Busan City Appoints Professor Na Geon from Hongik University as 'Chief Designer'

On the 4th at 11 a.m., Busan City appointed Professor Na Geon from Hongik University Graduate School of International Design as the Chief Designer of Busan City at City Hall.

Professor Na, appointed on this day, will be responsible for overseeing, planning, and coordinating urban design policies aimed at the long-term development direction of Busan's architecture and urban design, as well as enhancing urban competitiveness from a design perspective for the next two years.

Since 2009, Professor Na has served as a juror for the Red Dot Design Award, one of the world's top three design competitions, for 15 consecutive years, and has been the chief designer for public housing design at the Korea Land and Housing Corporation. In 2023, he is serving as the general director of the Gwangju Design Biennale.

He holds a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from Hanyang University, a master's degree in Industrial Engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and a Ph.D. in Engineering Design from Tufts University in the United States. He also served as the dean of the Graduate School of International Design at Hongik University. He is an expert who has carried out various design projects, including serving as the general director of the 2010 World Design Capital Seoul.

The city stated that Professor Na's diverse experiences are expected to serve as a driving force for the implementation of the "2030 Busan Architecture and Urban Design Innovation Plan" announced on September 20.

Busan Mayor Park Hyung-jun (right) is presenting the appointment certificate of Busan City Chief Designer to Professor Na Geon of Hongik University.

Chief Designer Na Geon said, "Global cities are created with attractive architecture and urban design that represent the identity of the city," adding, "We will make Busan a wonderful global design city of international standards by embodying the identity of an open and dynamic maritime city."

Park Hyung-jun, Mayor of Busan, emphasized, "Busan is currently at a turning point to leap forward as a global hub city with the bid for the 2030 Busan World Expo and the opening of the Gadeok New Airport."

He continued, "With this appointment of the chief designer, we will establish the direction for urban development that we should pursue in the fields of architecture and urban design," and said, "I hope this will provide a great momentum to leap beyond Asia and become a city that is good to live in worldwide through systematic strategies."