Opening of Jeonju City New Industry Convergence Knowledge Industry Center

Cradle of Jeonju ICT Industry, Anticipated to Promote Activation of New Industry Sectors

[Jeonju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Han-ho] Jeonju City announced on the 24th that it held a completion ceremony for the New Industry Convergence Knowledge Industry Center at the outdoor yard of the Jeonju Information and Culture Industry Promotion Agency in Nosong-dong, attended by Jeonju Mayor Kim Seung-su, Mungyeongwi Chairman Kim Seung-seop, and representatives of resident companies.

The Jeonju New Industry Convergence Knowledge Industry Center was built with a total project cost of 24.3 billion KRW, including 13.7 billion KRW in national funds, covering a total floor area of 9,200 ㎥ with 2 basement floors and 5 above-ground floors.

It is equipped with a total of 29 resident spaces, meeting rooms, training rooms, lounges, and other corporate support facilities, as well as auxiliary facilities such as a rooftop garden.

Jeonju City plans to operate the New Industry Convergence Knowledge Industry Center as a cradle of the regional ICT industry and a hub space for the digital industry by focusing on fostering companies in new industry fields such as blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI).

Seventeen companies selected through the first recruitment process for resident companies are scheduled to move in from mid-this month.

In particular, during the cultural heritage trial excavation and excavation survey conducted during the center’s construction, traces of a moat (a ditch dug around a fortress) related to the Later Baekje royal palace site were confirmed, and thus a symbolic space of Later Baekje history, the (tentatively named) Later Baekje Memorial Hall, is currently being established inside the center building.

Additionally, Jeonju City plans to create the Later Baekje Memorial Hall in the New Industry Convergence Knowledge Industry Center to provide citizens and visitors who visit the center with an opportunity to experience the diversity of cultural industry convergence.

Since 1998, Jeonju City has been creating various facilities on the former ANGBIB site in Nosong-dong to foster local ICT companies.

Currently, within the Jeonju Information and Culture Industry Promotion Agency, facilities such as the △IT Venture Center △Multimedia Technology Support Center △Cultural Industry Support Center △One-person Creative Enterprise Center are established.

With the opening of the New Industry Convergence Knowledge Industry Center, this place is expected to establish itself as an IT cluster leading new industries in the Jeonbuk region.

Jeonju Mayor Kim Seung-su said, “The site of the New Growth Convergence Knowledge Industry Center, where the glorious Later Baekje’s splendor breathes, has now been reborn as a space responsible for Jeonju’s future livelihood,” adding, “While preserving the identity of the facility that will lead the digital industry, we will also leave a memorial hall related to Later Baekje that can inspire Jeonju’s historical pride, creating a space where history, culture, and new industries harmonize.”

Jeonju=Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Han-ho stonepeak@asiae.co.kr