By Honorary Reporter Mahmoud Hamdyfrom Egypt and Milton Magañafrom El Salvador
Videos = Mahmoud Hamdy and Milton Magaña
Photos = Jeremie Paula
Busan hosted the 2019 ASEAN (The Association of South-East Asian Nations)-ROK (Republic of Korea) Commemorative Summit from Nov.25-26, an event we covered as Honorary Reporters for Korea.net. The first event we attended was an innovation culture exhibition at the summit venue of the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO).
Milton and I decided to cover this expo despite neither of us having a tech background. Though we are both designers, innovation and design are two sides of the same coin. The ideas inside the exhibition mostly revolved around convenience and small yet significant improvements in human life.
The Korean company T-money was among those showcasing a new approach toward smart payment for public transportation. The use of facial recognition technology for payment means people need not carry money or even plastic cards to ride mass transit. T-money was set up in 2003 for a specific purpose by Seoul Metropolitan Government to improve public transportation services.
Kyungwoo Systech presented an intelligent and safe transportation platform, namely an eco-friendly electric tuk-tuk that needs no recharging. Instead, a network of interchangeable battery stations accessible by mobile app allows the driver to replace a nearly dead battery with a fully charged one with zero waste of time.
Health care was strongly featured in the exhibition. Software companies displayed their cloud-based deep learning apps featuring artificial intelligence (AI) as the latest breakthroughs in diagnostic precision innovation. For example, AVUNO, a company with a platform for medical data analysis and deep algorithms, can solve complex problems in healthcare. Also featured were tools to support quantitative decisions in bone aging, fundus AI, brain parcellation, AI-based chest X-rays and mobile apps for pap smears.
Korea's two tech giants LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics were also there showcasing their latest innovations for smart home and office solutions, including a robotic arm that can help prepare a meal or a cup of coffee. KT displayed its latest technologies using the cutting-edge 5G for smart factories, quality control of product lines, virtual reality and self-driving cars. A KT vehicle ran on the 5G network, patrolling the exhibition venue of BEXCO.
President Moon Jae-in said, "We will work with ASEAN to find ways to penetrate the global market for the culture business and develop a cooperative platform of cultural exchange, through which all of us can raise mutual understanding and friendship for future generations."
In conclusion, the innovation and development ideas and products presented at this exhibition stemmed from Korea's holistic and well-integrated vision with their multicultural teams from ASEAN. This type of creative thinking was an excellent example for entrepreneurs, business owners and other individuals who can look forward to an inclusive and dynamic work culture in which geographical borders no longer matter to solve the problems of tomorrow.
chaey0726@korea.kr *This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.