Gangwon Province's free economic zone authority is in talks with the UK's St Paul's Girls' School over a long-stalled plan to establish an international school in Donghae's Mangsang District 1 — a project that has drifted for 13 years amid repeated setbacks, missteps and the absence of any overarching development plan.
The prospects are far from certain. In 2018, authorities signed a cooperation memorandum with a Canadian partner on attracting a foreign educational institution to the Mangsang zone, only for the deal to fall apart.
Skepticism runs deep for several reasons: over the past 13 years, development of the free economic zone itself has repeatedly stalled as designated project operators dropped out and had to be replaced; rumors have persisted for years that officials from a previous administration improperly influenced key policy decisions; and the basic conditions for residents and businesses — the urban ecosystem that any school would need — remain absent.
According to officials Thursday, the Gangwon Free Economic Zone's Donghae Mangsang District 1 is a project covering roughly 3.77 million square meters in the Mangsang-dong area of Donghae, with between 600 billion and 700 billion won ($464 million) earmarked to develop a resort complex, foreign educational institutions, residential facilities and tourism amenities. The zone was first designated and publicly announced in February 2013, and the plan has undergone minor revisions over the 13 years since.
Educational institutions generally move into an area only after a full urban ecosystem — housing, transport, business infrastructure — is in place and people are actively planning to relocate there. Mangsang District 1 currently lacks that ecosystem.
The free economic zone development project in Mangsang District 1 has remained stalled due to the absence of a realistic, actionable plan, persistent controversy and allegations of irregularities.
Many observers say the questionable policy decisions cited in recent years are matters that audit and investigative authorities should examine.
The stated goal is a "global smart mixed-use city," but the to-do list is long, and many people are skeptical that a school would end up standing alone on a coastal site of more than 3.3 million square meters with nothing else around it.
Earlier, in 2018, authorities exchanged a cooperation memorandum with Canada's CMIS on attracting a foreign educational institution to the Mangsang zone. An official from Manitoba's Ministry of Education responsible for approving international schools attended the signing ceremony, but the arrangement ultimately fell through.
Given how much time has already been lost, most Gangwon Province residents say they want the project pursued transparently, fairly and rationally — with a clear-eyed reckoning with past failures — rather than rushed forward without regard for the lessons of history.
abc@heraldcorp.com
