News

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  Publication of “Changes to Life in Seoul” (2023)

  등록일 2023-01-06 글쓴이 seoulsolution

  The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) published its annual Changes to Life in Seoul (ebook) on Tue, Jan. 3 so that readers can easily check out the city’s municipal direction for 2023 at a glance, covering information on new projects and programs to public facilities. This year’s Changes to Life in Seoul (2023) comprises a total of 71 projects across 9 fields, focusing on promoting Seoul as a special city of attractive charms and solidarity. The ebook introduces the city’s major projects for 2023 through illustrations featuring Haechi, the official mascot of Seoul, to convey and explain its municipal direction as a special city of attractive charms and solidarity. The ebook also features a calendar and map that detail the changes to life in Seoul according to month and neighborhood. The ebook has been designed so that citizens can easily understand the core contents of each project, and features a FAQ section that provides information on each project. For details, curious readers can take advantage of online resources via the official SMG website (ebook.seoul.go.kr), database (opengov.seoul.go.kr), and portal (mediahub.seoul.go.kr). “Changes to Life in Seoul” will serve as a guide to Seoul’s 71 new projects for 2023, which is more than previous years, and readers will be able to enjoy fun content in the form of card news, video, and more via social media and YouTube, which will also have a promotional effect of informing the public on the city’s new municipal policies and programs.

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  Official release of Metaverse Seoul

  등록일 2023-01-25 글쓴이 seoulsolution

  The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) is officially rolling out the first service phase of its virtual municipal world Metaverse Seoul, the first-ever platform of its kind in the entire world, after having successfully undergone a beta test of various administrative services such as economy, education, and tax affairs. Leading as a global smart city, Metaverse Seoul is set out to provide various public services while focusing on ‘freedom,’ ‘inclusion,’ and ‘connection’ as the three core values of the platform to establish a hyper-realistic community space of creativity and communication that is accessible to all users for augmented experiences. First, the core value of ‘freedom’ focuses on establishing a community space where users can creatively express themselves and freely communicate with each other. Users can take advantage of public services 24/7 all year round and even visit the virtual mayor’s office and library as well as play seasonal mini-games and participate in public contests. Second, the core value of ‘inclusion’ focuses on accessibility where users can interact as avatars without any barrier or discrimination. As a hyper-realistic space, users can access not only Seoul Fintech Lab and Seoul Business Support Center, but also visit Seoul’s top 10 tourist attractions and more. Third, the core value of ‘connection’ focuses on building a virtual world that provides immersive experiences of reality for users to enjoy public services, such as students meeting with their mentors for virtual consultation as well as citizens filing civil complaints via chat, getting official documents issued, and paying their local taxes. With Metaverse Seoul, the city is acting as a first mover to not only establish the platform as a prototype but also promote it as an archetype for virtual municipal administration. For detailed information on Metaverse Seoul, visit the official website (metaverseseoul.kr), follow on Instagram (@metaverse.seoul), or download the mobile app via Google Play (Android) and the App Store (iOS) and see the announcements posted on the virtual Seoul City Hall lobby.

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  Seoul uses drones for hanok roof inspections

  등록일 2023-01-17 글쓴이 seoulsolution

  The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced that it will be the first local government to apply aerial photography using drones to conduct roof inspections for the efficient and safe maintenance of hanok buildings starting this year. This is seen as an improvement to the previous method of conducting roof inspections where handymen had to precariously climb the roof to take photographs. From now, the city will fly drones above hanok buildings to effectively and safely conduct inspections and take detailed photographs of the entire roof to analyze the condition of roof and tiles from various angles and positions. This public service will be beneficial not only to the technicians on the job, but also hanok homeowners who need domestic repairs for issues such as roof leaks as the collected aerial photograph data taken from various angles will be able to accurately identify problems and provide a thorough diagnosis of the condition inside the house and on the roof. Starting this year, the city will make this drone inspection service available to any hanok homeowner who files a request via the Seoul Hanok Support Center (online/offline) for roof leaks and other problems. For the sustainable preservation of nearly 8,000 hanok buildings in Seoul, the city has been operating the Seoul Hanok Support Center since 2015 to provide hanok inspection and maintenance services, which sees over 200 on-site visits per year in response to citizens’ requests for inspection as well as consultation for maintenance and repairs. With more than 50% of inspection requests related to roof tiles, it is expected that this drone inspection service will serve as an opportunity to drastically improve the maintenance of hanok buildings in Seoul. Seoul plans to continue operating the Seoul Hanok Support Center to provide citizens with hanok maintenance information and services through the newly introduced drone inspection service, and the collected photographs are expected to be used as valuable data to archive and promote the architectural development of Seoul.

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  Seoul’s vision as a tech hub presented at CES 2023

  등록일 2023-01-11 글쓴이 seoulsolution

  The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) partnered with Seoul Business Agency (SBA), a local government funding agency, to showcase the innovative technologies of 66 companies on the global stage at the world’s largest trade show CES. The city presented its vision as an innovative tech hub at CES by coordinating the Seoul Tech Pavilion (LVCC North Hall) and exhibited the innovative technologies of 51 companies at K-Startup Pavilion (Eureka Park), 14 of which won the CES 2023 Innovation Award. Under the theme of Seoul as an eco-friendly and smart transportation city, the SMG and SBA displayed how the city is implementing the innovative technologies of leading Korean companies on a large 3D video screen as well as installing interactive booths for visitors to experience the city’s metaverse. The city divided its exhibition space into five fields—mobility, bio/healthcare, ESG, manufacturing, and data—and held various programs, such as global demo day, startup talk show, and networking events (Meet the K-Startup). In addition, the city held a networking event called Seoul Night to invite officials from CES and also held the Korea–U.S. Startup Summit to strengthen bilateral networking efforts with major global business officials, and expanded the contact point between Korean companies and investors for investment attraction. It is expected that this year’s CES event will serve as an opportunity to effectively showcase the attractive and convenient lifestyle of Seoul created by ESG-based technologies and smart mobility.