Jungahn Kim
“Valuable insights and new perspectives” 
 
Prof. Jungahn KIM, IUPAC-FAPS 2017 Organizing Committee Chair
 
On October 11th, 2017 you are going to kick off the IUPAC-FAPS 2017. What convinced you to meet in Jeju this year?
 
Jeju is the largest island in Korea, which is well known for natural wonders, including waterfalls, white sand beaches and a dormant volcano, Halla Mountain - South Korea's highest mountain - at its center. In 2007, UNESCO inscribed Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tunes into its list of World Heritage Sites, and this beautiful island was later named one of the new 7 Wonders of Nature. I believe that all the participants can enjoy the beautiful natural scenery of Jeju, as well as the scientific programs.
 
You have chosen the International Convention Center Jeju as the home for your convention. Why?
 
Jeju International Convention Center is the best place for the congress in Jeju because of its elegant facilities and management service. International Convention Center Jeju is located within the Jungmun Tourist Complex. Spreading over an area of more than 5,000 m2, the world-class convention center occupies 7 stories above ground. This resort-style convention center is fully equipped for international meetings of any scale, and provides professional-grade logistic support for event-hosting.
 
What is the social and cultural resonance of your conference?
 
The IUPAC-FAPS 2017 Polymer Congress will be an attractive event with 5 plenary and 50 invited lectures by renowned speakers from all over the world, as well as contributed oral and poster presentations. It will be an open forum for participants engaged in all the areas of modern polymeric materials. I am sure that it will provide valuable insights and new perspectives for polymer science and engineering. I am fully confident that all participants from academy and industry will benefit a great deal from this congress for scientific exchanges and up-to-date information.
 
For those delegates who cannot join you in Jeju, can they participate remotely / via social media?
 
We will provide the program booklet and proceedings to the participants in the congress. Only whole program and plenary & invited speakers’ information is posted on the website (www.faps2017.org).
 
What are currently the main challenges for FAPS as an association, as well as for the congress?
 
The FAPS was established in 2007 with 4 founding member societies of China, India, Japan, and Korea, and to date, the FAPS federation has grown to include 15 member countries from all over Asia. IUPAC-FAPS 2017 is commemorating the 10th Anniversary of Foundation of the Federation of Asian Polymer Societies (FAPS) and The FAPS will have a few new council countries this year and I am sure the further development of the FAPS.
 
This event is organized by the Foundation of the Federation of Asian Polymer Societies (FAPS) and sponsored by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the Polymer Society of Korea (PSK).
 
See here.