[Column] Smart Cities & Smart Life

A smart city is essentially a digital platform, integrating diverse technologies like IoT, big data, AI, cloud computing, and generative AI. Through digital transformation, smart cities enable rational decision-making, reduce waste of resources, and enhance safety, allowing citizens to lead more convenient and fulfilling lives. Many global smart city exhibitions reflect these digital trends and offer opportunities to share insights.

In mid-February, the first Global Smart City Forum was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the slogan "A Better Life." Additionally, in March, the Smart City Summit & Expo (SCSE) took place in Taipei, Taiwan, with the theme "Digital & Green Transformation." At both events, the Seoul Digital Foundation set up a Seoul Pavilion to showcase startups and promote Smart Life Week (SLW).

SLW, hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and organized by the Seoul Digital Foundation, is a unique event focused on people rather than technology. Unlike typical smart city events that are business-centric and involve B2B or B2C marketing, SLW emphasizes technologies that support the underprivileged and the sharing and expansion of future smart life technologies. The significance of this first event centered on the theme "Smart Life" cannot be overstated.

SLW is not just about exhibitions and marketing; it is a differentiated event that prioritizes people over technology. Just as CES, MWC, and IFA have become household names, SLW is expected to become an intuitively recognized event among the public. The exhibition space will allow participants to directly experience life-cycle-related solutions and technologies that support the underprivileged, closely tied to Smart Life.

Keynote speeches by mayors of leading smart cities or celebrities, along with conferences and forums involving experts, are also planned. Additionally, the Seoul Smart City Awards will be presented to cities, organizations, and individuals. As the organizing body, the Seoul Digital Foundation has already begun counting down the days to the event, which is about 190 days away. In the meantime, it aims to strengthen global networking and ensure that the event truly represents Seoul.

Last year, the current government declared the "Digital Bill of Rights," the world's first national-level standard for digital principles and universal digital order norms in the digital environment. Seoul opened the world's first public-sector "Metaverse Seoul Platform" last year, and by pioneering "Smart Life," the city continues to solidify its role as a first mover.

The Seoul Smart City Center, operated by the foundation, serves as a hub where Seoul's policies, startups, and citizens converge. It includes a networking lounge, open lab, studio, exhibition zone, coworking space, global cooperation office, and training rooms. In just a year and a half since its opening, the center has welcomed around 450 foreigners from over 50 countries, demonstrating significant global interest in Seoul as a leading digital city.

Upcoming smart city-related events include the Smart City Asia (SCA) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in April, and the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC USA) in New York, USA, in May. The foundation will also participate for the third time in the SCEWC in Barcelona, Spain, in November. In 2022, Seoul won the top award in the city strategy category at SCEWC.

IT and smart city events are held monthly around the world, offering numerous networking opportunities and valuable insights. Achievements that cannot be realized without face-to-face meetings often come to fruition at these events. Just as Seoul's new slogan, "Seoul My Soul," suggests, I hope that under the sky's "Sky Coral" color in autumn, the world's hearts will unite through "Smart Life."

Kang Yo-sik
President of Seoul Digital Foundation

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