Korean Air’s massive marina opens in Incheon

Korean Air’s Wangsan marina, built on 98,604 square meters (24 acres) of reclaimed land in Incheon, opened on Monday. [KOREAN AIR]

Korea’s biggest privately-owned marina fully opened to the public in Wangsan, Incheon, on Monday.

The facility sits on 98,604 square meters (24 acres) of reclaimed land, making it the largest privately-owned marina in the country with the capacity to hold 300 yachts total. Most wharfs of this size are state-owned.

The Wangsan Marina was a joint project between Korean Air, the country’s largest airline, and the Incheon city government to develop the area into a center for water leisure activities. The two signed a partnership in 2011 and agreed to invest 155 billion won ($137 million) in the project.

Part of the marina opened in November last year, but the rest of it remained closed until recently because the land ownership rights, which originally belonged to the city of Incheon, were not fully handed over to Korean Air and Wangsan Leisure Development, its subsidiary in charge of operating the marina. The city had yet to finalize the decision to hand over rights.

The marina will serve as a dock for leisure vessels. “Marinas are considered a central facility for invigorating the water leisure industry, even in other countries that are making efforts to cultivate the market,” Wangsan Leisure Development said in a statement. “As it brings more visitors to the area, the marina will create a synergy effect to boost tourism along with other sites nearby.”

Wangsan Leisure Development will invest an additional 200 billion won to establish more yacht stacks, accommodations, commercial facilities and club houses with the aim of making Wangsan a worldwide attraction for ocean leisure enthusiasts. In fact, the venue served as the arena for the yacht race in the 2014 Asian Games held in Incheon.

BY SONG KYOUNG-SON [song.kyoungson@joongang.co.kr]