Seoul, New South Wales reaffirm 35-year ties to address urban challenges

Three decades into their relationship, Seoul and Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) are taking their 35-year partnership past traditional trade and transportation. Now, the two regions are uniting around tourism, business development and the distinctly modern urban challenge of social isolation.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon met NSW Gov. Margaret Beazley at Seoul City Hall on Thursday to discuss expanding exchanges between the two regions across tourism, economics, business, transportation, infrastructure and urban policy.

Seoul and NSW established their partnership in November 1991 and have since expanded cooperation in human exchanges, economic policy and transportation.

Their relationship deepened in 2017 with an agreement covering foreign investment and cooperation in startup sectors including fintech, biotech and digital creative industries.

Officials said roughly 100 Korean companies have bases in NSW, while about 30 NSW companies have entered Seoul, with recent business activity concentrated in finance, biotech and technology.

Seoul Metropolitan Government and Korean companies have also participated in major transportation projects in Sydney, including work by Seoul Metro as a shadow operator for Sydney Metro’s Western and Western Airport lines.

During Thursday’s meeting, Oh introduced the “Seoul Without Loneliness” initiative, which seeks to address social isolation by creating more opportunities for residents to form connections in everyday life.

“Over the past 35 years, Seoul and New South Wales have forged deep ties of friendship through active exchanges between our citizens and businesses, while fostering cooperation in various fields such as the economy and transportation,” Oh said. “Building on this meeting, I hope we can further invigorate our economic and transportation exchanges, as well as share experience and wisdom in urban policy areas where both regions face common challenges, such as expanding green spaces, urban design, combating loneliness and restoring community.”

The mayor added that city governments should play a more active role in helping residents build relationships, pointing to green spaces and gardening as potential tools for fostering social connections and improving emotional well-being.

He also proposed using a real-time video communication facility at Seoul’s planned Garden of Gratitude in Gwanghwamun Square to connect residents of Seoul with people in Australia.

Oh expressed gratitude for Australia’s Korean War veterans and for NSW’s contribution of stone symbolizing Australia to the Garden of Gratitude, which honors their sacrifice and service.

Oh said Seoul and NSW had built strong ties through decades of exchanges among residents and businesses and should expand cooperation while sharing experience on urban challenges including green spaces, urban design, loneliness and community recovery.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.