[Anchor]
Goheung, the heart of Nuri rocket launches, is transforming into South Korea's representative space city. While the establishment of space industry-related infrastructure is gaining momentum, there are still quite a few challenges left to solve.
This is a report by Park Seung-hyun from KBC.
[Reporter]
Naro Space Center in Goheung, the outpost of South Korea's space development completed in 2009.
With three Naro rocket launches and five Nuri rocket launches over the past 17 years, Goheung's role is expanding beyond a mere launch site to the broader space industry.
[Park Gi-young / Professor Emeritus, Sunchon National University: If the past 20 years were a process of independently developing space technology and building infrastructure, I believe from now on is the time to transform the technologies accumulated so far into industrial and economic value.]
Based on the nation's sole space center, Goheung is rapidly expanding its space industry foundation.
Around 50 space companies, including Hanwha Aerospace, plan to move into the Goheung Space National Industrial Complex, which is equivalent to the size of 200 soccer fields, by 2030.
A private-use launch pad will also be built in phases to create an industrial ecosystem where research, production, testing, and launches take place in one location.
After the private launch pad is fully completed in 2030, space launch vehicles are expected to be blasted off from Goheung once every one to two weeks.
In addition, by pushing to attract a space science exhibition hall and a space industry promotion agency, the region is expanding its scope beyond industry into tourism and education.
[Gong Young-min / County Mayor of Goheung: Because space-related tours, education, and experiences can all be done in one place, we expect it to become a global space tourism landmark that attracts many tourists, much like the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.]
However, there are quite a few hurdles to overcome.
It is urgent to improve residential conditions so that companies and professionals can actually stay in Goheung, and to expand transportation networks to enhance accessibility from the capital region.
[Song Hyung-gon / Chairperson of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated City Council: With the designation of the national industrial complex in Goheung, we believe a stepping stone for Goheung's leap has been laid, and we earnestly hope to attract even a second space center to Goheung in the future.]
As Goheung embraces the nation's only space center, attention is focused on whether it can be reborn as a new starting point for South Korea's space industry at the tip of the southern coast.
(Video Journalist: Park Myung-shin KBC)
Park Seung-hyun, KBC
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