[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) announced on the 26th that it held the April breakfast forum at Oryong Hall, inviting Professor Mo Jong-rin from Yonsei University, under the theme of ‘Local Brands and Fostering Local Brand Commercial Districts’.
At the forum attended by about 40 representatives of companies from the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions, Professor Mo attracted great interest by explaining Jikjurak (Work, Live, Play), a regional development indicator model referring to places of work, residence, and activity, along with an introduction to creators who create local culture and value.
Professor Mo stated, “Small business owners must once again become the main players of Korean entrepreneurship,” explaining various types of startup ecosystems and emphasizing the need to diversify local startup types. He also explained, “Cultural resources and the identity formed through them are the core competitiveness in forming alleyway commercial districts.”
He graduated from the Department of Economics at Cornell University and earned a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. He served as an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin and has been a professor at Yonsei University’s Graduate School of International Studies since 1996.
His main research areas include economic development theory and globalization. Since 2008, through policy research, he has studied policies necessary to enhance the diversity and openness of Korean society on topics such as university disparities, foreign investment, English education, immigration, and regional development.
His representative book is Korean Development Theory: Dynamics of Overcoming Political-Economic Imbalances, published by Harvard University Press in 2013.
The GIST Academy, which operates the Technology Management Academy (established in 2010) and the Climate Change Academy (established in 2016), holds the ‘GIST Academy Breakfast Forum’ on the last Monday of every month, inviting experts from various fields for alumni and executives of local companies.
By providing top-level expert lectures and opportunities to build broad human networks, the GIST Academy contributes to revitalizing the regional economy and industry-academia cooperation.
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