The Rubik's Cube is a 3-D combination puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. Originally called the Magic Cube, the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Pentangle Puzzles in the UK in 1978, and then by Ideal Toy Corp in 1980 via businessman Tibor Laczi and Seven Towns founder Tom Kremer. The cube was released internationally in 1980 and became one of the most recognized icons in popular culture. It won the 1980 German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle. As of March 2021, over 450 million cubes had been sold worldwide, making it the world's bestselling puzzle game and bestselling toy. The Rubik's Cube was inducted into the US National Toy Hall of Fame in 2014.
Incheon, formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City, is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. Today, about 3 million people live in the city, making it South Korea's third-most-populous city after Seoul and Busan.
Speedcubing is a competitive sport that involves solving a variety of combination puzzles, the most well-known of which is the 3x3x3 puzzle, as quickly as possible. A person who competitively solves combination puzzles is called a speedcuber, or simply a cuber. To solve most puzzles, one must perform algorithms in a specific order.
The Rubik's Clock is a mechanical puzzle invented and patented by Christopher C. Wiggs and Christopher J. Taylor. The Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik bought the patent from them to market the product under his name. It was first marketed in 1988.
The World Cube Association (WCA) is the worldwide non-profit organization that regulates and holds competitions for mechanical puzzles that are operated by twisting groups of pieces, commonly known as twisty puzzles. The most famous of those puzzles is the Rubik's Cube. Since the start of the WCA there have been over 10,000 competitions. The WCA was founded by Ron van Bruchem of the Netherlands and Tyson Mao of the United States in 2004. The goal of the World Cube Association is to have "more competitions in more countries with more people and more fun, under fair conditions." In 2017, they started work to become a non-profit organization and on November 20, 2017, the state of California accepted the initial registration of the World Cube Association.
Songdo, officially known as Songdo International Business District (Songdo IBD), is a smart city built on 600 ha (1,500 acres) of reclaimed land along Incheon's waterfront, 30 km (19 mi) southwest of Seoul, South Korea. It is connected to Incheon International Airport by a 12.3 km (7.6 mi) reinforced concrete highway bridge called Incheon Bridge. Along with Yeongjong and Cheongna, it is part of the Incheon Free Economic Zone.
The Posco Tower-Songdo or Northeast Asia Trade Tower is a skyscraper in Songdo International City, the world's most expensive private real estate project in the Incheon Free Economic Zone, South Korea. The 305-metre (1,001 ft) building is currently South Korea's fourth tallest, and has 68 floors. It surpassed the previous record-holder, Samsung Tower Palace 3 – Tower G in Seoul, when it topped-out in 2009. Although finished in 2011, the completion of its interior had been delayed due to financial complications during a recession. It was surpassed in height in 2017 by the current highest building in South Korea, the Lotte World Tower.
Gale International is a privately owned real estate development company based in New York City. With roots dating back to 1922, the company is active in North America and Asia, specializing in city-scale, commercial, mixed-use, and golf course developments.
Incheon National University (INU), previously also known as University of Incheon (UI), is a national university in Incheon, Seoul, South Korea.
Fentress Architects is an international design firm known for large-scale public architecture such as airports, museums, university buildings, convention centers, laboratories, and high-rise office towers. Some of the buildings for which the firm is best known include Denver International Airport (1995), the modernized Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX (2013), the National Museum of the Marine Corps near Quantico, Virginia (2005), and the Green Square Complex in Raleigh, North Carolina (2012).
The Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), located in Incheon, South Korea is a Korean Free Economic Zone that consists of the three regions of Songdo, Cheongna, and the island of Yeongjong and has a total area of 51,739 acres (209.38 km2). The goal of the IFEZ is to transform these three areas into hubs for logistics, international business, leisure, and tourism for the Northeast Asian region. Incheon's Free Economic Zone was officially designated by the Korean government in August 2003. IFEZ is planned to be a self-contained living and business district featuring air and sea transportation, a logistics complex, an international business center, financial services, residences, schools and hospitals, and shopping and entertainment centres.
