Once resistant to space, Jeju emerges as a hub of the Korean space sector

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Once resistant to space, Jeju emerges as a hub of the Korean space sector

Published: 16 Apr. 2026, 00:01

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Choi Joon-ho

The author is an editorial writer and senior reporter on science at the JoongAng Ilbo.

The space age is coming to Jeju, long known primarily as a tourist destination. It is a striking reversal. In 1999, plans by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute to build a launch site in Daejeong, on the island’s southwest coast, collapsed amid local opposition. Residents warned of disruptions to tourism and the need for evacuations within a two- to three-kilometer (1.24- to 1.86-mile) radius during launches. Jeju’s leadership and residents turned the project away.

Asian Space Park in Sangdae-ri, Hallim-eup, Jeju. The facility is a private ground station opened on April 2 by Daejeon-based space startup CONTEC. [CHOI JOON-HO]

Over the decades that followed, Korea’s space program advanced elsewhere. Launches of the Naro rocket and the Nuri rocket took place from Goheung in South Jeolla Province. At the same time, the global space industry entered the “New Space” era, led increasingly by private companies. Startups began developing satellites and launch vehicles, some even reaching public markets.

In that period, space-related infrastructure gradually appeared in Jeju, including satellite control facilities and observatories. But the island’s transformation accelerated only in the past three years. The Agency for Defense Development launched a solid-fuel rocket from a maritime platform off Seogwipo. Large companies established satellite production facilities, and startups built major ground stations.

The Hanwha Jeju Space Center in Hawon-dong, Seogwipo, Jeju [HANWHA]

A visit to the island shows how rapidly the industry is taking shape. In Hallim, southwest of Jeju International Airport, a sign reading “Asian Space Park” marks a private ground station operated by space startup CONTEC. The site, which opened in April, hosts two proprietary satellite antennas along with 10 operated by global partners from countries including the United States and Norway.

Further south, the Hanwha Jeju Space Center stands on the former site of Tamna University at an elevation of about 500 meters. Completed in December of last year, the facility includes satellite development and assembly lines, testing centers and control rooms. From the site, the coastline of Seogwipo and nearby naval installations are visible, including maritime platforms used in rocket launches.

According to Hanwha representatives, the center is the country’s largest private satellite manufacturing hub and can produce up to 100 satellites annually. The company is currently developing high-resolution satellites capable of capturing images with a resolution of 14 centimeters (5.5 inches) from very low Earth orbit. Satellites built here are expected to be launched beginning later this month using solid-fuel rockets off the southern coast.

Jeju now hosts a growing network of space-related institutions. In Gujwa on the island’s eastern side, a national satellite operations center integrates the control of low Earth orbit satellites operated by multiple government agencies. Opened in 2022, the facility is equipped with large parabolic antennas and control systems for receiving and processing satellite data. Authorities expect the number of national satellites to rise from just four in 2023 to around 70 by 2030.

Nearby are additional facilities, including a radio astronomy observatory operated by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, which observes cosmic signals such as those from black holes and galactic centers, and a tracking station in Pyoseon-myeon that monitors rocket flight data in real time.

The Korean military conducts the third test launch of a domestically developed solid-fuel space rocket from a maritime launch platform installed off the southern coast of Seogwipo, Jeju, on Dec. 4, 2023. [NEWS1]

Jeju’s push into the space sector is relatively recent. In February 2023, the provincial government unveiled a strategy to foster a full space industry ecosystem, encompassing satellite manufacturing, launches, operations and data applications, with links to tourism. The following year, a former university site was designated as a special development zone, with Hanwha as the first major tenant. A ground system for the Korea Positioning System is also planned to open by 2027.

Efforts to build a talent pipeline are underway. A local technical high school recently rebranded itself as an aerospace-focused institution, and universities on the island have partnered with industry to offer specialized programs.

Geographically, Jeju offers advantages for space development. Rocket launches require unobstructed trajectories over open water to avoid populated areas and foreign airspace. Located at the southern edge of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju allows for a wider launch corridor than mainland sites. Similar considerations led Japan to locate its primary launch site in Tanegashima, in Kagoshima Prefecture.

The island’s relatively low levels of radio interference also make it well-suited for satellite communications. Yet when Korea was selecting a launch site in 1999, Jeju’s Daejeong area, despite ranking first in evaluations, was ultimately rejected due to local concerns about environmental damage and militarization. The project moved instead to Goheung.

“Jeju has some of the best conditions for the space industry in Korea, but we came to recognize that potential relatively late,” Jeju Gov. Oh Young-hun said.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.