For rent: LEED-certified office space overlooking Central Park, 40 million square feet, fully wired in the latest network technology. Views of Champs-Élysées and the Grand Canal. Includes significant tax breaks.

It might sound like a bogus Craigslist ad, but in fact it’s Incheon’s bet on the international business hub of tomorrow: a $40 billion city built from the ground up, featuring 1,500 acres of state-of-the-art offices, energy-efficient apartments and design elements from around the globe.

The largest private real estate development in history, Songdo City is the most ambitious of a trio of Free Economic Zones created on landfill in Incheon’s bay. Together with Cheongna Entertainment District and Yeongjong Island (site of Incheon International Airport), Songdo City is expected to transform Incheon into a global gateway for Northeast Asia’s largest economies.

It’s no small task for this industrial port city, strategically situated on the Yellow Sea 22 miles west of Seoul. Since opening for trade in 1883 — after centuries of self-imposed isolation — the city helped connect Korea to the outside world. In the 19th century, Chinese traders poured into Incheon, establishing Korea’s first and only official Chinatown. And with one-third of the planet’s population within a three-hour flight, 10-year-old Incheon International Airport consistently ranks as one of the world’s busiest.

But Northeast Asia’s Hong Kong it is not — yet. In 2003, the national government declared more than 50,000 acres of Incheon a Free Economic Zone, whose tax breaks include a flat 17 percent income tax on foreign executives and employees, grants for foreign high-tech investments and no import duties on capital goods. In 2007, Incheon declared itself an “English City,” inaugurating the Free English Zone initiative to raise the level of English proficiency among residents. By 2020, the government hopes Incheon will be a bilingual English Zone where foreigners feel comfortable living, working, shopping and golfing.

In contrast to Asia’s unplanned overnight cities, this 2.8-million-person metropolis is intended to combat congestion, poor air quality and any other ills of modern urban life. With more than $83 billion committed to green investment as part of Korea’s economic stimulus package, President Lee Myung-bak believes the development of eco-cities is key to reducing the nation’s carbon footprint — and positioning it as one of the world’s top green economic powers.

Nowhere are the stakes higher than in Songdo City. Built on what was formerly a marshy bog inhabited by insects and migratory birds, the decade-long project — a partnership between New York-based real estate developer Gale International and Korean steel-making company Posco — is now more than half finished, with< 35,000 of its expected 65,000 residents moved in. The development centers on a 100-acre park modeled after New York’s Central Park, with residences, schools, an International Business District, a convention center and a Jack Nicklaus-championship golf course radiating out.

In addition to a 16-mile system of bicycle lanes and a network of electric vehicle charging stations, the master plan (designed by renowned U.S. architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox) calls for saltwater canals modeled after Venice’s waterways, complete with electric water taxis. Altogether, 600 of the city’s 1,500 acres will be open space — but that doesn’t even begin to exhaust Songdo’s eco ambitions. As Korea’s first fully LEED-certified district, every building will be equipped with solar panels, sod roofs and pneumatic waste collection.

Nor will urban amenities be sacrificed in achieving the project’s green goals. The Incheon Arts Center will house a concert hall, opera house, contemporary art museum, design school, music conservatory and library. Already a city of superlatives, Songdo’s recently finished Northeast Asia Trade Tower is Korea’s tallest skyscraper; upon its completion in 2013, the landmark Incheon Tower will rank as second tallest in the world.

While it hasn’t been difficult selling the dream to Koreans — Songdo’s first few thousand apartments were snapped up within two days of being on the market — skeptics wonder whether the project will draw the foreign corporations needed to succeed. So far, at least, U.S. multinational Cisco Systems signed a multibillion-dollar deal to outfit Songdo with network technology and move its Smart+Connected Communities global headquarters there. And with all eyes on Incheon during the 2014 Asian Games, the host city’s newest facilities are sure to generate an international buzz.

In any case, there’s no turning back on this multibillion-dollar wager. Whether or not Incheon is destined for Hong Kong’s or Singapore’s success, the city’s planners are firmly committed to the conviction that if they build it, you will come.

