Kim Cheol-woo, CEO of RTBP Alliance, was active in Seoul in his 20s before returning to Busan, where he has been creating diverse content for the past 20 years. While some label his activities "urban regeneration," CEO Kim defines them as "the work of creating the future and vision of the city." To build this future, he traces the past, archives it, and searches for clues to envision the future.

I heard that you worked in Seoul but returned to Busan to do a completely different job.

I majored in film studies and worked on film sets for about seven years. Ever since my school days, I had a strong interest in society and natural phenomena, and I enjoyed the process of formulating my own hypotheses and then verifying them. I thought these traits suited film well. However, I found that conveying the message I wanted to deliver through movies was not as easy as I had imagined. Carrying this unquenchable thirst, I returned to Busan around 2003. My first thought was that I needed to learn a skill to make a living. I learned technical skills at a training institution run by a shipyard.

I think you could have started working in culture or the arts right away.

Realistic circumstances simply didn't cooperate. While working on developing and manufacturing ship-related equipment, I would go to see performances or exhibitions, or meet industry professionals, whether at night or on weekends. I also believed that if I saved money for about 10 years and interacted with people at cultural venues, I could build sufficient capital and a network. Then, around 2010, a global economic crisis struck. Since the shipping and port industry is directly affected by international conditions, it took a severe hit. Several small and medium-sized shipyards went bankrupt, and the atmosphere at the shipyards, once bustling with workers, changed in an instant. Seeing only large structures remaining on the Yeongdo docks evoked a mix of emotions. As this was the time I had decided to start my own business, I was deeply impacted by the situation. I decided that rather than just creating culture and content, I should create content with a structure that either solves the problems currently occurring in the city where I live or helps to solve them.

Is that how the 'Maker Space,' which opened in 2014, started?

That’s right. We also called it 'Platform 135.' We took problems arising in our surroundings as motivation and created solutions for them as spatial content. For example, artists and technicians gathered to create objects using waste materials discarded after a shipyard closed down. We also turned empty houses in the neighborhood—left behind by the departing shipyard workers—into small movie theaters to screen films. Beyond simply gathering people to work together, we proactively offered work to those who had lost their jobs and were contemplating their career paths. As we continued this form of teamwork, the space evolved into a kind of co-working area. From my perspective, it was also a period to see if there were people who resonated with the activities we were pursuing. It turned out that quite a few people, including those working for local governments or institutions, were interested in our initiative. Seeing the potential, I decided to develop it further.

The next project that followed was 'Kkuti Cheonghak'.

It is a cultural facility created by converting a shipyard factory into a space for media and installation art. It was a process of observing whether cultural and artistic planning could be successfully integrated with the technicians' ability to handle the equipment to form a cohesive content. The space established afterward is 'Kkuti Bongsan.' It is a complex cultural space built in a Sanbok-ro village located across from the Hanjin Heavy Industries shipyard; it was an area that had become a slum after redevelopment plans fell through despite the abundance of vacant houses. As the director, I strived to steer the issue of "vacant houses in the village" in a positive direction. The process unfolded with us acting as a vanguard to carry out various cultural projects, after which the village and the Yeongdo District Office managed the urban regeneration initiative. Internally, we refer to Platform 135, Kkuti Cheonghak, and Kkuti Bongsan as 'Project Part 1: Come Back to Busan Port.' This name implicitly carries the hope that Busan will regain its healthy and bright image, rather than a Busan Port that has stagnated due to the downturn in the shipbuilding industry. The next project we undertook was 'Project Part 2: The Yeongdo Product Promotion Campaign.'

Is there a criterion for dividing the project into Part 1 and Part 2?

As mentioned earlier, 'Come Back to Busan Port' was a stage to verify whether such a project could be self-sustaining in the region. To commercialize this in earnest, we launched 'Kkuti Tapdong' and 'Kkuti Bongrae,' which we classify as 'Project Phase 2.' Kkuti Tapdong is a case where we utilized an annex building of a shipyard in Tapdong, Jeju Island, as a regional hub connecting it to Busan. We provide space support so that creators active in Busan can run pop-ups or hold exhibitions at Kkuti Tapdong in Jeju. After concluding the two-year contract, we opened Kkuti Bongrae in Yeongdo. We established Kkuti Bongrae to create a structure where brands that effectively capture the keywords of Yeongdo or Busan can gather to work together and expand to other regions.

Kkuti Bongnae is an 8-story building where brands and companies from different fields are located on each floor. Is there anything you pay particular attention to when selecting brands to open a store?

We categorize the elements that constitute a lifestyle into three groups: Food & Beverage, Fashion & Living, and Fun & Festival. We aim to implement these elements evenly in our spaces and content. This is also why, upon opening the select shop 'Kkuti Hyundai' at Connect Hyundai, we went beyond simply selling products to include a sound media zone. If we were solely focused on sales, it would be more advantageous to utilize our entire space as a retail area; however, our goal is to provide an experience where customers can browse items while listening to music. Because that is precisely what we consider a lifestyle.

As I just mentioned, you opened a select shop called 'Kkuti Hyundai' at Connect Hyundai this September. You also have experience operating the 'Vascule' select shop at Kkuti Bongnae; has the product selection changed since opening at Connect Hyundai?

