The 16th Busan-Fukuoka Forum Held in Fukuoka, Japan

The 16th meeting of the ‘Busan-Fukuoka Forum’ will be held over two days from the 10th to the 11th in Fukuoka, Japan.

This forum has selected the theme “Building a Foundation for the Era of the Korea-Japan Strait Region” with the aim of revitalizing exchanges between the two cities, which have weakened over the past few years, in line with the recent improvement in Korea-Japan relations.

At the evening welcome reception held locally on the 10th, Seongkwon Lee, Vice Mayor for Economic Affairs of Busan, Geonchan Park, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Fukuoka, and Tsuyoshi Ootsuka, Consul General of Japan in Busan, will deliver congratulatory remarks.

At the opening keynote lecture on the 11th, Atsumi Kamo, Director of the Japan National Tourism Organization, is expected to explain the Japanese government’s tourism policy and suggest ways to promote tourism between the two cities, Busan and Fukuoka.

Participants of the 16th Busan-Fukuoka Forum.

In the first session of the forum held at Ito Campus of Kyushu University, under the theme “Measures and Challenges for Activating Busan-Fukuoka University Student Exchanges,” Busan’s side will be represented by Youngsoo Jang, President of Pukyong National University, and Jaeguk Jang, President of Dongseo University, while Japan’s side will feature Tatsuro Ishibashi, President of Kyushu University, and Keijiro Saku, President of Fukuoka University, each giving presentations.

The second session, titled “The Role and Challenges of Regional Banks for Strengthening Regional Competitiveness,” will feature Seongbin Bang, President of Busan Bank, and Hideyuki Murakami, President of the Nishi-Nippon City Bank.

Jaeguk Jang, President of Dongseo University and chief secretary of the Busan-Fukuoka Forum, said, “We expect this to be a time to discuss restoring the relationship between Busan and Fukuoka, which has somewhat cooled due to the deterioration of Korea-Japan relations in recent years, and to develop it into a more sustainable relationship.”