Seoul Smart City

With the development of society, smart city has become the future choice of every city. As the capital of South Korea, Seoul is one of the cities that attach the most importance to science and technology in the world. Since 2003, it has been at the forefront of the United Nations e-government survey list, and its smart city construction is also quite successful. Launched in June 2011, the "Smart Seoul 2015" program aims to maintain Korea's honorable status as an ICT leader by adopting smart technologies to stimulate the sustainability and competitiveness of its development. Smart Seoul follows the example of the u-City (u-Seoul, or ubiquitous Seoul) project, which seeks to enhance the city's competitiveness by adopting ubiquitous cloud computing technology. The Smart Seoul project is more people-oriented, focusing not only on applying as much smart technology as possible, but also on creating a greater degree of cooperation and interaction between the city and its citizens.

Seoul's smart city construction begins with its comprehensive network, including high-speed broadband wired and wireless networks such as Wi-Fi and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. A key pillar of Smart Seoul is increasing access to smart devices and teaching new users how to operate them, ensuring that every citizen's voice is heard. In 2012, Seoul began distributing second-hand smart devices to low-income and other needy groups. Citizens are encouraged to donate old equipment when buying new ones, especially when the equipment is in the $50-$100 range to enjoy a tax deduction, which is distributed free of charge to vulnerable groups after being inspected and repaired by the manufacturer. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is piloting a smart work center project where government employees can work from 10 offices (smart work centers) closest to their homes. Employees commuting to a smart work center can enjoy sophisticated workgroup software and video conferencing systems, ensuring productivity is not compromised while away from the town hall. Seoul plans to offer smart work to its 30% employees in 2015.

In addition to this, Smart Seoul is implementing a smart metering project with the aim of reducing its total energy consumption in the city by 10%. The project started in 2012 with a test trial of 1000 smart meters installed. These meters provide homes, offices, and business owners with real-time reports on their utility consumption. Reports are presented in monetary units, with specific consumption patterns and how those patterns can be adjusted to save energy consumption. A smart metering project completed in 2008 showed 84% participants checking their energy information one or more times per day, 60% participants reporting that the project helped save their energy use, and 71% participants expressing hope that in the future Participate in similar projects.