Seoul AI Festa Poster. Provided by Seoul City.
The Seoul City government announced on the 25th that it will host the “Seoul AI Festa 2025” on March 8-9 at the DDP Art Hall 1. Aimed at popularizing AI, this event is a prelude to the “Smart Life Week 2025,” which is scheduled for September at COEX.
A city official explained, “Unlike the traditional tech-centric corporate exhibitions, this is a citizen-participatory festival filled with various enjoyable and engaging content for everyone.”
The AI Festa, themed “AI Spoke to Me,” will feature a total of six themed spaces. These include “AI Seoul Inside,” which showcases Seoul’s AI policies and achievements, “Whimsical AI Exhibition” exploring errors in generative AI responses humorously, “AI Fun Spot” for interactive AI experiences, “AI Flex Spot” for AI-related competitions, “AI Odyssey” for expert lectures and youth discussions, and “AI Artwork Zone” where generative AI creates personal art pieces.
On the 8th, the AI Odyssey will feature discussions on AI policies between Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and youth participants. On the 9th, there will be panel discussions with international and domestic AI experts, including MIT’s Carlo Ratti and KAIST’s AI Graduate School Dean Jeong Song. Talk concerts with renowned figures like Professor Lee Se-dol, who competed against Go AI AlphaGo, and neuroscientist Dr. Jang Dong-seon will also take place.
Kim Man-ki, Director of the Seoul Digital Foundation, stated, “This year, we will fully transform the Seoul Digital Foundation into the ‘Seoul AI Foundation’ to strengthen its pivotal role in AI utilization and lead the progress of innovative AI technologies.”
Kang Ok-hyun, Head of the Digital City Bureau, emphasized, “The AI Festa will serve as an opportunity for citizens to directly experience the possibilities and limitations of AI through fun and diverse programs, allowing them to familiarize themselves with and utilize AI in their daily lives.”