Seoul Institute 30th Anniversary, International Conference on 'The Future of Cities and the Role of Think Tanks' Held

Presenting an 'Inclusive and Bold Plan' for Future Seoul in 2050

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Institute announced on the 28th that it will hold an international conference commemorating its 30th anniversary under the theme "The Future of Cities and the Role of Think Tanks" at the Westin Chosun Seoul Grand Ballroom on the 29th.

At this international conference, the Seoul Institute will present its forecast of the future changes in Seoul based on 30 years of policy knowledge and seek policy directions accordingly. It will also examine the role the Seoul Institute can play to enhance Seoul's competitiveness as a global mega-city and discuss the future of international cities and the role of think tanks with domestic and international experts.

The international conference will proceed in the following order: opening remarks by Park Hyung-soo, President of the Seoul Institute; video congratulatory messages from Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul, and Kim Hyun-ki, Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council; congratulatory speeches by Seo Soon-tak, President of the University of Seoul, and Yoo Dong-hoon, Chairperson of the National Association of Metropolitan and Provincial Research Institutes (Director of Chungnam Research Institute); two presentations and a roundtable discussion on the future of cities and the role of think tanks; a keynote presentation on the socio-economic changes and spatial structure of future Seoul in 2050; and a general discussion.

In the first special session, the keynote presentations will focus on "The Future of Cities and the Role of Think Tanks." The first presentation will be given by Thomas Wright, President of the New York Regional Plan Association, on "New York Regional Plan Association: 100 Years of Civic Planning." Following this, Choi Sang-chul, the inaugural President of the Seoul Institute (Emeritus Professor at Seoul National University), will highlight the achievements of the Seoul Institute in supporting local autonomy in Seoul over the past 30 years and its future role as a think tank under the theme "The Seoul Institute and the Hub of Urban Research."

The second planning session will feature presentations on "Session 1: Socio-economic Changes in Future Seoul 2050" and "Session 2: Spatial Structure of Future Seoul 2050." Byun Mi-ri, Director of the Urban Diplomacy Research Center at the Seoul Institute, will forecast the thoughts and values of the future generation, which will become Seoul's core demographic, and how these value systems will evolve alongside daily life. Additionally, Kim Muk-han, Research Fellow at the Seoul Institute, will project how the upcoming era of population decline will transform the city by analyzing current trends in the location changes of workplaces.

The international conference will be broadcast simultaneously online and offline. Online participants can join via the Seoul Institute website and the Seoul Institute YouTube channel. Park Hyung-soo, President of the Seoul Institute, stated, "On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Seoul Institute, we hope to look ahead to the future of cities through this event, identify the big picture and desirable directions for taking the first steps toward change, and find what needs to be done." He added, "We also hope that Korea, Seoul, and the Seoul Institute will play a greater role in solving global issues going forward."

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