Economic Leaders' tour of the APEC 2005 IT Exhibition
The IT Exhibition, held under the title 'Towards One Community' and designed to strengthen IT cooperation among the member economies, received enthusiastic responses from Economic Leaders who toured the Exhibition after the first-round of APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on Nov. 18.
The originally scheduled tour of 30 minutes from 19:00 was extended by 10 minutes as the Leaders were mesmerized by Korea's state-of-the-art IT products and services on display.
President of Korea Roh Moo-hyun greeted the Leaders one by one at the entrance of the Exhibition hall (Glass Hall, BEXCO) as Minister of Information and Communication of Korea Chin Dae-je gave explanation in the first theme section of the Highlight Zone on the meaning of the Digital Dandelion and its seeds, a symbol of a 'humane and equitable' digital world. As each Leader entered the hall with one minute interval, the sphere-shaped dandelion projected an image of the corresponding Leader's face.
After a brief overview of the Exhibition given by Minister Chin, the Leaders and First Ladies freely broke to visit the sections of their own interest. The VIP Lounge adorned with the Digital Pond, sitting at the center of the hall, provided a place for resting and chatting for the Leaders.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi showed a particular interest in Hubo Einstein. Despite Professor Oh Jon-ho(KAIST)'s advice not to touch it, the curious Prime Minister laid his hands on the face of Hubo Einstein, uttering it was so real. Other Leaders were seen shaking hands with the robot.
US President George W. Bush also stayed long at the Robot Section. As Hubo Einstein greeted him with the traditional Korean bow bending himself, President Bush said “Kamsahapnida(Thank you)” in Korean. In the LG Electronics Section, he listened carefully to the explanation given by the company's Vice President and CEO S. S. Kim. He said the 60-inch 'time-machine' PDP TV on display was similar to the TiVo in the US, while exclaiming "Fantastic!" before DMB(Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) handsets and a 102-inch PDP TV.
The Robot Cafe became a gathering place for Economic Leaders at one point. The Leaders and First Ladies from Peru and Chile as well as King of Brunei entered the cafe almost simultaneously. They chatted friendly over lemonade served by the robot bartender Silver Mate.
A wheel-chair controlled by facial muscle, displayed in the Highlight Zone, also grabbed attention of the Leaders and First Ladies from Mexico, China, and the US. Unlike conventional wheel-chairs, this one operates responding to the human muscle movement so that physically-challenged people could move on their own without help.
Mexico's First Lady was amused by the dancing robot Maru. She exclaimed "Amazing!" at the explanation that it can also help with house chores.
Watching images illustrating the past, present, and future of 'IT Korea', Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra wondered "You(Korea)'re moving too fast!”
With education being his major issue of concern, the Prime Minister intently toured the e-Learning Section and said he would review possibility for cooperation between Education Ministries of Korea and Thailand in implementing his country's education reform plan currently in the making.
In the SK Telecom Section, Chinese President Hu Jin Tao and First Lady were guided by company chairman Chey Tae-won. King of Brunei and President of Chile made their round together, displaying particular interest in the HSDPA(High Speed Downlink Packet Access) and DMB.
Economic Leaders from Peru, New Zealand, Chile, and Chinese Taipei got hands-on experience of the WiBro-based multilateral video teleconference with KT's Senior Vice President of Mobile Internet Business Group Hong Won-pyo in the KT Section.
Though Liaison Officers requested Economic Leaders in their charge to move for the dinner gala scheduled at 19:30, the Leaders spent 10 more minutes in the Exhibition hall before they left through the VIP Gate which directly leads to the dinner gala venue. The VIP Gate, made for exclusive use for the Leaders, symbolizes a path 'Toward One Community' by creating the unique 'a-walk-on-water' feeling.
After tour by Economic Leaders and other APEC participants, APEC 2005 IT Exhibition is open to the public for free on Nov. 20 and 21(10:00 ~ 18:00).
The Ministry of Information and Communication
Press release
For comments, contact Song Kyung-hee(051-744-3225) / Lim Nak-hee(051-744-3225, lucky7@mic.go.kr)
웹사이트: http://www.mic.go.kr
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2005년 11월 17일 16:37
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