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Looking back 20 years into the past for the next 20 years into the future.

Haebom
Recently, a close younger friend asked me, "What is good to do when life feels hopeless?" and I told them to read history books. I recommend content that simply lists facts, rather than historical novels like *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*. Of course, since history is written by the victors, bias is inevitable, but there is wisdom to be found within it. If you find history books boring, I also recommend reading texts written 20 to 30 years ago.
The reason I am opening with this topic is that I recently had the good fortune to hold a video meeting with people in the U.S. to discuss their current focus. I found it personally very interesting that they suggested a much broader world than I had anticipated in response to a casual question about the future. Naturally (?), the conversation started with artificial intelligence, but the topic quickly cooled down. I heard that GPT-# has already been developed internally and its capabilities have been proven to some extent through testing; currently, only research, testing, and evaluation of the AI ​​model remain with the U.S. AI Safety Institute under the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and that the focus has already shifted to other agendas. (To clarify, I am not saying that the AI ​​bubble has burst.)
Bay seemed to have a firm conviction that the use of AI would become commonplace, and as the standard of AI adoption rises, it will naturally integrate into most industries, a process that will happen instantaneously, just as the mobile era arrived. I also heard the term "A2A" for the first time; they were contemplating new directions in robotics and daily life to impact the real world through "AI to Action." The conversation then covered a wide range of topics, including education, biotechnology, and materials engineering. After the video meeting, I felt a very strange sensation. It felt as if I had traveled ten years into the future. While we were just saying, "We’ve finally made a fire!", it appeared they were grilling meat over fire, cultivating fields with slash-and-burn agriculture, and contemplating steam engines.
In the midst of this sense of helplessness, I suddenly wondered, "What were people thinking 20 or 40 years ago?" I also thought about how far into the scope of the world we live in today would plans take—not just "2024 Trends," but things like roadmaps and master plans.
While doing so, I discovered a book completed in 1979 titled *National Territory Planning for the 2000s*. This book contained a roadmap outlining how South Korea should be developed, predicting the future 20 years ahead. Despite frequent conflicts of interest and a multitude of stakeholders, this plan worked at the time. Although the powerful force of the military regime was at play, the philosophy and direction of this plan are remarkably clear. Furthermore, this document, drafted starting in 1973, contains much to learn even when read today. One can also sense its own distinct philosophy.
2000년대의국토구상.pdf18.17MB
Since there were no computers at the time, markings were made by typing and drawing pictures by hand, and it is interesting to look at these drawings. Also, considering that it was written in the 1970s, the foresight is incredible.
Interestingly, this document covers everything from the overpopulation of the capital area and the decline of regional areas to how to build South Korea's logistics and energy networks, and how to utilize limited resources (land) for future growth engines. Furthermore, what makes this document interesting is the impressive detail that there was consideration regarding the relocation of the administration and the capital to the area around present-day Sejong City.
Furthermore, it is impressive that he warned that if the metropolitan area becomes overcrowded and many people gather in Seoul, real estate prices will rise, and if people start pouring money into real estate, there will be no funds available for technological development or investments for the future, so such a thing must not happen. Of course, since we are living in 2024, we can evaluate this, but when considering that era, one cannot help but be amazed by the fact that he was predicting the future and making such proposals.
You might not be able to solve even a problem that everyone knows.
Personally, I realized that this was a tremendous key point, and that solving even a single problem based on it would serve as a foundation for many things and lead to opportunities. Furthermore, since the Third Republic was a regime that began with a coup and experienced a sudden change of government without a proper transfer of power, it appears that even if this had been known, there were quite a few instances where it could not be implemented. As I reached out and read through the National Comprehensive Land Plan, I was left in awe of the 4th Comprehensive Road Plan. This document was published in December 1999 and contains national land plans for the next 20 years. ( Link )
4차 국토종합계획(2000-2020).pdf7.57MB
1979년 국토구상에서 생각한 도로망
1999년 국토종합계획에서 제안된 국토도로망
Am I the only one who feels that the visualizations and user-friendly visualizations were done better in the 1970s? In any case, this comprehensive national land plan, having gone through South Korea's turbulent modern history, was attempted to be implemented during the Roh Moo-hyun administration in the 2000s, but it ultimately ended up being terminated in a partially reorganized form due to political and commercial reasons. Since the social atmosphere, statements, and plans from that time are housed in the Presidential Archives, it would be interesting to take a look at them.
So, how are plans for the next 20 years being made? In fact, the 5th National Comprehensive Land Plan was announced during President Moon Jae-in's term.
제5차 국토종합계획(2020~2040)(홈페이지 공개).pdf10.64MB
When looking at the National Comprehensive Land Development Plan laid out in its entirety, I cannot shake the feeling that it began to go awry at some point. Personally, I believe this is not a problem of a specific administration, but rather because the values ​​prioritized have continuously shifted. In the case of the initial land development plans, the focus was entirely on practicality, efficiency, and economic development. Even up to the fourth plan, there were proposals such as relocating the capital, preventing overcrowding, and restructuring the real estate-based economy. However, as various vested interests and concerns clashed along the way, I feel that the result was a plan that was "good-looking"—one that was not inconvenient for anyone (or at least minimally inconvenient).
How do you envision the future 10 or 20 years from now? To envision the future, I examined the national roadmap of South Korea from the 1970s to 2020, and I clearly learned one lesson. Even if you gather the world's smartest people and experts, you can come up with ideal theories; however, for them to actually be realized, someone's philosophy and people must autonomously take responsibility. This applies whether it is a startup, an individual's life, a family, or a nation.
😅
This article has absolutely no political intent and is based on data officially released by the government.
After glimpsing the future and being shocked, I looked back at the past, and it seems that what I need to do in the present has become even clearer. Finally, I would like to conclude this writing by sharing one last story.

When we think of the past, regret binds our feet
Thinking about the future blinds you with worry
Think about the present and focus on what you can do right now.

haebom
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