Seoul City's Unique New Year's Ceremony... 'TED-Style New Year's Address' 'Gongyu Bookstore'

Emphasizing 'Equal Opportunity,' 'Equal Distribution,' and 'Sustainability'

In the early morning of the 1st, at the New Year's Eve bell-ringing event held at Bosingak in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Park Won-soon (right), the Mayor of Seoul, is greeting Pengsoo. / Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Osangdo] The Seoul Metropolitan Government will hold a unique opening ceremony pledging a 'fair start.'

On the 2nd at 10 a.m., Seoul announced that it will hold this event at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, attended by about 3,800 employees from the main office, business sites, and autonomous districts.

At the opening ceremony, Mayor Park Won-soon will deliver a New Year's address expressing his commitment to ensuring a fair starting line. The New Year's address will adopt the lecture format of TED, a global knowledge conference. At this event, Mayor Park plans to share his long-held beliefs under the theme "At the Crossroads of Great Transformation - Seoul Guarantees a Fair Starting Line."

Afterwards, employees will perform by unfolding a large banner bearing the message of a fair starting line and flying paper airplanes inscribed with the New Year's administrative keywords.

At the invited performance, hip-hop singer Cheetah will present a rap that reflects the hardships of youth and the values of Seoul's administration. The lyrics emphasize a sustainable future and an equal Seoul.

Just before the opening ceremony, a 'Shared Bookstore' will be held in the lobby of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, where Mayor Park, the heads of 25 autonomous district offices under the city, and employees will exchange recommended books.

Mayor Park has recommended books such as "The Price of Inequality" (Stiglitz), "If Pain Becomes the Way" (Kim Seung-seop), "Our Kids" (Robert Putnam), "The Path of Accumulation" (Lee Jeong-dong), and "The Perspective of Excellent Thinking" (Choi Jin-seok). These books focus on overcoming inequality in society and economic crises.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to replace the annual 'New Year's Meeting' held for city and district executives with this Shared Bookstore event.

The event will be broadcast live through Seoul City's internet broadcasting service 'Live Seoul' and YouTube.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.