Busan has emerged as one of the world’s leading smart cities, ranking 8th globally, 2nd in Asia, and 1st in Korea in the latest Smart Centres Index (SCI) published by the UK-based Z/Yen Group. The index assesses 77 major cities worldwide using a combination of international datasets from organisations such as the OECD and the World Bank, alongside expert surveys.

The latest results mark Busan's strongest performance since joining the index in 2021, when it debuted at 62nd place. Since then, the city has advanced consistently in every edition, signaling a sustained and deliberate transformation rather than a short-term surge. Within the Asia-Pacific region, Busan has now firmly established itself among the top two smart cities, reinforcing its growing reputation as a regional innovation hub.

Broad-Based Strength Across Key Competitiveness Metrics

Unlike cities that rely on a narrow set of strengths, Busan's ranking reflects balanced performance across all six SCI competitiveness categories, with top-15 placements in each:

Advanced Technology:11th

Business Environment:10th

Human Capital:9th

Infrastructure:9th

Financial Support:8th

Reputation:10th

Most notably, Busan ranked first globally in “Innovation Support,”one of the SCI’s three core evaluation perspectives. The index highlights the city’s policy orientation toward innovation, regulatory openness, and its ability to translate public-sector support into a credible investment environment for emerging industries.

The Foundations of Busan’s Momentum

Busan’s rise is the result of long-term investment in digital transformation and future-oriented industries rather than isolated initiatives. Key developments include:

The build-out of a power semiconductor industrial cluster

Establishment of a blockchain innovation zone

Deployment of a digital twin pilot district for urban management

Expansion of autonomous vehicle services

Creation of the Busan Metropolitan Fund and a Future Industry Transition Fund totaling approximately ₩2.3 trillion

Large-scale talent initiatives aimed at training 10,000 advanced digital professionals

These measures have been complemented by targeted investment attraction strategies and technology-focused business support, strengthening Busan’s competitiveness across both industrial and financial dimensions.

Toward a Replicable Smart City Model

Looking ahead, Busan is positioning smart city development as a core economic strategy rather than a standalone urban project. Plans focus on embedding digital technologies into the region’s traditional industries while accelerating growth in AI, quantum technologies, robotics, biohealth, and big data. At the same time, the city is expanding its startup and venture capital ecosystem to support commercialisation and scale.

A central pillar of this vision is the Eco-Delta Smart City, a national pilot project designed to showcase data-driven urban operations, next-generation mobility systems, and integrated digital infrastructure. City officials describe the goal as building a place “people would choose to live in again,” supported by resilient digital systems and a future-facing economic base.

As global competition among smart cities intensifies, Busan’s trajectory illustrates how sustained policy alignment, capital deployment, and human capital development can reposition a city within the global innovation landscape—moving steadily from follower to frontrunner.