Seoul to Demonstrate UAM Next Year with Goal of Commercial Services by 2030

At the UAM, Drone, and AI New Technology Conference on Nov. 11-12, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announces the “S-UAM Future Vision” with a specific roadmap.

The city of Seoul will begin a full-scale demonstration of urban air mobility (UAM) in Yeouido and the Han River in the first half of 2025, with the goal of commercializing UAM by 2030.

AT the UAM, Drone and AI New Technology Conference on Nov. 11 at Seoul City Hall, the city unveiled the Seoul-Urban Air Mobility (S-UAM) Future Vision’ with a specific roadmap, including UAM routes.

Through this vision, the city drew a blueprint for Seoul’s UAM, based on its strengths, including abundant tourism resources, world-class medical infrastructure, helicopter operation experience and public transportation connectivity.

Seoul City plans to enhance transportation connectivity by securing vertiport facilities, which hold the key to UAM operations, in stages.

Major vertiport facilities will be built in four places — Yeouido, Suseo, Jamsil, and Gimpo, in and near Seoul, by 2030 for testing and early-stage operations.

When the S-UAM system is completed, it is expected to realize a three-dimensional transportation service that goes beyond Seoul’s current transportation methods that are limited to the ground and underground.

It will ultimately herald in an era of Seoul as being a megacity that transcends spatial limitations.

Seoul Learn Kids

The Seoul City government will pilot the Seoul Learn Kids Program for one year in 2025 to support the healthy mental and physical development of kids of marginalized families by providing them with high-quality online content that promotes creativity and thinking power.

In the digital age, the poorer a family is, the more time their children spend on social media, expanding concerns over exposure to harmful, low quality media content.

The Seoul City government signed a business agreement on Seoul Learn Kids with six companies on Nov. 18.

As a pilot project by private companies in response to the need to provide quality content to vulnerable youth, toddlers aged four or five years old of low-income families in Seoul will be able to use free devices, high-quality online content and teaching materials from six private companies for one year from January 2025.

Meanwhile, the Seoul City government announced that it will submit a 48.407-trillion-won budget for next year to the Seoul City Council. A city representative said that the budget focused on raising Seoul’s birth rate on decline.

3rd K Youth Future Science Contest

Four Municipal Youth Centers in Seoul will host the Third K Youth Future Science Competition for youths across the country at Kwangwoon University and Seongbuk Youth Center on Nov. 17.

The event is designed to encourage youths interested in future science and technology to grow and realize their dreams through creative and practical experiences.

The Third K Youth Future Science Competition has been held annually since 2022, providing opportunities for talented youths interested in science to demonstrate their skills.

The K Youth Future Science Competition is an opportunity for future science students to showcase their skills on the latest science and technology such as robotics, hackathons, drones, and artificial intelligence (AI).

In addition, K Youth Future Science Competition consists of the 15th K Robot Competition, the Fifth Youth Hackathon, the 4th Seoul Youth Drone Football Competition, and the Second Environmental AI Idea Contest.