The Kyunghyang Forum was first established in 2016 and has since suggested roadmaps for Korean society based on the major challenges and zeitgeist of our times, such as the fourth industrial revolution, the climate crisis, inequality, and post-pandemic world order. This year, on the 77th anniversary of its founding, The Kyunghyang Shinmun is proud to host the eighth chapter of this annual event. This year's theme is Beyond Growth – New Paradigms for Common Prosperity.

There is no doubt that currently Korea, alongside the rest of the world, is facing several crises. The debt that ballooned since the COVID-19 pandemic is weighing heavily upon the shoulders of both private and public sector actors and, in its worst cases, is leading to the failure of financial companies large and small. The development of artificial intelligence technology is yielding enormous achievements yet, at the same time, foreshadowing uncertainty to labor workers everywhere.

The geopolitical tensions that led to armed conflict in Eastern Europe are also spreading to Asia. The formation of economic blocs is leading to higher isolationist barriers while the speed of de-globalization accelerates. The spread of numerous life-threatening viruses, alongside greedy resource exploitation and climate change, are endangering our only home planet.

This year, many are predicting that the global economy is expected to enter a long period of stagnation unlike anything seen in last few decades. In effect, the existing economic system, which relies upon sustained growth to survive, is revealing its limitations. Increasing political economic inequality, polarization, as well as their resulting conflicts, violence, and abnormal weather patterns, cannot be allowed to continue unchecked, as soon we may not be able to guarantee the survival of our own generation, let alone that of future generations.

The time has come to rethink our traditional growth-oriented worldview, under which relentless growth has become the precondition for human prosperity and that economies and even political systems will collapse in its absence. If we choose to keep our foot on the accelerator while our cars and roads are gradually eroding, the result is quite predictable.

Some argue that green growth, technological innovation, and reaching to the stars beyond our planet will save humanity. Such assertions, of course, still carry within the dogma that growth is essential for the task. Yet, a few others say that we must take our foot off the accelerator and adapt to a new pace. They argue that it is time to discuss a prosperity that benefits all and not just a few. As of now, either only one side is right, both are right, or both are wrong.

Such is the context within which the Kyunghyang Forum has brought together global luminaries such as New York University Professor Emeritus Nouriel ROUBINI, popularly known as "Dr. Doom"; world-renowned environmental thinker Dr. Vandana SHIVA; and rising young scholar Professor SAITO Kohei of the University of Tokyo to find a seek the path towards prosperity for all.