To all respected Korean and foreign visitors to YIMF(Yeongwol International Museum Forum), we are now in September when the autumn of Gangwon-do where culture co-exists is being more glaring and beautiful. It is my honor to hold , the best event for museums, here in Yeongwol, the city of museum and creation without a ceiling.

Moreover, it is also my great honor to declare the opening of this special event. More than anything, there is no other word to express how happy I am to have time with distinguished visitors from Korea and outside including museum and art experts who made their visit from many nations throughout the world. As co-chairs of organization committee, I sincerely welcome you all for visiting Yeongwol, where a museum stays alive during this beautiful season.

Time has flown and it marks the 5th year of which is hosted by Yeongwol-gun, and jointly supervised the Korean Museum Association and ICOM Korea. This year marks the 10 year anniversary of the designation of Yeongwol’s designation as the museum special area by ROK government in 2008. YIMF was first planned in an effort to develop a new regional strategy in the midst of international trends and social phenomenon. Thanks for your support and unwavering interest, its periodic importance is being largely recognized by international museum organizations. Furthermore, its value and meaning in terms of social developing strategy by international museum organizations are also being recognized. Out of all this, I would like to express of words of appreciation for your active support and interest.

The major topic of this year’s forum is "Sustainability of Community and Future Museum" and there are 3 sub topics including 'Platforms for Living Together of Global Society: Mega-sports and Museum', 'The 4th Industrial Revolution of Artificial Intelligence and Future of Museum', 'Innovation and Sustainability of Small Museums', etc.

Along with topics that were discussed before, this topic deals with issues of coexistence by humans and the community as a part of a dramatic social change in the modern society. This topic also encourages active participation and spreading of UNESCO’s recommendation for museum and collection, 2015.

Especially, the universal assignment is to discuss how to advance museum’s community spirit and substantiality within regional societies. Also, now is the time to think about the function of museums in the future as development of new AI technology may make the future of humanity even more uncertain. Likewise, this year’s discussion may draw a meaningful and important to the efforts made by the international museum society.

As you might have noticed, the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, the biggest winter sports event in the world will be hosted here in Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do. So far, South Korea has made remarkable outcomes in all areas. Likewise, it successfully hosted sports events including 1988 Seoul Olympic(Summer), 2002 Korea-Japan Worldcup, and 2011 Daegu World Championship in Athletics. This coming winter Olympic game will be the key point for South Korea to mark the 'grand slam' of all international sports event. Furthermore, sports and museums, I believe, are the two axis of coexistence that complete the spirit and life of humans. Therefore, it is my sincere hope that this coming event would largely contribute to the development of museums in this region.

Meanwhile, countries throughout the globe are having fierce competition in order to stay in the center of the 4th industrial revolution by using AI, IOT, big data, etc. Advancement of AI may completely change human life. In the midst of such social change, it is time to seriously consider roles of museums and I hope for a great discussion this time.

I believe that performances made by Yeongwol, the museum special area, and this year's international museum forum well match with government indexes such as 'Creating a fair cultural industrial ecosystem and spreading of Hallyu in Korea', 'A nation with strong software, constructing the base for leading the 4th industrial revolution by ICT renaissance', and 'An energetic nation where everyone enjoys sports' that were made by the government as a strategy to build a cultural democratic society.

Until now, thanks to efforts made by the Korean Museum Association museum activities as a social foundation of cultural entry have significantly improved in Korea. Moreover, approximately 50 new museums have opened annually. This phenomenon is highlighted since it matches well with the direction of state affairs called 'Life-style culture age enjoying culture in regions and daily life' which is categorized as the 'balanced regional development and culture welfare'.

I would like take this opportunity to express words of appreciation and encouragement to residents in Yeongwol and the governor of Yeongwol who are building the only museum special area in South Korea. Not far from today, there will be lines of people throughout the world to experience Yeongwol's unique strategy of coexistence as a museum strategy.

Lastly, I would like to give my special thanks and welcoming to all domestic and international presenters and speakers including Regine Schulz, the chairperson of ICOM advisory committee, Jette Sandahl, the former Director of Denmark Copenhagen Museum who will present a keynote speech, Yuji Kurihara, the Executive Vice Director of National Kyoto Museum who is preparing for the 2019 edition of the General Conference in Kyoto, and Ann Follin, Director General of National Museum of World Culture, Sweden. Furthermore, I also would like to welcome all distinguished Korean visitors and presenters including Kim Byeong-mo, honorary member of ICOM and the former chancellor of Korea National University of Cultural Heritage.

Furthermore, I give my special thanks to Do Jongwhan, the minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Choi Moonsoon, the governor of Gangwon-do, and related officials as well as the committee members of the forum, people working for arts and museums, and museum curators and officials in Yeongwol. With all being said, I hope that you fully experience the autumn in Yeongwol and museums during your stay here.