Songdo’s population tops 300,000 in the daytime and 70,000 at night (Shannon Jensen)

The world needs new cities — fast. But how? One company creates “cities in-a-box” and sells them across the globe for £20bn each, with a little help from the pop star Psy. John Arlidge reports from South Korea

Cities have their songs — Waterloo Sunset, Empire State of Mind, the Girl from Ipanema. Songdo has Gangnam Style. Psy, South Korea’s bubblegum pop star, filmed the video for his unlikely global hit in the city that is rising from marshland 35 miles southwest of Seoul. I’m standing in the underground car park where he had a dance-off with the man in a canary yellow suit, before humping in a lift. It wasn’t subtle — but it was fun. And it has put Songdo on the map.....Continue Reading

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