EW examines how Seoul Convention Bureau is supporting the exhibition sector
International exhibitions held in the South Korean capital in 2022 and certified by the Korea Exhibition Industry Promotion Association, as well as exhibitions with potential growth or international competitiveness, in alignment with the Seoul City Core Industries and Prospective Industries lists, are eligible for financial support. Consumer exhibitions are excluded.
Seoul’s designated core industries are Bio/Medical, R&D, Electronics, Manufacturing, AI, IoT, Smart Media, Beauty/Fashion, Financial/Fintech. And Prospective industry categories include Big data, Network services, Future car, System Semiconductor and Bio Health, as well as Metaverse, Blockchain, Healthcare, Cloud and Intelligent robotics.
The kind of support available can be up to 10m won (US$7,400) at the planning and pilot stages, and up to 20m won for further development. There is also a higher level of support for international exhibitions and those involving hosted buyers. Full terms and conditions are available from the Seoul Convention Bureau.
Seoul is also in the process of creating new MICE Clusters, the largest being the Jamsil Sports MICE Complex, which includes regeneration of the 1988 Olympic site. A 11,000-seat sports and multi-purpose arena will offer flexibility in hosting a variety of events, live performances, and e-sports.
The site also incorporates two hotels, an office tower and 123,000 gross sqm of retail space.
Engrained into the development are sustainable design solutions including green rooftops, biotope installations of living plants and animals and a solar screening device.
Construction of Jamsil Sports MICE Complex is expected to begin in the second half of 2023.
Coex transforming
Meanwhile, Seoul’s famous convention and exhibition centre Coex has had a digital transformation over the past two years.
Coex established a broadcast studio and offers LED display, upgraded audio visual products, digital signage, and live streaming. Its Studio 159 is the industry’s first purpose-built broadcast studio in Korea. The key feature of the space is a 500-inch curved LED screen that is 12m wide and 3.7m high. The screen makes for immersive video presentations and can also serve as a background for both live and hybrid events.
Coex LIVE, meanwhile, offers event planners access to cutting-edge live stream and broadcast equipment, as well as experienced technicians.
Launched in July, Coex also has new green Xpace digital display panels in the ground floor lobby. Xpace signage helps cut 21,000sqm of physical waste annually from old-style promotional banners, the equivalent of three soccer fields.
Seoul Café Show illustrated the venue’s strategy for developing the exhibition market. During the most challenging time, the 2020 show looked for solutions with online marketing resources such as live streaming the event with influencers on YouTube, having a live-commerce option for exhibitors, and utilising a virtual platform for a global forum. In all, 426 exhibitors came from 15 countries and occupied 1,035 booths.
Then, for the show’s 20th anniversary in 2021, an online programme allowed it to reach out to more people around the world with virtual tours and a hybrid forum, and online exhibitions.
Playing to strengths
Seoul is very strong in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors and is using digital resources to help its events clients in these sectors stay in touch with their markets and customers. Examples include BIO KOREA, which has been held regularly every year since 2006. Its organisers held Bio Korea2020 entirely online and involved a rare successful virtual exhibition which recorded seven million content views. In 2021, a hybrid format was used, with a virtual platform and an offline exhibition.
MEDICAL KOREA, held annually since 2010, adopted a hybrid approach. The offline event was held for two days from 10 March at COEX, and the online event was held for six days through the Medical Korea official website and live streaming on YouTube.
It is also worth checking out SCB’s PLUS SEOUL support programme for MICE and also its Technology Support and Safety Support packages.
