ratio and increasing the office facility land ratio to revitalize the long-neglected local economy, and ensuring sufficient public contributions to recover development profits. The private developer agreed to actively accept these guidelines.

Specifically, ▲ the private developer will consider reducing the residential land ratio from the original 46.4% to 38% and increasing the office facility land ratio from 18.2% to 39.1%. ▲ To contribute publicly, 12,906㎡ of office facility land will be donated to the city.

The residential land ratio agreed upon in 2019 between the Korea Land and Housing Corporation and Busan City was 38.5%, with office facility land at 31.6%, and 7,500㎡ of public facility land planned for free transfer.

Compared to the development direction negotiated with the private developer, the residential land ratio is further reduced and the office land ratio expanded, ensuring a higher level of public contribution than the public development plan with the Korea Land and Housing Corporation.

Busan City will foster the former Busan University of Foreign Studies site as a game industry hub region.

The city plans to create a Game Content Business Park on the office facility land to be donated, attracting public institutions, research institutes, educational institutions, and private companies related to the game industry to establish a game industry startup ecosystem.

The Game Content Business Park and the city’s vision and policies related to the game industry are expected to create a synergistic effect, enabling Busan to leap forward as a global game mecca city.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun stated, “The game industry is a field with infinite potential,” adding, “It is a key industry accounting for about 70% of the content exports of our country, and with the acceleration of non-face-to-face industry development due to COVID-19, the global game market is growing at an even faster pace.”

The city will strive to prioritize residency for game industry workers in the residential area to be developed on the former Busan University of Foreign Studies site and will also secure as much green space such as parks for use by local residents as possible.

Busan City plans to thoroughly collect opinions through expert reviews, consultations with the Urban and Architecture Joint Committee, and hearings from the City Council once the private developer who purchased the site submits a development plan that complies with the city’s development guidelines.

The city will do its utmost to ensure that the long-neglected former Busan University of Foreign Studies site is developed with public interest secured.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun said, “Busan has sufficient capacity and potential to become a global game mecca city,” adding, “It is already recognized domestically and internationally as the host city of the world-class international game exhibition ‘G-STAR’ and has a systematic game industry development strategy, including the establishment of the game industry promotion vision ‘Game Changer In Busan.’”

The mayor added, “We will foster the former Busan University of Foreign Studies site as a game industry hub region to leap forward as a game mecca city attracting global attention and create another wave of innovation in Busan. We will ensure that development with maximum public interest proceeds to also support the lives of local residents.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.