Diversions

For a taste of Incheon’s colorful history, take a walk through Chinatown (Incheon Station, Jung-gu, tel 82 32 760 7114). Established when Korea opened its ports to the outside world in 1883, it is the nation’s first and only official Chinatown. Stop for lunch at one of the traditional restaurants serving thick, hearty noodles or juicy pork dumplings, then continue up the hill to Korea’s first modern park, built in 1888, Jayu Park (Eungbongsan, Jung-gu, tel 82 32 760 7597).

Incheon’s other major historical event, the Korean War’s Battle of Incheon, took place when General MacArthur landed 70,000 United Nations and South Korean troops behind enemy lines in 1950. Learn more about the tide-turning invasion
at the Incheon Landing Memorial Monument Hall (525 Ongnyeon-dong, Yeonsu-gu, tel 82 32 832 0915) in what is now Songdo City.

After a few hours immersed in the past, get a sense of Songdo’s — and Incheon’s
— future with a stroll through Songdo’s Central Park, stopping
at South Korea’s tallest skyscraper, the Northeast Asia Trade Tower (Songdo Landmark City, www.songdolandmarkcity.com). Down the street, 151 Incheon Tower will rank second tallest in the world upon its completion in 2013.

With more than 150 islands incorporated into its administrative district, Incheon makes the perfect stepping-stone to some of the nation’s best beaches. Launch your explorations from Yeonan Pier (tel 82 32 880 3150), where you’ll also find some of the city’s freshest — and cheapest — seafood. Hop a ferry to one of the scenic West Sea Islands, such as Jagyak Island, two miles north, known for its peonies.

If you’re short on time, experience the seafood and surf at Eurwangni Beach (tel 82 32 751 0015), only a few minutes’ drive from Incheon International Airport on Yeongjong Island. A five-minute ferry trip from the south side of Yeongjong gets you to Muui Island (tel 82 32 751 3354), whose pristine beaches and pine forest have served as a backdrop in Korean films and television. When the tide is out, you can even walk from Muui’s Silmi Beach (tel 82 32 752 4466) to the uninhabited Silmi Island.

The Incheon district’s most popular island for tourism, Ganghwa Island (tel 82 32 930 3114, http://english.ganghwa.incheon.kr), to the north, is most easily accessed as a daytrip from Seoul. Famous for its mysterious dolmen — prehistoric rock tombs — Ganghwa is home to a UNESCO World Heritage site, five sacred mountains and the remains of 13th-century palaces and temples.

CHECKING IN WITH TOM MURCOTT

Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Gale International

WHAT WILL DRAW INTERNATIONAL CORPORATIONS TO DO BUSINESS AT SONGDO
CITY?

It starts with the fundamentals of the Republic of Korea: A stable democracy, an international rule of law and a highly educated and skilled workforce make Korea a particularly attractive market for multinationals to establish and grow businesses. The deciding factor, though, is the unparalleled quality of life that an aerotropolis city like Songdo IBD offers. To compete with other great Asian cities, we have to provide a better living and working experience; this is where the inspired master plan design gives Songdo an advantage.

WHAT IS THE KOREAN RESPONSE TO THE PROJECT?

Songdo IBD exists because of the vision, dedication and commitment of visionary leaders of Incheon Metropolitan City, with strong support from the national government. Songdo IBD and the surrounding Incheon Free Economic Zone exist to create jobs for Koreans and bring economic benefits to the region. As a green city development, the Koreans are particularly supportive of the intent and global recognition that Songdo IBD receives.

WHAT WILL THE DEVELOPMENT OF SONGDO MEAN FOR THE CITY OF INCHEON?

In addition to the 25,000 people working each day in Songdo IBD and the more than 350 domestic and international companies that have relocated to Greater Songdo, the development is the thriving example of Incheon’s commitment to be a leader on the world economic stage. Ultimately, the success of Songdo IBD and its effect on Incheon Metropolitan City will be gauged not by what happens in the next decade but how future generations of Korean and international citizens grow and thrive.