Korean Air Convergence Plaza at USC

Outdoor hub linking engineering, AI and research facilities

Space to welcome visitors during 2028 LA Olympics

USC President Kim Byong-soo and Hanjin Group Chairman and Korean Air CEO Cho Won-tae pose for a photo at the naming ceremony for the Korean Air Convergence Plaza at USC's University Park campus in Los Angeles. [USC]
USC President Kim Byong-soo and Hanjin Group Chairman and Korean Air CEO Cho Won-tae pose for a photo at the naming ceremony for the Korean Air Convergence Plaza at USC's University Park campus in Los Angeles. [USC]

Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae has unveiled a new plaza bearing Korean Air's name at his alma mater, the University of Southern California. The outdoor space is designed to bring together students and researchers from engineering, AI and life sciences, and will also serve visitors to the University Park campus during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

USC held the naming ceremony for the Korean Air Convergence Plaza on Tuesday (local time) at its University Park campus in Los Angeles.

Cho was joined at the event by USC President Kim Byong-soo and USC trustee Ronald D. Sugar, among others. Cho completed his MBA at USC in 2006.

The plaza sits at the heart of the campus, surrounded by USC's major engineering and advanced technology research facilities — including the Viterbi School of Engineering, the Mark and Mary Stevens School of Computing and AI, the Hall for Computer Science and Human-Computer Interaction, the Molecular and Computational Biology research facilities, and the Convergence Science Center.

The open-air space is intended as a place where students, faculty, researchers and alumni can meet and exchange ideas across disciplines. USC plans to use it as a collaborative hub where researchers share diverse experiences and expertise to generate new ideas.

The plaza is also expected to take on a larger role during the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, with USC anticipating that thousands of visitors to the University Park campus will use the space.

Cho said Los Angeles and Korean Air share a long history. "LA has been Korean Air's gateway to the Americas for more than half a century — a city that holds a special place for us," he said. "I am proud to continue our longstanding partnership with USC, a world-class academic institution, and I hope this plaza will become a cradle where exceptional talent gathers to drive meaningful change."

USC President Kim said he expected Korean Air and Cho's support to help expand interdisciplinary exchange at the university.

"USC has long been a place where talented people with diverse backgrounds and ideas come together in pursuit of excellence," Kim said. "Thanks to the commitment of Korean Air and Chairman Cho Won-tae, we now have a beautiful shared space where members of many academic disciplines can converge, communicate and create innovation."

Korean Air's connection to Los Angeles extends well beyond flight routes. The city is one of the airline's primary passenger and cargo hubs in the Americas and a key pillar of its trans-Pacific joint venture with Delta Air Lines.

The airline has also deepened its ties with local cultural and educational institutions. In 2023, Korean Air signed a $25 million sponsorship agreement with the California Science Center and contributed to the creation of an aviation exhibition space using a retired Boeing 747-400 aircraft.

The Hanjin Group's relationship with USC stretches back decades. Cho's father, the late Cho Yang-ho, who served as Hanjin Group chairman, was himself a USC MBA alumnus and sat on the university's board of trustees for about 20 years beginning in 1997. In 2014, USC established an endowed professorship named after Hanjin Group founder Cho Choong-hoon.


kwater@heraldcorp.com