The Mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, met with renowned Korean professor and architect Young-Hoon Kwaak on Monday to discuss issues of urban planning and sustainable development.
The meeting was held after a talk presented by Professor Kwaak at the Universidad de Los Andes focused on sharing his experience in the development of megaprojects of international importance for urban and regional development from a public policy perspective.
Young-Hoon Kwaak is one of Korea's most influential architects and urban planners. Throughout his career he has prepared master plans for several cities in Korea that have shaped the current perception of the country, including the 1969 Master Plan of Vision and Implementation; Seoul City's first Long Range Master Plan; and the Seoul Olympic Park Master Plan, among other celebrated projects.
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In the talk, he explained his perspective on urban and regional planning from a humanistic point of view, that is, developing projects so that the development of cities responds to the needs of citizens, while respecting the tradition and culture of the territory in question.
During the presentation, a short space was reserved for the international guest to exchange ideas with Mayor López in which she thanked Young-Hoon Kwaak for his visit, highlighted the importance of having him as a guest in the city due to his recognized career in the development of territorial plans, and highlighted their previous meeting in Korea as part of the past international agenda.
"I am very happy that you are joining us today and that you are sharing your planning ideas. In the case of Bogotá, we already have a definite plan to achieve a more positive better future of which you speak and now we are focusing on securing resources, hence the last meeting in Seoul with investors. These are challenging times, but above all hopeful ones."
Mayor López recently visited the city of Seoul (Korea) as part of an agenda of international commitments. There, she met with various investors, experts, leaders, and government representatives to talk about Bogotá’s main projects with the aim of promoting foreign investment from the Asian country.
Here is a tweet from Mayor Claudia López thanking Professor Young-Hoon Kwaak for his visit:
Gracias por visitar Bogotá y compartirnos ideas de planeación urbana, profesor YoungHoon KWAAK, Fundador y Presidente de WCO, World Chizana Organizot, gran planeador de Corea del Sur que transformó las ciudades de Corea con Olímpicos, Feria de Tecnología y sistema de transporte. pic.twitter.com/PIhUmBa3R0
— Claudia López Hernández (@ClaudiaLopez) October 25, 2022
For his part, Professor Kwaak thanked the Mayor for her presence at the event and said he agreed with the ideas and concepts presented by her for the Bogotá’s development.
"When we met in Seoul I thought: "Wow, she's dynamic." Many of her ideas moved me and even moved me, but what fascinated me most is the transformation of Bogotá of which she speaks. I wish Mayor López all the best and fully support [what is needed] to make that transformation a reality," Kwaak said.
After the event, a closed-door meeting was held to exchange knowledge on sustainable strategic development and discuss possible opportunities for future collaboration.
