Shin Daedo

Shin Daedo (Zhenian: 신대도, literally 'New Daedo'), formally Shin Daedo-gu (Zhenian: 신대도구) and historically known as Danpo (Zhenian: 단포), is the second most populous district (gu) of Daedo, the capital and largest city in Zhenia. Located around 21 kilometers from Daedo's old city and 14 kilometers from Shinsa-gu district, it has grown into one of the wealthiest and highest-developed areas in the nation. Established over both existing coastal land and reclaimed land in the Gulf of Danguk, it is an almost completely artificial city built towards the end of the 20th century, with the intention of lightening the load on the already dense and built-up existing centers of the city. Its development, considered as one of the largest single development projects in the nation's history, was executed in multiple phases over three 15-year intervals, with the third phase set to be completed by 2023. It still remains the nation's largest built after the Second Great War to date, closely followed by the Gwangseong International Port City project.

Before its development in the later half of the century, what is now Shin Daedo was largely agricultural land and a series of rocky islands until it grew into a significant inland trade port with the opening of the North Gaewon Canal bypassing the estuaries of the Danbon River in the 17th century, while a set of coastal batteries were built under Emperor Seongjo's rule to protect Daedo from foreign invasions. In the mid-20th century, it experienced a as refugees of the Second Great War resettled in small pockets of 'liberty towns' along the coastal sections of the region. Development on what would become Shin Daedo was announced in 1975 by the central government, seeking a new location to concentrate the potential and wealth of Daedo by creating a futuristic and environmentally-conscious new town away from the then-overcrowded city center. Three phases of development along the planned area, each with distinct objective slogans - environment, humanity and concord respectively - were announced and approved by the local and central governments in 1978, when construction and land reclamation along the coast was initiated. The first and second phases were completed in 1993 and 2008 respectively, with the final phase, involving development in residue areas along the coast as well as areas between the existing city center and Shin Daedo, expected to be completed in 2023.

Today, Shin Daedo is regarded as the new financial, commercial and cultural hub of Daedo, as well as one of the three core of the city, alongside Shinsa-gu and Yanghwa. It has risen into the city's prominent financial and economic hub, hosting the headquarters of many of the nation's leading IT companies and start-ups, as well as the Daedo Stock Exchange in Daedo International Financial Center, the centerpiece of the new town: its significance as a hub of Zhenian IT companies and start-ups has earned its nickname 'Silicon Coast'. Built to potentially serve as the new city center of Daedo in mind, the city is also well-connected to other parts of Daedo via the various train and bus lines serving Shin Daedo Station and other auxiliary stations. Its residential areas are home to numerous affluent Zhenians as well as Zhenians who lived overseas, due to its proximity to the city's most affluent commercial centers: the average household income among Shin Daedo residents is around $126,815, almost 2.5 times the national average.

Before 1978


While most of what is now Shin Daedo had been populated more or less since prehistoric times, it did not receive significant attention compared to other coastal cities near modern-day Daedo, particularly Seongnam, because it was somewhat north of the estuaries of the Danbon River. It rose as an alternative to Seongnam when the North Gaewon Canal, a 20-kilometer extension bypassing the estuaries of the Danbon River and directly connecting modern-day Daedo to the sea, was constructed in the 17th century, during the rule of the Shindan dynasty. Since the opening of the North Gaewon Canal, it earned the name Danpo, literally meaning 'Port of the Dan people', and started to handle inland water traffic entering the Danbon River from the north and the mainland, while Seongnam remained as a major port handling inland water traffic from the south and east. Despite the construction of canals, however, the area around the port remained largely rural, devoid of much development beyond the port itself.

Under the rule of King Jeongjo and Emperor Seongjo, Danpo in the mid-19th century was designated as one of the seven key nodes in defending Daedo and ultimately Hansan, the royal capital of the Shindan dynasty in times of war. This resulted in the construction of coastal batteries near cliffs and capes along the coast, as well as key points leading to the entrance of the North Gaewon Canal. While a total of 17 batteries were planned in modern-day Shin Daedo, only 13 were constructed as planned, in a project that extended until 1904. While most coastal batteries, with changing defense plans around Daedo, were either abandoned and opened to the public in 1931, all but three were removed by 1977 to facilitate ship traffic near the coast and to make way for Shin Daedo New Town - Batteries No. 3, 7 and 12 remain preserved as the West Daedo Battery National Historic Site, near the southern sections of Shin Daedo New Town.

Most of the alluvial plain forming the land section of Shin Daedo district later became home to 'liberty towns' (Zhenian: 해방촌) formed by refugees fleeing the damage of the Second Great War inflicted on Daedo. Due to its relative distance from major government buildings and proximity to existing residential areas that were attacked during the Bombing of Daedo, the area was an ideal location for the formation of such liberty towns. With little to no preemptive urban planning prior to its formation, it became subject to, later becoming a major concern in the development of Shin Daedo New Town. While most of said 'liberty towns' have been removed during the development of Shin Daedo New Town or have been converted to parks and green space, some pockets of the old liberty towns remained to the present day and have seen significant amid the ever-rising development of Shin Daedo.

