Busan mayor heads to UK, Germany for maritime and design diplomacy

Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo will travel to London and the German cities of Frankfurt and Hamburg from Wednesday through Nov. 18 — a six-night, eight-day trip — to discuss international cooperation in maritime, port and design affairs.

Jeon will begin the trip in London on Thursday and Friday (local time), visiting the London Maritime Arbitrators Association, the British Chamber of Shipping and the Admiralty Court to study advanced practices in international maritime arbitration and legal services. The visits are aimed at building capacity for the Busan International Maritime and Commercial Court, set to open in March 2028, and at developing the city's maritime legal services industry and dispute-resolution capabilities.

Jeon will also tour The O2, the mixed-use entertainment complex, to examine how the venue is operated and how large-scale cultural spaces are developed. The city plans to draw on those lessons for its vision of a domed arena complex at Busan's North Port, envisioned as a next-generation cultural and tourism hub.

On Nov. 14, Jeon will attend the official handover ceremony for the 2028 World Design Capital (WDC) title in Frankfurt and hold meetings with the Frankfurt mayor, the president of the World Design Organization (WDO) and the incoming WDO president, among other key figures. As Busan formally receives the WDC title at the ceremony, the city intends to promote its design policies and urban development vision to the international community and expand its network with the WDO and design cities around the world.

On Nov. 16, Jeon will meet with officials from the Hamburg Port Authority and inspect the port and the Elbphilharmonie concert hall. The Busan Port Authority and the Hamburg Port Authority have maintained a sister-port relationship since 2011. During the visit, Jeon will examine Hamburg's port operations and its transition toward eco-friendly and smart port systems, and discuss ways to expand cooperation between the two cities' ports.

Jeon will also meet with the chief executive of HafenCity Hamburg GmbH, the company overseeing the HafenCity development, to share experiences and lessons from transforming idle port land into a mixed-use urban district combining residential, commercial and cultural facilities — insights the city hopes to apply to the second phase of the North Port redevelopment project. In a separate meeting with the Hamburg mayor, whose city signed a friendship and cooperation agreement with Busan in 2023, Jeon will seek ways to strengthen maritime and port cooperation, sustain ongoing exchanges and identify new joint projects.

Before departing, Jeon said the European tour "will be an important opportunity for Busan to leap forward as a global maritime capital by studying advanced practices in maritime, port and design affairs and broadening the foundation for international cooperation." He added that he would "solidify cooperation with major world cities and international organizations to raise Busan's global standing and build it into a world-class maritime city that draws the world's attention."