On September 3, the University of Seoul (UOS) and the Seoul Metropolitan Facilities Management Corporation (SMFMC) signed a business agreement to revitalize underground shopping malls. To invigorate the underground space, the College of Business Administration of UOS will begin a related curriculum, and the SMFMC will support students' participation in the curriculum and field training. The two organizations will also exchange various academic information. The agreement was signed to revitalize underground shopping malls through the innovative ideas of students from UOS belonging to the MZ generation, with the SMFMC offering field experience opportunities to conduct practical professional education.
The SMFMC, an innovative public corporation that offers citizen-centered urban foundation services, provides more creative public services that can help citizens improve their quality of life. In 2016, the SMFMC invited the students from the Department of Landscape Architecture at UOS to conduct field experience classes. This program was designed to help students make career decisions through hands-on experience on a construction site.
Recently, revitalizing underground shopping malls has emerged as a pressing issue. Underground shopping malls are not particularly popular with the younger generation, and many people regard them as nothing more than a general passageway. In Incheon, the revised ordinance on underground shopping malls, which bans transfer, acquisition, and sublease, will be implemented the following year. If the bill comes into effect, tenants who are currently subleasing will be required to operate their own stores. However, since tenants frequently rent out stores for sublease purposes, the bill has sparked a lot of controversies. In addition, about 30 percent of stores in underground shopping malls are currently vacant, and due to the continuation of COVID-19, there is an atmosphere in which merchants close stores before incurring huge losses.
Students from the College of Business Administration of UOS are expected to contribute to the revitalization of underground shopping malls in different areas as a result of this agreement with the SMFMC. Furthermore, UOS is positioned to play a pivotal role in the realization of future cities by revitalizing the sluggish space of Seoul and cultivating practical management talents that contribute to society. Meanwhile, the College of Business Administration of UOS is pursuing a win-win cooperation system through agreements with other institutions.
