Warm Greetings from KOPRI and welcome to the 27th International Symposium on Polar Sciences will be held online on September 20-21, 2022.

Korea accelerated its Arctic research by inaugurating the Arctic Dasan station in 2002 at the Ny-Ålesund International Science Village
in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. Korean Arctic research that started in Ny-Ålesund has expanded to explorations of the pan-Arctic regions
such as the Arctic Ocean and Greenland for the last two decades, leading to a wide range of studies on Life Science, Oceanography, Geology,
Cryospheric Science, Paleoclimatology, Atmospheric Science and Remote Sensing.

As research in the Arctic provides strong scientific evidence on the ongoing impacts of climate change that has the greatest potential to affect global climate and thus human population and biodiversity, it is essential to understand the past and present of the region in order to better prepare
for the future of humankind. So it is appropriately entitled “Two decades of Korean Arctic research : Looking back to look forward”.

This year's symposium will serve as a platform for international scientists to exchange their views and ideas and to discuss collaborative research projects with peers and colleagues. During two days, scientists and experts will present their research results at the scientific sessions to look back
on the findings of Korean Arctic research of the past 20 years from a global perspective and look forward to a promising future in polar research.
We have also organized side meetings and events to broaden the scope of our discussions.

We look forward to having you at ISPS 2022 and hope you find the symposium inspiring and rewarding.

Thank you.

Sung-Ho Kang

President of KOPRI