The ocean remains an industrial field, as well as the origin of global environmental problems. We should make greater efforts to know the oceans, and through these activities we shall be able to find the answers to what we need to do for the future. Here, I propose the undersea robot (my specialty) as a solution, and explain its importance as well as what has been done so far and what needs to be done in future.

The worldwide maritime shipping industry is suffering from a large-scale recession, which has also greatly impacted Korea’s maritime transport industry. In maritime transport, one must be knowledgeable in both economics and finance, and for finance, deep knowledge of maritime transport is necessary. The mid- to long-term rebuilding of the maritime transport industry should be based on the integration of knowledge for maritime transport and finance. The establishment of the Graduate School of Marine Finance and Logistics in the Korea Maritime and Ocean University is a most welcome development for maritime transport in Korea.

I would like to introduce the footsteps of Ko Hara, a former member of the House of Representatives, who has been referred to as the “politician who cultivated the ocean.” Born in Kagoshima in 1876, Hara laid the foundation for Makurazaki City, Kagoshima Prefecture, to become Japan’s top producer of bonito flakes. He also pioneered development efforts in the South Seas fisheries market, building a large fisheries factory in Ambon, Indonesia, which exported bonito flakes to Japan and canned goods to the West. Here, I would like to communicate to a broad audience Hara’s contributions to international cooperation through the fisheries industry in pre-war times, which included teaching methods for bonito fishing and tuna longline fishing to local residents.