"From Steel City to City of Life: Pohang Declares 'K-Blue Zone' as Blueprint for the 100-Year Life Era"

Symposium "Opening the Future of the 100-Year Life in Pohang" Held on the 3rd
Paradigm Shift for Older Adults: From "Dependents" to "Productive Agents"
Advanced Technology + Healing Agriculture = Extended Healthy Life Expectancy and Revitalized Local Economy

Pohang City has announced a next-generation future strategy modeled after the world-renowned longevity communities known as "Blue Zones" to directly tackle the era-defining challenge of a super-aged society.

On the 3rd, Pohang City held the "Opening the Future of the 100-Year Life in Pohang: The Road to K-Blue Zone" symposium in the main conference room of City Hall and began full-fledged discussions on plans to create a "Pohang-style K-Blue Zone" that combines extended healthy life expectancy with local industries.

Pohang City held the "Opening the Future of the 100-Year Era in Pohang: The Road to the K-Blue Zone" symposium on the 3rd in the city hall's main conference room. Provided by Pohang City

The symposium was organized to build an ecosystem in which citizens can enjoy long and healthy lives by leveraging Pohang's geographical and industrial strengths.

In his congratulatory remarks, Pohang Deputy Mayor Jang Sanggil said, "Pohang is a blessed wellness city with a mild climate and both mountains and the sea," adding, "We will leap forward as a city of life that exports a 'healthy longevity platform' to the world by going beyond being a steel-centered industrial city and building a platform where citizens can live long and healthy lives."

In his keynote speech, former Rural Development Administration Commissioner Min Seungkyu underscored the justification for the Pohang project under the theme "K-Blue Zone, Why Pohang?"

He cited the coexistence of industry and nature, accessibility between urban and rural areas, and the driving force of the administration as reasons why Pohang is the optimal location for a K-Blue Zone.

Next, Maeil Business Newspaper Deputy Managing Editor Jung Hyukhoon proposed a "K-Blue Zone 3.0" model that combines agriculture, technology, and community, presenting as core strategies the creation of a productive healing community, smart food and life care, and the establishment of an intergenerational coexisting social platform.

In particular, he stressed the need to foster a healing tourism hub linked to the Costa Valley tourism and recreation district in Janggi-myeon, saying, "We need a paradigm shift that transforms older people from dependents to productive agents."

Team Leader Cho Seonghwan of Pohang City's Rural Vitality Division introduced a "Pohang-style Healing Blue Zone" model that expands rural areas into everyday healing spaces, while Agricultural Policy Division Director Lee Sangbeom presented a direction to develop agriculture from simple production into a healing industry. They outlined a vision to create a Pohang-style K-Blue Zone based on healing agriculture and rural communities and expressed their ambition to turn rural areas into a vast healing center.

During the Q&A session with citizens, participants discussed win-win measures in connection with small business owners, such as developing Blue Zone-certified menus and commercializing wellness products using local specialties.

Seopan Kil, Professor Emeritus at POSTECH, emphasized the importance of establishing a public-private-academic cooperation system and expanding international exchanges.

Pohang City plans to actively reflect the opinions of experts and citizens presented at this symposium in its policies and to fully launch efforts to build a global wellness city that combines extended healthy life expectancy with healing tourism.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.