Renewable energy.
Looked to as the future, since it brings both environmental and economic benefits.
South Korea is also jumping on board, declaring itself a future solar city.
Lee Jeong-yeon shows us what that industry could look like for the country in the future.
Here's something not many people in Seoul have seen.
Mini solar panels hanging outside apartment balconies.
This residential area is a new energy-powered village with around 200 households producing
solar energy.
(Korean) "I paid around 90 U.S. dollars, one-sixth
of the cost.
The rest was funded by the government.
I've always been interested in renewable energy so I'm glad to take part."
This one mini solar panel can produce around 300 watts of electricity, which is enough
to run a refrigerator.
It can cut electricity bills by between six and eight U.S. dollars a month.
This area shows what the city government is trying to achieve with its "Solar City Seoul"
plan.
So what prompted such a project?
(Korean)- "Fossil fuels are causing huge climate change.
So we're turning to renewable energy.
Seoul's initiative is projected to produce one gigawatt of power by 2022, the equivalent
of one nuclear power plant."
The city's goal is to get 1-million households to install mini solar panels and to increase
the city's solar energy reliance to 3-percent.15-billion won, or 14-million U.S. dollars will be invested
into solar energy over the next five years, and public facilities such as streetlights
will be solar powered.
If this goal is accomplished, it will slash greenhouse gas emissions by about 540-thousand
tons, the equivalent of planting 8-thousand pine trees.
But on top of environmental effects, there are also economic benefits.
(Korean) "Expanding the solar energy industry will
create more jobs.
Also, the city will rely less on outside sources for energy, and keep the money flowing within
the region."
Because Seoul is a land-locked region that limits the use of other types of renewable
energy, solar energy is its best option.
And there's a part of Seoul that's been using it for the last five years.
(stand-up) Here in Gangdong-gu district is a village
that's already making active use of solar energy.
Most households here produce and consume their own electricity.
Sipjaseong Village is a model energy-powered village in Seoul.
It was established in 1974 by Vietnam War veterans.
A total of around 50 households in the village use solar panels, producing 45-percent of
the village's total energy demand.
(Korean) "When the Fukushima nuclear disaster happened
it made us more aware of the need for renewable energy, so we have taken part in this solar
energy project since 2012."
But not all residents were open to the idea from the start.
(Korean) "I actually didn't want to participate because
I didn't know much about it.
But now that we are involved, it's amazing.
I don't know why the government didn't do this earlier."
The most obvious benefit: lower electricity bills.
2190 , . 8-9 4000 "It usually costs around two dollars a month,
four dollars at the most when I use air-conditioning in summer."
Renewable energy is relatively new to Korea, but there are some places around the world
that are already exploring its full potential.
The Danish island of Samso has been producing more energy than it consumes for the past
decade.
(English ) "We are more than 100-percent self-supplied
and we have reduced the CO2 emission.
We are carbon negative.
We actually have an emission of -3.7 tons per capita, which seen from a global perspective
is very good."
One way to boost production is to increase citizen involvement.
(Korean) "60% of Seoul residents live in apartments.
So citizens can form co-operatives to invest in solar panels and share the earnings."
But at the heart of citizen participation is awareness, and that's what some say is
a priority.
(English ) "From being interested to actually investing
money into a project is a long way to go because it takes a lot of convincing for people to
invest their savings into new technology they don't know about.
So information and education is really key to the process of change."
(Korean) "The most effective way is to increase tax
on electricity, which will make people more aware of how much they're using."
In reality, South Koreans only pay the standard value-added tax amount of 10-percent for electricity.
This is in stark contrast to Denmark with 59-percent tax, and Germany with 51 percent.
As the Korean saying goes, "we only see as much as we know."...
So many experts say the most important task is to educate the public and get them involved.
And after that, everything else will follow suit.
Lee Jeong-yeon, Arirang News