After 1978




While the area surrounding Shin Daedo was largely neglected in Daedo's revamping process during the beginning years of the Third Republic, it began to attract the attention of both the central and local governments towards the end of the 1960s as an alternative focus point for Daedo's future development. Coupled with the Daedo Special City Government's general agenda of providing housing to most Daedo residents and improving previously unplanned areas, a set of throughout the city were proposed in the New Century Capital Development Plan, which followed the general rail-centered premise suggested in the decades-ago Daedo Urban Development Plan but had an increased focus on forming solid grids around Daedo and thereby dispersing population previously focused in older city centers and improvised liberty towns. What eventually became Shin Daedo started out as one of such new towns, initially named Danpo New Town (Zhenian: 단포신도시), a term still used in older texts to refer to the region in general.

During the initial phases of planning, Danpo New Town was expected to be a mostly residential new town situated along the coastline, with most of its commercial zone centered around the now-expanded North Gaewon Canal and accompanying roads. Its initial plans described a 20 km2, mostly residential new town that was expected to be home to around 300,000 residents that would commute to Daedo's central business district further inland. The focus on the city's development was changed and enlarged when the Kim Shimin administration began considering to rebuild the city's away from the old city - the site initially planned as Danpo New Town was deemed best among the proposed new towns, given its proximity to the sea and overall growth potential. With a new objective of ultimately building a new central hub of the city, the plan expanded into a 120 km2 maritime new town, 63.3% of which would be reclaimed from the sea, with additional objectives of the new town being to minimize its environmental impact. With the master plan of the new town assigned to Geunseok Jung and Abayad-born architect Jabarah Basher, the initial iterations of the plan, which included a radial-shaped layout with a landmark complex at its core - which would eventually materialize into the Daedo International Financial Center - was completed and submitted to the Special City Government in its final form on December 2, 1974.

The plan was met with great resistance from all walks of Zhenian society when it materialized into the public, with the core of the criticism focused on the environmental impact caused by land reclamation in the Gulf of Danguk and the estuaries of the Danbon River, as well as the astronomical budget required to complete the plan and the issue of removing existing 'liberty towns' in the area. Numerous environmental groups led a series of protests across the nation against land reclamation of such scale in fear of jeopardizing the coastal ecosystem. Some groups filed collective lawsuits against the Daedo Special City Government in 1975 and 1977 respectively, both of which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government, with claims that the environmental impact was "inadequately proven to be assumed as true". With the relocation of 'liberty town' residents into public housing units across Daedo, construction of Shin Daedo commenced in 1978 with the first portions of land reclamation, coupled with reorganization of the road network in the site.

The first phase (1978-1993), with the objective slogan 'environment', involved the creation of environmental conditions for the city to exist, involving a vast majority of the land reclamation required to build the new town as well as green space reserved in between development zones. A significant portion of basic infrastructure, particularly electricity and water, was also expected to be completed by the end of the first phase, resulting in the preemptive construction of underground electric and communication cables to eliminate telephone and electric poles overground. Such preemptive works have allowed for a generally clean cityscape with well-designed streets to be applied seamlessly into the city's layout. Major roads traversing the city and connecting it to the rest of Daedo were built during the first phase, while most subway stations, prior to the extension of lines from the rest of Daedo, were built in advance towards the end of the first phase. Canals traversing the core of the new town and ultimately surrounding the future site of Daedo International Financial Center, which eventually made way for the DIFC Marina towards the beginning of the the third phase, were built during the phase as well. It was also during the first phases in which many of the project's most notable parks, including New Millennium Park, Waterfront Park and Daedo Gulf Forest, were completed to increase green space in the project as a whole.

The second phase (1993-2008) involved construction in most parts of the new town, including a vast majority of residential and commercial areas. Although construction of most residential zones were spearheaded by the Zhenia National Land Corporation, a government-owned construction company that normally carried out a majority of public housing projects in the nation, a significant portion of residential areas were also allocated to private corporations to construct their own apartment complexes in said zones. As most residential zones in Shin Daedo were meant as planned communities to alleviate excessive demand on the city's wealthier communities, many of these corporations used the opportunity to showcase their flagship apartment brands in Shin Daedo. Construction in most commercial zones, including the iconic Daedo International Financial Center and other commercial skyscrapers, also took shape during the second phase, greatly altering the skyline over the course of the second phase. Later parts of the second phase also saw further infrastructure construction, as major buildings had computers installed within their systems as a part of a spanning the entire new town, while Shin Daedo Station opened in 2005 to become the second-busiest station both in Daedo and the nation. The Daedo Exposition Park, after its usage in the 1995 Daedo International Exposition, was also repurposed into a major sightseeing and commercial center.

