Perfectly equipped for your exhibitions & conventions

Korea’s MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions) industry has created eye-catching growth over the past several years.

Combined with cultural heritages dating back thousands of years and exciting modern attractions, state-of-the-art convention facilities and affordable accommodation, it makes the country one of the fastestemerging MICE destinations in the world.

In addition to hundreds of international exhibitions held in Korea’s major cities — including Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon and Changwon — many conventions have also selected Korea to host their world congresses. Keeping pace with the efforts of the private sector, the Korean government — which sees the convention industry as a new economic growth driver — has also been speeding up the development of the relevant MICE facilities.

The Presidential Council of National Competence has decided to help expand some major exhibition centers into facilities twice as large as their current scale, while converting neighborhood inns and motels into business hotels offering affordable prices for business travelers.

For convention and exhibition organizers, as well as business travelers, this month’s Korea Buyers Guide covers major exhibition centers in Korea and how they are being better-equipped for international conventions and exhibitions.

COEX – An Emerging Leader in Green Growth
Coex is one of the most popular venues in the international MICE Industry as well as Korea’s largest trade show organizer. The facilities at the Coex Center include 34,567 square meters of exhibition space, 54 meeting rooms, an 1,058 seat auditorium, a 1,817 square meter grand ballroom, and more.
The center also has the perfect infrastructure for international events, including three on-site hotels, a city air terminal, and extensive shopping. Coex hosts more than 2,000 events a year, including 70 international conventions and 150 international trade shows.

The on-site Coex Mall, the biggest underground shopping mall in Asia, has over 200 stores and an aquarium, a multiplex cinema, and more. An average of 135,000 people visit the mall each day. Coex also manages ASEM Tower and Trade Tower, two premium office buildings, on parent company KITA’s behalf.

In addition, it manages the recently opened CoexArtium musical theater. Coex’s facility management services are highly efficient, and emphasize safety and energy use reduction.

The center’s technical expertise is highlighted by its patented Building Energy Management System (BeMS), which has been adopted by the nation’s largest building complexes, including POSCO Tower, Songdo Convensia, and Gangwon Casino. BeMS is just one environmental initiative among many that have propelled Coex to the forefront of new Green Growth practices.

KINTEX – Standing out beyond Korea!
The second building of the Korea International Exhibition Center (referred to as KINTEX), Korea’s largest exhibition and convention center, opened on September 2011 in the Seoul Metropolitan Area.
With the addition of the new building, KINTEX now has exhibition floor space of 108,483m2, 34 meeting rooms, 5000 pax auditorium and 2,000 pax grand ballroom, making it the 5th largest facility in Asia and 35th in the world.

Given that KINTEX until recently faced some difficulties in hosting major international exhibitions due to the limited exhibition space, the second building is expected to provide a key momentum to attract world renowned fairs such as ITU Telecom World and ITMA (International Exhibition of Textile Machinery) and so on.

Following the completion of construction of the second building, ‘KOREA INDUSTRY FAIR 2011’ was held on Sept. 28, 2011 with the biggest size in the country’s history-about 100,000m2. Taking place in 10 exhibition halls in all including first and second hall, ‘KOREA INDUSTRY FAIR 2011’ was a combined exhibition of Six exhibitions; Korea Machinery Fair, Seoul Intl’ Electric Fair, Seoul Intl’ Tool Exhibition, Intl’ Metal Industry Technology Exhibition, Korea Intl’ Printing Machinery & Equipment Show and the four-day ‘KOREA INDUSTRY FAIR 2011’ ended in great success on Oct. 1.

BEXCO – Marking 12th Anniversary in 2012, BEXCO’s Expansion Sure to Attract More Visitors and Exhibitors
BEXCO (Busan Exhibition & Convention Center), as a landmark of Busan, an international marine city and a hub of logistics in Northeast Asia has started its history with the Busan International Motor Show in September 2001, BEXCO features a large pillar free exhibition space which are fully flexible for any size of event, multi-functional halls, outdoor exhibition space and modern facilities, convention halls for large-scale international conferences and meetings.

With its innovative facilities, excellent accessibility, and superb customer service, BEXCO hosts large scale international exhibitions, including the biennially hosted Busan International Motor Show, Korea Railways and Logistics Fairs and Marine Week.

In addition, BEXCO has established itself as an exhibition convention center with unparalleled competitiveness in Northeast Asia by hosting international conferences and events, such as APEC 2005 Korea, 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup Final Draw Event, ICCA Annual Congress 2003, ITU Telecom Asia 2004, ILO Asia and the Pacific Conference 2006, UNESCAP Minister of Transportation Conference 2006, IFI Congress and World Interior Design Competition 2007, World Festival of Traditional Sports 2008, Third OECD Global Forum 2009, IPCC Congress 2010, G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, and more.

