Busan is good

Mayor Park Heong-joon Meets with the Philippine Ambassador to Korea and the Mayor of Bacoor

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that on July 16 at 4:30 p.m., a meeting was held in the International Protocol Room of City Hall between Mayor Park Heong-joon, Maria Theresa Dizon-De Vega, Ambassador of the Philippines to Korea, and Strike B. Revilla, Mayor of Bacoor, Philippines, to discuss ways to strengthen friendly cooperation between Busan and the Philippines.

Mayor Park stated to the Ambassador, “I heard that your term will conclude at the end of this month,” and added, “I deeply appreciate your sincere interest in and dedicated efforts for Korea and Busan.”

He continued, “Since establishing a sister city relationship with Cebu Province in the Philippines in 2011, Busan has continued active exchanges in various fields including culture, tourism, and economy, based on our shared identity as maritime tourism cities. Next year marks the meaningful 15th anniversary of this sisterhood.”

Mayor Park also emphasized, “Busan is a leading city in disaster response both domestically and internationally. We have built a ‘digital-based disaster response system’ grounded in a smart disaster management system,” and added, “Busan is evolving into a smart city by actively introducing smart technologies across the urban landscape to make citizens’ lives safer and more convenient.”

That day, the Bacoor delegation visited the Disaster Situation Room within City Hall to observe Busan’s disaster safety management system. The city shared various smart disaster response cases, such as risk prediction and detection based on forecasting, and citizen-participatory alert systems.

The Philippine Ambassador said, “It has been very meaningful to participate in various festivals organized by Busan Metropolitan City, and I sincerely thank you for your warm hospitality,” adding, “My experiences in Busan remain cherished memories. I would love to visit again if I get the chance.”

Ambassador Maria Theresa Dizon-De Vega took office in July 2021, and her term will conclude at the end of this July.

The Mayor of Bacoor stated, “Bacoor is also a maritime city like Busan, and we hope to share best practices with Busan to mutually grow, especially in preparing for natural disasters such as floods.”

Lastly, Mayor Park concluded the meeting by saying, “I hope to develop practical cooperation plans in areas such as smart technology, disaster response, and environmental management with dynamic and growing cities like Bacoor.”