The third phase (2008-2023), with the objective slogan 'concord', has been designed to seamlessly integrate the various elements constituting Shin Daedo, as well as integrate Shin Daedo's existence to nearby areas. The third phase focused on increasing residential and commercial accessibility to green space, while also bolstering transit and communication networks across the city. Construction of additional new towns near the edges of Shin Daedo, in order to cater to the ever-increasing demand for housing in the area, have been put forth, with a majority of the newly-built apartments being public housing projects aimed for the middle class. In June 1, 2019, Shin Daedo was included in the first areas in the nation that had full coverage.

Geography
Situated mostly over reclaimed land, Shin Daedo directly faces the Gulf of Danguk to its northwest and southwest edges, which are joined by causeways separating the new city from waterways branching out from the Danbon River.

Politics
As a separate district by itself, Shin Daedo is administered by the Shin Daedo-gu district government.

Attractions
Shin Daedo is also a major destination for Daedoites and tourists alike, rising as a key business, shopping and sightseeing destination among those who visit the city. Major attractions include:


 * Daedo International Financial Center, a complex of buildings and exposition centers that include the tallest building in the nation
 * Daedo Waterfront Park, a waterfront park extending north and south from Daedo International Financial Center, as well as the first major park in Daedo to directly utilize seawater in land
 * Daedo Exposition Park, the site of the 1995 Daedo International Exposition in the northern heart of the city and now a major sightseeing destination
 * Daedo National Maritime Museum, a national museum showcasing the nation's maritime history, present and the future
 * Daedo World Galleria, the nation's second-largest commercial mall complex located in the southern heart of the city.

Transportation


Shin Daedo is served by various means of transportation, as it was developed to ultimately serve as the new core of the city. Shin Daedo Station was built primarily to serve as its main transportation hub, located at the center of the new town. Also functioning to lighten the load on existing major railway stations across the city, specifically Daedo Central Station, Shin Daedo Station is now the second-busiest train station in the nation after Daedo Central Station. Almost all ZNX lines, as well as several intercity and commuter trains serving the city, stop at the station. It is connected to the Shin Daedo Intermodal Transit Center, which not only provides direct land connection to the Daedo International Financial Center but also serve as a bus and light rail transfer hub for transit lines traversing the new town and connecting it to the rest of the city. Hence, many of the new town's bus lines operating within and through Shin Daedo, as well as much of the Shin Daedo Light Rail lines, stop at Shin Daedo Station and the Intermodal Transit Center.

A key component in the planning of Shin Daedo included organic connections with the rest of the city, so that the new town would fit seamlessly into the existing transportation network of Daedo as a whole. As of 2020, Daedo Metro Lines 2, 3, 4, 8 and 12 directly pass through or have stops in Shin Daedo, while the Gaewon Line was built solely to connect the new town with the city's existing central business districts and key residential areas around the region. The network of metropolitan bus lines, following the same scheme as the remainder of the city and operated by the Daedo Capital Transit Authority, has been newly established and revised over time to cater to the demands of the growing new town, linking key business and commercial centers with residential areas across the city. A number of (BRT) services on dedicated lanes augment metropolitan buses as means of rapid connection between Shin Daedo and the rest of the city. All metro, commuter rail and bus lines serving Shin Daedo are integrated into the Capital Region Unified Fare System, with fares calculated equally to other regions of the city and transfers with minimal costs.

In addition to extensions of bus and metro lines linking the new town to the remainder of the city, a series of light rail lines, operating under Shin Daedo Light Rail Transit, both traverse the new town as well as connect it to parallel suburban developments in the vicinity. Its tracks owned and operated by the Shin Daedo Transit Authority, a public company in which the Daedo Special City Government maintains a significant stake, many of the light rail lines run underground within the new town, although some aboveground tracks in residential zones near the edges are observed. As of 2020, four lines operate under the name with plans for extensions into Shinsa-gu district, as light rail has proven to be an affordable alternative to extending heavy rail transit from the remainder of the city.

Shin Daedo is around 26 kilometers away from Daedo Capital International Airport and 39 kilometers away from Jinpo International Airport, being connected to both airports via an array of train and bus connections: Daedo Metro Line 4, as well as the Daedo Airport Express offer both stopping and direct rail connections to either airport. A series of airport bus lines, many of which also stop in key points around Daedo, serve as additional means of connection to either airport. In addition to connection with airports, Shin Daedo has been selected as one of the first seven "future vertical transit hubs" as a part of the city's Capital Elevate project, a short-range vertical airlift service connecting various points around the city.