The V-Cube 6 is a 6×6×6 version of the original Rubik's Cube. The first mass-produced 6×6×6 was invented by Panagiotis Verdes and is produced by the Greek company Verdes Innovations SA. Other such puzzles have since been introduced by a number of Chinese companies, most of which have mechanisms which improve on the original. Unlike the original puzzle, it has no fixed facets: the center facets are free to move to different positions.
The 2013 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, officially 4th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games and also known as Incheon 2013, was a pan-continental event held in Incheon, South Korea from 29 June to 6 July 2013 that served as a dress-rehearsal for the upcoming 2014 Asian Games, which was also held in the same city. It was the first event to be held under the "Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games" name following the merger of two OCA events – Asian Indoor Games and Asian Martial Arts Games, inherited the edition numeral of the former. Doha, Qatar was initially scheduled to host the 4th Asian Indoor Games in 2011, but withdrawn in June 2008 due to "unforeseen circumstances", with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) chose Incheon instead as a replacement and postponed the games to 2013.
The 2014 Asian Para Games, also known as the 2nd Asian Para Games, was an Asian disabled multi-sport event held in Incheon, South Korea, from 18 to 24 October 2014, 2 weeks after the end of the 2014 Asian Games. This was the first time South Korea hosted the games. Around 4,500 athletes from 41 countries competed in the games which featured 443 events in 23 sports. The games was opened by the Prime Minister Chung Hong-won at the Incheon Munhak Stadium. The final medal tally was led by China, followed by host South Korea and Japan, while Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Singapore, Syria and Qatar won their first ever Asian Para Games gold medal. 24 world and 121 Asian records were broken during the Games.
Feliks Aleksanders Zemdegs is an Australian Rubik's Cube speedsolver. He is one of the only two speedcubers ever to win the World Cube Association World Championship twice, winning in 2013 and 2015, and is widely considered the most successful and greatest speedcuber of all time. He has set more than 350 records across various speedcubing events: 121 world records, 213 continental records, and 7 national records.
Sheraton Grand Incheon Hotel is the first hotel to open in Songdo IBD. Hotel is adjacent to the Northeast Asia Trade Tower, Songdo Convensia, and Songdo Central Park.
Songdo Central Park is a public park in the Songdo district of Incheon, South Korea. The park is the centerpiece of Songdo IBD's green space plan, inspired by New York City's Central Park. Central Park is a public zone in the center of Korea's first international city, covering 101 acres ; the park covers almost 10% of Songdo IBD’s total area. It serves to connect to various civic and cultural destinations by providing a seawater canal that refreshes itself every 24 hours.
Canal Walk is an outdoor shopping court in the International Business District Songdo IBD of Songdo, Incheon, South Korea. The court comprises four sections, one for each season, and is located along a stretch of a man-made canal running north to south. It stretches 2,625 feet within D1-D4 blocks. Each block contains five-story glass buildings; the first two stories are retail units that include fitness clubs, bookstores, clothing and general stores, cafes, and restaurants. The top three stories contain 445 luxury officetel units. The site also encourages pedestrian flow by protecting people from traffic and noise with its open-court walkway, although "season" sections require road crossings. The court is also located near Songdo Central Park.
Samoo Architects & Engineers, is a multinational company headquartered in Seoul which provides architecture and engineering design related services such as architectural design, engineering, interior design, urban design, sustainable design, construction management, and building information modelling
Max Park is an American Rubik's Cube speedsolver, widely considered as one of the greatest cubers of all time. He is the World Champion of 3×3×3 solving and world record holder for the 3x3x3 single solve at 3.13 seconds set on June 11, 2023. Along with Feliks Zemdegs, he is one of only two speedcubers ever to win the World Cube Association World Championship twice, which he did in 2017 and 2023. He is currently tied for 2nd place for the world record average of five 3×3×3 solves at 4.86 seconds, set on 6 February 2023. Park first held this record from April 23, 2017 to June 28, 2017 and was the only cuber other than Feliks Zemdegs to hold the record between September 27, 2009 and June 5, 2021. Park has also set multiple world records in speedsolving in the 4×4×4, 5×5×5, 6×6×6, and 7×7×7 cubes as well as the 3×3×3 One-Handed event. As of September 2, 2023, he has won 479 total events in World Cube Association competitions. As of December 2023, his main [3×3 cube] is the Tornado V3 which he has gotten many exceeding averages.
