The forum discussed the scientific challenges faced by young hydrologists in China, Japan and South Korea under the normalization of the pandemic and the instability of international and regional order, focusing on the technological innovation and development of digital twin and smart water conservancy at home and abroad. It promoted in-depth information exchange on the tasks and research progress of building resilient and smart water systems in the uncertain future caused by climate change and human activities, while using the online platform to build a broad communication bridge for young scholars in China, Japan and South Korea. On November 19 and November 20, the 2022 Jilin University Sub Forum of China-Japan-ROK Youth Forum and the 5th China-Japan-South Korea Water Science Research Forum was successfully held, hosted by the College of New Energy and Environment of Jilin University (CNEE) and co-organized by Chungnam National University of South Korea, Kyoto University of Japan and the International Water Association Publishing. This forum was convened by Prof. Li Hongyan of Jilin University, Prof. Kwansue Jung of Chungnam National University and Associate Prof. Sunmin Kim of Kyoto University, with Associate Prof. Feng Youcan as the responsible person for coordinating the sub forum of China-Japan-ROK Youth Forum.

    Nearly 30 experts and young scholars from more than 20 domestic and foreign universities and research institutes in the field of water science in China, Japan and South Korea made excellent presentations at the forum. The audience could watch and ask questions in real time through Zoom, live broadcast of WeChat Channels, Tencent Live and other ways. Among them, the live broadcast of WeChat Channels accumulated more than 12,000 views in a single day.

    In his opening speech, Prof. Xu Tianfu, Dean of CNEE, expressed his warm congratulations to the forum on behalf of the organizers and hoped that the forum could pool the strength of all countries and promote the long-term development of exchanges and cooperation in the field of water science.

    The forum consisted of four sessions: “Urban Flooding and Resilience”, “Watershed Hydrology and Management”, “Urban Hydrometeorology”, and “AI and Intelligent Water Systems”. It was chaired by Prof. Hou Jingming from Xi’an University of Technology, Dr. Sung-Hoon Kim, Director of K-Water, South Korea, Associate Prof. Xiong Yujiu from Sun Yat-sen University, and Prof. Kenji Kawaike and Associate Prof. Sunmin Kim from Kyoto University, Japan. Focusing on each theme, nearly 30 experts, including Prof. Xu Zongxue from Beijing Normal University, Prof. Liu Jiahong from China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Prof. Hou Jingming from Xi’an University of Technology, Prof. Chen Yangbo from Sun Yat-sen University, Prof. Qiu Guoyu from Peking University, Prof. Huang Guoru from South China University of Technology, Associate Prof. Yang Long from Nanjing University, Prof. Liu Haixing from Dalian University of Technology, Dr. Sung-Hoon Kim and Assistant Professor Seungyub Lee from K-Water, South Korea, Prof. Kenji Kawaike and Associate Prof. Sunmin Kim from Kyoto University, Japan, shared their latest research results, presenting an academic feast in the field of water science.

    The China-Japan-South Korea Water Science Research Forum was initiated by Jilin University and Chungnam National University of Korea under the China-Korea Cooperation and Exchange Program of National Natural Science Foundation in 2017. Adhering to the principle of “academic equality, free communication, sharing experience and promoting cooperation”, it aims to jointly study the regularity of response of regional water resources to climate change and human activities, and provide countermeasures for the rational development, utilization and protection of water resources under the changing environment. It has been successfully held five times so far, with the number of participants from universities and research institutes at home and abroad increasing year by year. The year 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan and the 30th anniversary of China-ROK diplomatic ties. The China-Japan-South Korea Water Science Research Forum has built a high-level international exchange and cooperation platform for experts, scholars and young students. Associate Professor Feng Youcan gave a summary of the forum and expressed his appreciation for the high quality of academic achievements shared by domestic and foreign experts and scholars. Prof. Kwansue Jung from Chungnam National University, South Korea, gave a closing speech, saying that the forum was a high-quality, informative and active transnational event in the field of water science, wishing the China-Japan-Korea Water Science Research Forum to be better, and looking forward to offline communication!

    As a co-organizer of the conference, IWA Publishing has created an Online Collection of Conference Papers with topics that generally fall into the scope of the above sessions, which is available at https://iwaponline.com/pages/cc_5th_cjsk_water_forum. Participants or interested parties can submit their manuscipts to the relevant IWA Publishing journal. When submitting your manuscript, please enter the name of the Forum (The 5th China-Japan-South Korea Water Science Research Forum) and let us know your submission information (by contacting youcan_feng@jlu.edu.cn). For those Open Access Journals under IWA Publishing, there will be a 10% discount on the APCs.