BUSAN — Busan is moving to develop a modular housing supply model tailored to a city marked by steep slopes and aging residential districts. The plan calls for combining modular construction — in which structural frames and interior and exterior materials are prefabricated in factories and assembled on site — with smart construction technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics, positioning it as a new option for public housing supply.
The city said on the 14th that it will host the second Busan Housing Forum of 2026 on the 17th at the international conference hall of City Hall, jointly with the Busan chapter of the Korean Institute of Architects. The forum's theme is "Directions and Applications for Busan-Style Modular Housing."
Modular housing involves prefabricating major structural components and interior and exterior materials in a factory before assembling them on site. Compared with conventional on-site construction, the method shortens build times, allows more consistent quality control, improves site safety and reduces noise, dust and construction waste. It has recently drawn attention as a way to raise productivity in the construction industry as it is paired with AI, robotics and automated production technologies.
Rather than simply presenting the advantages of the method, the forum will focus on whether it can actually be applied to Busan's urban structure. The city has many hillside areas, including its ridge roads, and a significant number of districts crowded with aging homes, leading officials to conclude that housing models suited to local conditions are needed more than large-scale, uniform supply.
Bae Hwa-un, head of the construction business division at the Busan-Ulsan regional headquarters of Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH), will deliver the keynote address on modular public housing policy and supply directions. Park Jung-jin, chief executive of Space Manufactory, will then present actual construction cases of robot- and AI-based modular housing and the current state of smart construction technology.
Park Tae-yeon, a director at Busan Metropolitan Corporation (BMC), will speak on modular housing for urban regeneration in Busan, outlining ways to use the method on the city's slopes and in redevelopment areas. A general discussion, chaired by Woo Shin-koo, Busan's city architect, will cover expanding public housing, the Busan-style application model and the use of AI and smart construction technologies.
Based on expert views from the forum, the city plans to flesh out a Busan-style modular housing supply model that fits local housing conditions and demand, and to link it to pilot projects.
"This is a chance to look concretely at whether a new housing supply method that responds to a changing construction environment can be applied in Busan," said Kim Hyo-sook, director general of the city's housing and architecture bureau. "We will identify a modular housing supply model suited to Busan's conditions and carry it through to actual projects."
Separately, the city will hold a third Busan Housing Forum in October at BEXCO, in conjunction with the Korea Architecture Festival, under the theme "Sustainable Housing, Busan the Maritime Capital."
