(GYEONGGI): The 2026 World Journalists Conference (WJC) delegates were given a first‑hand look at how Gyeonggi Province is fusing ecological restoration, high‑tech industry, and cultural innovation during a two-day tour that stretched from the electronics hub of Suwon to the coastal wetlands of Siheung. The program highlighted the province’s ambition to position itself as both a centre of advanced manufacturing and a model for sustainable, livable cities.
Tracing Korea’s electronics rise in Suwon
The WJC delegation travelled to Suwon to visit the Samsung Innovation Museum (SIM), a facility that charts the history of the domestic and global electronics industry. The museum introduces visitors to the evolution of key information‑technology sectors—semiconductors, displays, and mobile devices—while highlighting Samsung Electronics’ role in advancing these fields. Moving through galleries organised by historical eras, reporters saw how early electrical inventions developed into household appliances and, later, into the complex digital ecosystems that underpin modern life.
One of the most popular stops on the tour was an interactive demonstration of an Internet of Things (IoT) system controlling home appliances via voice commands. As the guide spoke, a refrigerator door opened on cue, and interior lighting changed colours, prompting surprised gasps and laughter from reporters who watched the technology respond instantly.
Throughout the hour‑long visit, delegates actively asked questions about Samsung’s founding, its research and development strategy, and how the company has maintained leadership in global semiconductor and smartphone markets. The visit to museum underscored Suwon’s dual identity as both a production base and an educational showcase for Korea’s high‑tech capabilities. Learn more about SIM at https://www.samsunginnovationmuseum.com/en.
Starfield Suwon: Culture inside commerce
To round out the day, the group headed to Starfield Library Suwon, an expansive public library integrated into the multi‑story shopping complex. Rising across several floors in an open atrium, the library features towering bookshelves, broad staircases, and seating areas where visitors can read, work, or simply enjoy the view of the book‑lined space beneath a high ceiling. Reporters observed tourists taking photos and residents using the library as both a study area and a social meeting place.
Officials explained that the Starfield library concept is designed to blur the line between culture and commerce by embedding free public reading spaces within private retail developments. For the visiting journalists, this space highlighted yet another facet of Gyeonggi Province’s development model: reimagining public spaces so that culture, education, and daily life coexist in visually striking, highly accessible environments.
Siheung’s wetlands and investment vision
The delegates are also fortunate to visit Gaetgol Ecological Park and Lake Sihwa in Siheung to observe one of Korea’s most distinctive coastal environments.
Gaetgol Ecological Park is a wetland formed from an inland tidal flat on the site of a former salt field. Thanks to the large tidal range of the West Coast, it offers rare opportunities to observe diverse marine and amphibious life. From a six‑story observation deck, reporters took in panoramic views of tidal flats, reed beds, and the surrounding cityscape before touring the remnants of the old salt fields, now preserved as an experience centre that allows visitors to learn about Korea’s traditional salt‑making heritage.
Delegates also spent time watching the many bird species that inhabit the park, including herons and spoonbills that nest and feed in the shallow waters. Several participants remarked that the restored wetland, framed by the vast sky and calm water, provided a striking contrast to the dense urban landscape of the Seoul metropolitan area. Learn more at https://www.gyeonggido-korea.com/2023/11/siheung-gaetgol-eco-park-eco-friendly.html
Siheung, a centre of culture, leisure, and tourism, is not only protecting its natural assets but also branding itself as an emerging AI and biotech powerhouse and one of Korea’s most innovation‑driven cities. Siheung officials urged companies to “invest in Siheung today (https://www.siheung.go.kr/english/main.do),” promising that the city is fully prepared to provide corporations with the resources they need for guaranteed, stable growth and expansion.
By the end of the tour, WJC delegates had seen Gyeonggi Province from multiple vantage points: as a guardian of restored tidal wetlands, an investment destination in AI and biotech, a cradle of Korea’s electronics industry, and a pioneer of new cultural spaces.
Learn more about Gyeonggi https://www.gyeonggido-korea.com and the World Journalists Conference 2026 http://en.fna.asia/228dd.
=FRESH NEWS
