Seoul Keeps a High Profile in Bilateral Ties with Neighboring Cities
- Mayor Lee visits Moscow, Shanghai to publicize ambitious urban projects

Just as European cities that came into being during the Medieval Age are now transformed into borderless metropolises, the icons of modernity, Seoul wants to break down the barriers that stand between itself and its neighbor cities, acting as a catalyst to bring to Northeast Asia a similar degree of modernity. The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) is exerting itself to expand cooperation with neighboring metropolises, including Shanghai and Moscow and share their experiences on the process of their urbanization in an age of globalization.
In particular, a closer relationship between Seoul and Moscow becomes an example of SMG's bid to heighten bilateral ties with metropolises of its neighboring counties. Moscow declared Nov. 3 as the "Day of Seoul" in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a cooperation pact between the two metropolises. The declaration of Day of Seoul and commemorative events were held to reciprocate Seoul, which declared last April 23 as "Day of Moscow" in a ceremony in which the Moscow mayor participated.
In an apparent exchange for the Moscow mayor's visit here, Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak made a trip of Moscow, accompanied by a large delegation, comprising of cultural troupes, to participate in the declaration ceremony and diverse events designed to promote bilateral relations. As the commemorative events attracted about 1,000 Russians, Seoul was given a good opportunity to show off traditional Korean cultural heritage to the Moscow residents.
During the events, entitled "The Colors and Sound of the Orient, and Moscow," Korean troupes performed traditional Korean acrobats, dances and songs.
The Seoul Construction Photo Exhibition was held from Nov. 3 through Nov. 5 at the Construction Hall in Moscow to highlight Seoul's ambitious projects, including the Cheonggaecheon Stream Restoration Project and New Town Project, as well as Korean traditional architectural structures and old palaces. A total of 120 photos were on display during the exhibition.
The Seoul Modern Art Exhibition displayed 60 pieces of 18 Korean painters in Moscow between Nov. 3 and Nov. 5. The artisans, whose works were displayed, included Kim Il-hae, Park Yong-in, Kim Jong-shik, Koo Ja-seung, Kim Jong-hak, Sunny Kim, Park Byung-chun, Yoo Keun-taek, Moon Bong-seon, Kang Kyong-gu, Lee Ho-shin, Chun Ji-hae, Lee Wal-jong, Mihn Kyong-kap, Lee Man-ik, Kim Bo-hee and Park Noh-soo.
The e-Government exhibition, held at Novue Maneju Exhibition Center in Moscow from Nov. 3 through Nov. 5, demonstrated e-government practices the Seoul Metropolitan Government has implemented. The exhibits, divided into five themes, included on-line civil affairs processing; geographic information system (GIS); BMS, T-Money; data center (SMS, e-Manager and integrated information security); education and welfare (e-Learning and e-Health), and others (consultation center and small events).
The Seoul IT Goods Exhibition displayed MP3 players, VoIP Solutions, LCD monitors and LED display and hacking-prevention solutions and internet videophones from 15 Korean IT companies.
In a related development, Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak met with Moscow Mayor Yuri Mikhailovich Luzhkov and shared the view that they would cooperate in the establishment of an electronic government system in Moscow
In what is seen as the first such export of the e-Government system by the municipal government, Park Jung-ho, director-general of information planning at the SMG, inked a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the exchanges of e-Government systems and personnel exchange between the two cities last Nov. 3. The agreement calls for forming a collaborative network between Korean companies and e-Moscow JSC (Joint Stock Company).
The deal would pave the way for Korean companies to establish a bridgehead in their bid to make a foray into the Russian IT market, industrial analysts said.
South Korean companies such as Samsung Corp. will participate in setting up the database and network infrastructure in Moscow.
During his visit to Moscow last Nov. 4, Seoul Mayor Lee also inked an agreement on economic and resources cooperation with the president of the Russian Republic of Kalmykia, one of the 21 self-governing states that make up the Russian Federation. Kalmykia boasts of its abundance of energy sources. President Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov demanded that South Korean companies invest in oil fields development and promised to create a "Seoul town" in an economic free zone. In return, Seoul Mayor Lee replied that he would visit Kalmykia next April or May with businessmen to explore investment opportunities. Seoul Mayor Lee and Ilyumzhinov first met in Moscow in 1990, when the former was head of Hyundai Group and the latter was a member of the Russian parliament, and have maintained close ties.
Seoul, Shanghai in closer ties
Seoul Mayor Lee met with Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng, and agreed to discuss a proposal on the establishment of an exchange model for co-prosperity between the two counties. The two mayors shared the view that the two cities would set up their own exchange consultative committee and discuss ways of promoting exchanges such as regular shuttle flights, city officials' personnel exchange program and cultural and art troupes' performance tours.
In a speech he delivered as a speaker during the 16th International Business Leaders' Council for the Mayor of Shanghai at the Shanghai International Convention Center last Oct. 31, Seoul Mayor Lee proposed establishing a council made up of officials from both Seoul and Shanghai and experts in the field of urban planning and have regular meetings where the two cities can share information. "At this council, we could explore practical ideas. For example we could run an air shuttle between Shanghai and Seoul on a regular basis. The think tanks of the two municipal governments could cooperate on academic purposes. Cultural organizations and performing groups could make exchange visits of city government officials could be another option, too," he said.
Seoul Mayor Lee also introduced a vision of developing Seoul in the 21st century as a city that boasts sustainable growth; recognizing the importance of the natural environment as well as its historical heritage. Explaining a few of those examples, Seoul Mayor Lee said, "It would be best if environmental preservation and development could be perfectly balanced. But if this cannot be done, I believe environmental preservation should come first. With this basic idea in mind, Seoul has been implementing a range of projects to make itself greener: a project to restore an urban river, forming a forest about the size of London's Hyde Park on land previously reserved for commercial development, bring down fences and have trees and grass planted instead, and laying turf on the plaza in front of the City Hall where there used to be only bumper-to-bumper traffic." nw