[Seoul's Future] Professor Kim Sang-hyeok: "We Must Catch Two Rabbits, Leisure and Tourist Attraction"

"We must catch two rabbits at once through the Han River: leisure activities for Seoul citizens and attracting tourists. By leveraging the unique characteristics of the Han River, we can create sufficient differentiation from other global metropolitan cities."

Professor Kim Sang-hyuk of Gachon University is participating in a discussion on the theme "Let's Make the Han River a National Representative Tourist Destination" at the "2023 Seoul Future Forum: The Future of the Han River," hosted by Asia Economy at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 29th.

On the 29th, Professor Kim Sang-hyuk of the Department of Tourism Management at Gachon University emphasized this during a panel discussion at the '2023 Future of Seoul Forum' hosted by Asia Economy at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, under the theme 'The Future of the Han River.'

Professor Kim said, "The purpose of Han River development should be divided into two perspectives: leisure for Seoul citizens and attracting tourists, and policies should be established accordingly." He continued, "We need to move toward creating waterfront spaces where Seoul citizens can fully enjoy leisure activities and constructing various buildings," adding, "It is necessary to further develop what former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon established as 'Han River Renaissance 1.0'."

He argued that for continuous tourist attraction, it is not enough to just build landmarks; the unique characteristics of Seoul and the Han River must be utilized. Professor Kim stated, "Rather than talking about Seoul's traditional patterns or Hanok as in the past, we should focus on the storyline and content production that Seoul and the Han River possess," and added, "For example, by leveraging the river's characteristics to create various tourism and leisure activities and building multiple attractions, we can draw more tourists."

Professor Kim also emphasized the need to expand tourist areas. He said, "Most tourist areas in Seoul are concentrated in the downtown or Gangnam areas," and added, "If a tourism route covering from Gangdong to Gangseo is created through the 'Great Han River,' local commercial districts will be revitalized, and regional disparities can be reduced."

Finally, he added, "I sincerely hope that the current 'Great Han River' project being promoted by the Seoul city government will be successfully realized so that future generations can enjoy and appreciate the Han River even 100 years from now."

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