SEOUL, KOREA -The Busan is finalizing plans for the 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference with its beautiful natural setting. The Korea IT Times conducted an interview with Suh Byung-soo Mayor of Busan to hear what is going on the ICT olympics.
Impressing dignitaries from 193 ITU member states and other attendees
Busan is brimming with things to eat and see. Boasting a stunning natural backdrop of mountains, rivers and sea, Busan has four distinct seasons but its winter is mild thanks to an oceanic climate. Its beautiful natural setting makes it ideal for hosting the 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-14)
There are many time-honored food alleyways packed with great eateries. Local delicacies worth trying include grilled sea eel, whale meat, grilled beef tripe, etc. Hence I encourage ITU attendees to have a rare opportunity to taste them.
A variety of cultural performances and local festivals are scheduled for October. The Busan Fireworks Festival (Oct. 24-25), the Bosu-dong Book Street Event, the Busan Mackerel Festival, Busan, the Busan Biennale 2014, Busan City Architecture Tour, etc. will coincide with the PP-14.
The Asia Song Festival featuring numerous Asian idol groups is slated for November 2 at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium. A series of cultural events specially planned for the PP-14, such as U-clean Concert and Noreum Machi Communication Concert, will also be held to heat up the festive atmosphere of Busan. What’s more, ITU attendees can spend their lunch time watching outdoor performances (e.g. Gukuk and B-Boy performances), scheduled for October 21 - November 6 at BEXCO’s outdoor plaza. Cultural concerts are also scheduled for October 21 to November 6 at Centum City Station to amuse ITU attendees, as well as tourists. Those events have been carefully prepared to help Busan come across as a culturally vibrant city.
Benefits from hosting the PP-14
The PP-14 will adopt a resolution which will be named Busan Declaration. Naming a new blueprint for the global ICT sector’s shared growth ‘Busan Declaration’ will improve the brand image of Busan.
I hope the PP-14 will take Busan’s ICT industry to new heights. As of the end of 2012, the number of Busan-based IT companies stood at approximately 1,000 with their combined sales of about KRW 4 trillion. Since mid- and large-sized companies are concentrated in the Seoul Capital Area, local small-sized companies have hard time marketing their products. Thus, I believe the PP-14 would serve as a great opportunity for local IT companies to promote their products and increase their chances of entering overseas markets.
We will hold Korea World Show, ICT exhibitions, Busan IT Expo, Cloud Expo, Health IT Exhibition, etc. in order to provide local IT companies with international networking and marketing opportunities.
Furthermore, we are pursuing a global company investment project for the revitalization of the ICT industry. As tech giant Cisco and SK Telecom expressed their willingness to participate in the post-ITU project of building IoT test beds, we have formed a taskforce to sign MoUs with the two during the PP-14.
The IoT project, covering technology development, testing, smart service demonstrations and discovery and promotion of success models, is expected to spearhead the nation’s IoT sector. Once the IoT project has been successfully completed, Busan will evolve into the world’s leading state-of-the-art ICT hub flaunting the combination of IoT and software convergence clusters.
Busan’s hosting of the PP-14 will also positively affect the local convention and tourism industry. Leveraging our experiences in preparing the PP-14, we will build up the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) industry’s converged infrastructures and effectively bill Busan as an ideal place for hosting intentional conferences. We will join forces with BEXCO and Busan Tourism Organization to upgrade the MICE industry.
As for tourism, there are individual tour courses and medical tour programs specially crafted for ITU attendees. I believe our efforts will soup up the local economy, expediting job creation.
Security, safety and transportation
We have been pulling out all the stops to host the PP-14 in a safe manner. In collaboration with Busan Metropolitan Police Agency and Busan Metropolitan City Fire Department, we have put in place strict security and fire safety measures around BEXCO and hotels. In particular, we carried out two antiterrorism and emergency response drills.
To protect ITU attendees and citizens from the global Ebola outbreak, people flying in from Ebola-stricken African countries are being thoroughly inspected and monitored on a daily basis for the virus’s maximum incubation period of 21 days. If an Ebola case is detected, the Ebola patient will be immediately put in quarantine.
For ITU attendees’ hassle-free arrivals and departures, information desks and situation rooms will be put up at Gimhae International Airport and Busan Station. Teams comprised of civil servants and volunteers will handle private sedan car services for ministerial-level ITU attendees.
Moreover, 446 buses will shuttle foreign visitors back and forth from the airport and hotels to BEXCO. To ensure smooth traffic flows around BEXCO, we will cooperate with Busan Metropolitan Police Agency.
We also held environmental cleanups at major tourist attractions and major gateways to BEXCO from September 1 to October 15.
Tourism programs for ITU attendees and tourists
We have drawn up a 16-course tour program for ITU attendees and foreign tourists. The 16 courses cover Busan’s major industries (e.g. car, shoes, textile, port logistics, video, medical tourism, etc), smart-city ICT infrastructures (e.g. Busan Transportation Information Center and Busan Information Super Highway) and cultural heritages (e.g. Gamcheon Culture Village). Weekend tours to Gyeongju, Geoje, Tongyeong and post-ITU tours to Jeju Island will also be available.
By Kim Yu-na(yuna@koreaittimes.com)
