Changdong district, a relatively small residential commuter area, lies on the northern outskirts of Seoul. Home to a few hundred thousand people, it's an area that's growing but which has little cultural facilities or industry. [...] City planners hope that K-pop can do for Changdong what the Beatles did for Liverpool in the UK attracting both locals and tourists into the area, who could bring jobs and spending power with them.
 

The sky over Seoul was bright blue and the lecture hall on the 19th floor had a perfect view of Bukhan Mountain and the Blue House. The room was filled with over fifty Korean diplomats engaged in the field of public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy.