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Busan Aims to Become Silver Industry Hub with Age-Tech Initiative
🇰🇷 South Korea /Technology

Busan Aims to Become Silver Industry Hub with Age-Tech Initiative

From Dong-A Ilbo · (15m ago) Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Busan has been selected for a national project to create an Age-Tech (Aging Technology) demonstration hub, leveraging its coastal and tourism infrastructure.
  • The initiative aims to foster AI-based silver economy industries and build an ecosystem centered in Busan, which is already a super-aged society with over 25.3% of its population aged 65 and above.
  • The project, with a total investment of 27 billion won by 2030, will expand AI services into daily life, support businesses from demonstration to commercialization, and establish global networks for K-Age-Tech.

Busan is stepping up to become a global hub for the silver industry, a critical sector for our rapidly aging society. The city's recent selection for the 'Marine Culture City-based Age-Tech Demonstration Hub Creation Project' by the Ministry of Science and ICT is a testament to our innovative approach.

This project is not just about technology; it's about enhancing the quality of life for our seniors. By integrating advanced AI technologies into daily life, particularly leveraging Busan's unique marine and tourism resources, we are creating a practical environment for the elderly to experience and benefit from these innovations. This initiative directly addresses the challenges of a super-aged society, with Busan leading the way as the first metropolitan city in the nation to reach this demographic milestone.

We will create a virtuous cycle where data accumulated during the demonstration process enhances the product competitiveness of companies, leading to market entry both domestically and internationally and job creation.

— City OfficialExplaining the plan to share and utilize data from the demonstration process to boost corporate competitiveness and create jobs.

Our 'Busan-type AGES' strategy, encompassing AI expansion, ground testing, enterprise scale-up, and global spread, provides a comprehensive framework. We are committed to fostering an open collaboration structure involving local businesses, public institutions, and end-users to build a robust Age-Tech industrial ecosystem. This includes supporting over 130 AI Age-Tech projects and expanding demonstration areas to sectors like cruise tourism and senior living facilities.

From a local perspective, this is more than just an economic development plan. It's about building a city that truly cares for its elders and pioneers solutions that can be replicated nationwide and globally. The success of initiatives like the 'HAHA Campus' (Happy Aging, Healthy Aging) and the integration with marine tourism will showcase Busan's commitment to a dignified and technologically advanced future for its senior population. We aim to make Busan a global leader in Age-Tech, ensuring that technologies proven here become world standards.

Through this project, we will create a virtuous cycle where technologies verified in Busan become global standards and spread to the world, making Busan a leading global Age-Tech hub city.

— Park Hyung-joonMayor of Busan, expressing his vision for the city's role in the global Age-Tech market.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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