Yesterday was extraordinary. We hosted the 2026 Jeju Global Space Forum (Jeju to Space) at Halla Convention Center, bringing together space industry leaders, government officials, and 78 participants from our RISE·AWS Global Space Bootcamp.

Moderating the Vision Panel

I had the privilege of moderating a panel on “From Talent Hub to Space Innovation Hub: How Can Jeju Build a Sustainable Ecosystem?” with three incredible global leaders:

  • Philip T. Metzger – Director, Stephen W. Hawking Center for Microgravity Research & Education
  • Andrea Dotti – Head of R&D, Pix4D (Switzerland)
  • Jaspal Johl – Head of Public Sector Industries, AWS Asia-Pacific & Japan

The conversation connected global space industry trends with Jeju’s unique potential to become a regional space-AI innovation ecosystem. What emerged was a clear vision: Jeju isn’t just building talent—we’re creating a testbed for space-AI convergence innovation.

The Hackathon Finale: Real Problems, Real Solutions

But the real highlight was the hackathon finale. After 48 intense hours of building, 17 teams presented working prototypes addressing actual Jeju challenges using space data and AI technology.

Grand Prize Winner: Team Hanarabong

Grand Prize (₩5M): Team Hanarabong – Sargassum Management System

Their solution tackles a pressing coastal environmental issue—sargassum seaweed that damages marine ecosystems and tourism—with satellite monitoring and AI-driven prediction. This is exactly what we designed the program for: real problems, deployable solutions.

Multiple teams received recognition, with ₩12M in total prizes awarded to outstanding projects spanning climate response, coastal management, and space industry applications.

Beyond Education

What made this program different: 46 bootcamp trainees joined 32 additional participants to form project teams. They went through the complete development cycle—problem definition, data analysis, model design, service architecture—and delivered working results. Not presentations. Working systems.

This forum and hackathon went beyond events. They demonstrated that Jeju can become a real testbed for space-AI convergence innovation.

Building Momentum

We’ll continue building on this momentum—expanding project-completion education, deepening industry partnerships, and connecting our participants with follow-up pilots and career pathways.

The ecosystem is taking shape. And yesterday proved we’re on the right path.

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