TRANSFORMATION OF OLD SHIPYARD BUILDINGS

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As more and more shipyards are closing down due to economic recession, the former sites of shipyards and large cranes abandoned in urban areas are becoming a problem. One old shipyard in Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, has been transformed into a business support center combining culture and tourism.

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This shipyard in Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, was closed down in 2015. Measuring 500,000 square meters, the facility used to have a workforce of some five thousand people, but now it has become the city's eyesore. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport teamed up with the Korea Land and Housing Corporation two years ago to fix this problem. The old shipyard is transformed into a center to promote public business startups. At this mother-of-pearl craft workshop, an artisan designated as a national intangible cultural asset, teaches children and job seekers.

[Soundbite] LEE HYUN-HEE(DIRECTOR, MOTHER-OF-PEARL CRAFT WORKSHOP) : "Mother-of-pearl is a traditional handcraft of Korea. But few young people know about it."

The center provides support to prospective entrepreneurs and social enterprises in the areas of traditional culture, arts and tourism.

[Soundbite] KANG SEOK-JOO(TONGYEONG MAYOR) : "The center will provide business support and training to contribute to the city's regeneration and create jobs in our region."

State funds amounting to some 670 billion won will be invested in other shipyards to create maritime parks as well as residential and commercial facilities.

[Soundbite] BYEON CHANG-HEUM(PRESIDENT, KOREA LAND & HOUSING CORPORATION) : "We will develop this area into a new commercial and business center of Tongyeong and create a pleasant living environment."

Tongyeong's grand urban regeneration project is expected to help revive the regional economy hit hard by a long period of stagnation in the shipbuilding sector.