Incheon, South Korea
CES 2026 drew 148,000 attendees, including nearly 7,000 members of the media, making it the largest CES since the pandemic. Among the 4,100 exhibitors was the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZ), which used the global stage to announce Incheon’s evolution from “Smart City” to “AI City.”
For over 20 years, Incheon has been at the forefront of Korea’s transformation and innovation and is now becoming an “AI City” that integrates AI technologies across the entire urban landscape.
As Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok stated, “CES 2026 is an important stage for presenting Incheon’s vision for its next growth leap—one that has led Korea’s transformation and innovation for over the past two decades—into an AI City. We will continue to do our utmost so that Incheon can establish itself as a leading global AI city.”
Beyond Smart Cities: The AI City Evolution
In my 2024 article “Smart Cities: A Tale of Innovation and Collaboration in South Korea,” I examined Songdo’s development within IFEZ, a community of 167,000 residents featuring underground waste tubes, traffic sensor networks, and integrated platforms that create a “15-minute city.”
Two years later, the strategic landscape has shifted. The concept of a “Smart City” has become commoditized. IFEZ’s pivot to an “AI City” signals that the next phase isn’t just about connected infrastructure but about artificial intelligence fundamentally reshaping how cities function.
Where Songdo laid the Smart City foundation with IoT sensors, the AI City vision layers sophisticated AI across those systems, moving from reactive data collection to predictive urban management.
Incheon has been central to Korea’s economic transformation—the international airport has reshaped global connectivity, and the free economic zone has drawn significant international investment.
The transformation from Smart City to AI City isn’t just about deploying technology; it’s about evolving the narrative. Cities that successfully attract international investment don’t just build infrastructure; they craft compelling stories about why global companies should be part of their future.
don southerton Korea Strategic Services Don Southerton