When I was running Vascul, I think I focused my efforts on researching what kind of content creators were in our neighborhood. After visiting various creators for about a year, I was able to learn about what kind of creators were in Busan and where they tended to locate their manufacturing plants. I even tried making and selling items myself to experience the creators' work processes firsthand. The reason we tried to participate in various content creation processes is due to the unique characteristics of the city. A city is composed of very complex elements and is an organism that changes moment by moment depending on the situation. I believe that one must understand how these elements are organically connected to discuss lifestyles and propose products that fit them. While the products handled by Vascul feature diverse individual characteristics, the products sold at Kkuti Hyundai have a strong purpose of bundling various brands, influencers, and creators into a business under the category of "Busan."

Please provide a more detailed explanation regarding 'business development under the category of Busan'.

Our next task is to turn the experience gained from previous projects into a sustainable business model. We call this the 'Paran' Project. It embodies our hope that activities taking place in Busan—rather than the country's central hub—will create ripples across the world and spread far and wide. Compared to Projects 1 and 2, the focus is on further expanding the content ecosystem. For something to become sustainable, new policies and systems must be established. Only then can we advance to the next stage. We collaborate with well-branded companies or brands, or form partnerships by consulting with local governments. Various companies and brands, such as Balansa, Momos, Werk, and Samjin Eomuk, are already participating.

When proposing a collaboration to an artist or brand, what aspects of them do you consider important?

While we are not in a position to select brands, we tend to pay close attention to whether the regional characteristics of Busan are well-represented. There are teams whose identity shines through even without explicitly mentioning the word "Busan." I also place great importance on context. For instance, because Busan is a port city, manufacturing and logistics have flourished here for a very long time. Teams that contemplate the future direction of these industries in the present era, based on this history, are incredibly appealing to me. I tend to observe closely how they turn these reflections and insights into assets. I feel they reflect the unique flow and characteristics of this city that have accumulated over a long period. While such teams are successfully building their own brands, I believe there is a high probability that this will have a very positive impact on society and the city as a whole. In fact, I think continuing to maintain this context is much more effective from a business perspective as well.

From a business perspective, I think there are aspects you expect from opening a store at Connect Hyundai.

Department stores are very attractive partners because they possess regional hub channels. Through department stores, we want to promote Kkuti as a platform based in Busan. Of course, selling a lot of goods or services is important. However, Kkuti needs to establish itself as an attractive platform so that the companies and creators we collaborate with can increase efficiency and build mutually beneficial relationships. Ultimately, the Kkuti store at Hyundai can be viewed as a store approached from a B2B perspective rather than a B2C concept.

If there is a common context that links Kkuti Hyundai, 'Come Back to Busan Port', the 'Yeongdo Local Products Promotion Movement', and the 'Paran Project', how would you describe it?

I think it is about shaping the future and vision of the city. You could call it a sequential process of determining how to make the city a more interesting and livable place. I believe that rather than each project ending as a mere event, we have primarily focused on work that breathes life into the city by considering its operational structure.

For over 10 years, I have been working on 'creating the future and vision of cities.' What do you think 'city branding' is?

Rather than saying I have created something, it would be more accurate to say that I have attempted the hypotheses and possibilities I had regarding cities and content. Planning content with the city as the protagonist is not an easy task, as it requires considering fluid elements such as internal structures, interests, and the needs of various people. In that sense, I believe city branding is a vision grounded in the past. It is important to envision the future while drawing its context from the past. That is why I tend to prefer archiving historical materials and incorporating them into branding or content. It might feel old-fashioned, but the way it is presented can be quite stylish and highly commercial. In city branding, bringing in the context of the city's starting point can be a much more persuasive method, and I believe it is an advantageous approach in that it allows one to envision the next stage.

What kind of city is Busan to you, CEO?

It is a city of hybrids. As many things collide and mix, harmony and order emerge. At the same time, it is a place where things from the past do not disappear or fade, but continue to create something new.

Please tell us about RTBP Alliance's plans or direction.

First, I want to establish myself as a lifestyle platform that brands Busan by linking its industries. To achieve this, we need to properly showcase brands and creators that represent Busan through both online and offline platforms. My second goal is to maintain key hub spaces while establishing systems and operational frameworks within them. I believe that through these activities, we can bring about a new transformation in the city's operational systems and structure.

Maker's Pick

'Kkuti Project' 3, highlighting the identity of the RTivity Alliance

Kkuti-Cheonghak (2018~2023)

A complex cultural space created by renovating a harbor warehouse on the seaside in Cheonghak-dong, Yeongdo, which had been vacant for a long time due to the slump of the shipbuilding industry. It was an experimental space loved by artists from around the world for expressing content that is difficult to accommodate in conventional galleries and performance venues, such as installation art, media art, and performance art, in various ways.

Kkuti-Tapdong (2021~2023)

A pop-up store created by renovating an annex building of Jeju Shipbuilding, known as the oldest shipyard on Jeju Island. It serves as a space connecting brands and artists from Jeju Island and other regions, providing a venue for exchange through pop-up exhibitions, workshops, and parties over the past two years.

Kkuti-Bongrae (2023~present)

A local brand center proposing a lifestyle for the port area of Bongnae-dong, Yeongdo. It features a local archiving library, F&B R&D lab, media studio, pop-up stores, and offices for local creators and brands that will lead regional content and new industries, shaping the future of the Yeongdo Waterfront together.