EXCO – EXCO, Daegu’s Rising Global Exhibition & Convention Center
A venue where people, information and top-notch services meet, expanding its influence worldwide
A pioneering presence in the regional exhibition and convention industry, EXCO located in the city of Daegu has within just 10 years become a leading venue for industrial, economic, cultural and artistic exhibitions and events in Korea.

Since its opening in 2001, EXCO has developed and discovered brand exhibitions with emphasis on regionally specialized industries and prospective industrial fields including textiles [Preview in Daegu], machinery [DAMEX], eyewear [DIOPS], renewable energy [GREEN ENERGY EXPO], fire & safety [FireEXPO], and so on. Especially, Green Energy Expo, the UFI approved exhibition, has grown to become a globally renowned new & renewable energy related exhibition.

EXCO also has successfully hosted international scale of events such as World Solar Cities Congress, APEC SME Business Forum, World Firefighters Games, IAAF World Championships Congress, etc.
Now, its global-standard outstanding facilities will inspire people from across Asia and around the globe.

EXCO’s cutting-edge facilities, capable of handling exhibitions and conventions of any size, offering a premier quality experience

EXCO offers the cutting-edge facilities that can handle exhibitions and conventions of any size, including events of a global scale, complemented by an unmatched level of professional attention. These assets guarantee that any exhibition or convention will be a success.

After opening of New EXCO (expanded building) in May 2011, EXCO has become the ideal venue for any size of exhibitions and conventions.

• Exhibitions Halls: 23,000m2 (indoor), 4,000m2 (outdoor)/15,000m2 on a single floor
• Conference Rooms: up to 34 rooms with 3,100 seats (classroom type)
• Auditorium: 1,600-seat (theater seating)

These facilities make it possible to hold two or three major international events concurrently. It is expected to perfectly host global-scale events such as the 2012 Int’l Congress of Entomology, 2013 World Energy Congress and 2015 World Water Forum, etc. These mega events and conventions will inspire the holding of even more conventions and are expected to transform EXCO and ensure recognition of the city of Daegu as a truly global convention city.

Kimdaejung Convention Center – Kimdaejung Convention Center Seeks to Be a Globally Competitive Venue for Exhibitions and Conventions
Korea has been recently attracting even more of the spotlight than Japan in the MICE industry where the influence of Asian countries is growing more and more powerful. The exhibition convention center located in the city where the ‘real’ Korea is more authentic than the capital Seoul is none other than the Kimdaejung Convention Center.

Kimdaejung Convention Center was established in Gwangju, a city around 300km south-west of Seoul. City of art, Gwangju has been recognized for its typical cultural richness. Gwangju offers the best traditional Korean cuisine and cultural heritages in the beautiful natural environment with four of the designated ‘slow-cities’ located nearby.

A large number of Koreans visit the area to experience the culture and peaceful break from the city. Kimdaejung Convention Center was named after the former President of Korea and Nobel Prize laureate, Kim Dae-jung. The identity of Kimdaejung Convention Center is proving to uniquely continue the life-long philosophy of President Kim who sacrificed his whole life for democratization in Korea — by holding international conferences for democracy, human rights and peace, People’s Forum on Peace for Life in Asia and Asia Regional Conference on Democracy.

The four-storied building offers three exhibition halls on the ground floor, ten small and medium-sized meeting rooms on the second floor, and a grand convention hall that can seat 2,000 people, dividable into three parts, on the fourth floor. In 2009, the convention center recorded 65.4% of operating ratio and held more than 700 meetings.

SETEC – SETEC Helps Enhance the International Competitivemess of Seoul-based SMES
SETEC (Seoul Trade Exhibition and Convention) is a multi-functional convention center run by SBA (Seoul Business Agency), a subsidiary of the Seoul Metropolitan Government. SETEC aims to foster strategic industries such as fashion, design, digital contents, IT, BT and exhibition & convention.

SETEC which is situated in the heart of the nation’s capital, Seoul, offers various merits. Blended with rich cultural traditions from a capital of the 600-year-old Korean kingdom, Joseon, Seoul is also evolving into a world-class business hub of Northeast Asia and the epicenter for high technology industry.

With the support system of a top-class exhibition facility and specialized service by exhibition experts, SETEC aims to help enhance the international competitiveness of Seoul-based SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises). It boasts an excellent track record, holding conventions that fill about 60 percent of its capacity.