Update on the Busan-Kyushu paradigm

IT MAY BE MORE FUN to read or watch media stories that are tailored to create agitation in their consumers, but it’s a lot more constructive to follow the stories about how the builders of society are rolling up their sleeves and getting down to business–particularly when those stories are about the efforts to strengthen ties between the southeastern Korean Peninsula and Kyushu.

Unlike the tales of finger choppers, flag burners, and pheasant butchers, the following stories are relegated to the corners of the back pages in the print media and overlooked by the broadcast media. But more people should be aware of the efforts of people who understand where their best interests lie and take positive steps to make it a reality.

For example:

Busan-Fukuoka Supranational Business Institute

Dongseo University in Busan, the Busan Development Institute, and Kyushu University’s Research Center for Korean Studies signed an agreement last month to establish the provisionally named Busan-Fukuoka Supranational Business Institute to train personnel with the capability to work immediately in a Southern Korean Peninsula/Kyushu economic sphere. Due to open in March, this will be the first joint Japanese-Korean venture for operating an educational institute.

Dongseo University Vice-President Jan Che-guk said:

“We must train people who can support economic cooperation to create a regional body that is not limited to simple exchange between Busan and Fukuoka”.

The institute will provide instruction in attracting logistical centers and new industries, as well as international financing, to train people employed at area businesses.

It will accept 30 people in its first year, including students at local universities. Plans call for classes to be conducted over the Internet to allow for the participation of students in Fukuoka. They also looking for companies and other groups in Fukuoka to take a capital stake in the enterprise.

Fukuoka-Busan Economic Cooperation Council

The provisionally named Fukuoka-Busan Economic Cooperation Council, consisting of the mayors and business leaders of both cities, will be established at the end of October to promote economic ties and activities between the two cities. The council hopes to encourage economic activities as part of a Southern Korean Peninsula/Kyushu economic sphere. Their current plans include strengthening ties between the Japanese and Korean auto industries and developing contactless payment cards that can be used for transportation facilities and shopping in both countries.

Sources in Fukuoka City report the idea was suggested by Busan Mayor Hur Nam-sik to Fukuoka City Mayor Yoshida Hiroshi in March. The mayors and other top officials would meet once a year, while the working staff would meet four or five times a year. The council plans to conduct surveys by the end of this year for use in creating specific plans for next year.

The ceremony launching the council will be held at the end of October in Fukuoka City, A forum is scheduled for next February in Busan, and it will include the release of an interim report. The second general meeting is planned for next August.

Pohang Municipal Employees Study in Fukuoka

The city of Pohang, South Korea, has begun a unique training program in which it will dispatch municipal employees to two cities in Fukuoka to study their approach to municipal government in Japan. The employees will spend an entire working week in Fukuoka City and will also visit nearby Kitakyushu during their stay. The population of both Japanese cities is more than one million people, while that of Pohang is about 510,000.

The employees will study Japanese measures for municipal development and environmental protection. The city plans to send 1,000 employees–close to half their workforce–to Kyushu by the end of next year.

Pohang is the location of the headquarters for Posco, the world’s third largest steel company. Kitakyushu was also at one time a center of heavy industry, but has focused on attracting and developing environmental businesses in recent years.

The idea came from Pohang Mayor Pak Sung-ho when he visited Fukuoka City in August:

“We have many things to learn, including strategies for municipal development. All our employees should see this city at least once.”

The first group of 18 Pohang employees arrived on 6 October and stayed until the 10th. Among the sites they visited were Seaside Momochi, a reclaimed area in Fukuoka City that is now a business and cultural district, a Nissan Kyushu Plant, and the Murasaki River in Kitakyushu. The head of the Pohang delegation remarked about the latter:

“It was very impressive to see what had been thought to be a dead river now reborn as a recreation area for the citizens. We hope to use this as an example as a way to clean up our polluted inner harbor.”

Afterwords

Here’s what the people from Pohang are studying: How Kitakyushu recreated itself from a gray city into a green city.

And here’s what they’re seeing. Seaside Momochi:

And the Murasaki River during cherry blossom season: