Welcome to AIB 2024: A Letter From Program Chair Geon-Cheol Shin

Dear colleagues and friends,
Welcome to the AIB 2024 Seoul Conference. It is an honor to welcome you on behalf of Kyung Hee University and our preparation committee.
This year’s conference theme, “The Dynamics of International Business,” is timely given our current global situation. Today, in this Era of Great Transformation amidst global crises, we face the dual challenge of balancing the goals of durable economic development for a sustainable world. We are reminded of the role of international business and international management in harnessing a swift-moving and increasingly diverse global economy for both social and environmental benefits. We hope the papers and discussions here contribute to solving a myriad of international issues.
The Republic of Korea, where we assemble today, is a sign of this swift-moving and increasingly diverse global economy. Despite being a poor and underdeveloped country after the war, Korea now is a developmental benchmark to others showing what is possible. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) classified South Korea as a fully ‘developed’ economy in 2021. This is the first time this UN agency upgraded a member state’s status since its establishment in 1964.
So, as you explore our country, we hope scholars use their internationally comparative mindsets to think about Korea’s unique dynamics and choices of cultural, organizational, and development policy that helped the country succeed so quickly.
If this is your first journey to Korea, you probably noticed our country and culture is far more ‘saturated’ in the daily use of digital networks than many other nations. However, you may not know that Seoul from 2018 was rated as the world’s fourth largest metropolitan economy—only after Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles—with an annual GDP of $895 billion US dollars. Major global manufacturers headquartered in Seoul include Samsung, Hyundai, SK and LG. In short, coming to Korea is to live and breathe in a global high-tech culture of the future, yet with a very ancient culture just the same.
To conclude, I thank the organizing committee and sponsoring organizations for their hard work in making this conference possible. I extend a warm welcome to our distinguished keynote speakers, panelists, and participants. I hope our conference sparks meaningful discussions and a fruitful exchange of ideas. I hope it brings you new insights on the opportunities and challenges of our world’s competitive digital globalization in a post-pandemic world.
Once again, welcome to the 2024 AIB Seoul Conference. I wish you a productive and enjoyable time.
Geon-Cheol Shin, Ph.D.
Host, 2024 AIB Seoul Conference
Professor, Kyung Hee University



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