South Korea
number of conferences and exhibitions. It
contains a total 26,000sqkm of event
space, and is currently in the process of
bidding for the 2030 World Expo. As
CMW arrives, however, the venue is in
the early stages of set-up for something a
bit different: a craft beer festival.
Beer festivals prove to be a recurring
theme in Busan. The next stop on our
tour takes us to KNN Tower Plaza,
where we are dropped off at the Centum
Beer Festival. We get a taste of authentic
Korean hospitality as a group of drunk
businessmen come over to toast our
drinks, before we make our way to the
stage at the front of the festival.
The bright lights and glitter of K-pop
are in full effect here, where a crowd of
Right: Paper
lanterns inside
Bulguksa Temple,
Gyeongju
Below: Barbed wire
fences leading up
to the observatory
inside the DMZ
“ There is
a possibility
of bridging
the line in the
sand with a
weapon more
powerful
than military
might:
business.”
adoring fans know all the lyrics and
choreographed dance moves to a series of
artists. The highlight, without question,
is Psy Burger – an overweight version of
the ‘Gangnam Style’ star who smashes
through a series of cover songs, while a
five-metre-tall inflatable likeness of
himself wobbles about on stage.
Psy Burger is an unstoppable crowd
pleaser, and delivers a seemingly endless
encore to a delirious audience,
threatening to end the set after each song.
But the hits just keep coming, and Psy
Burger gives us a suitably glamorous
send-off to our time exploring Busan.
Incheon.
“It is Incheon City’s ultimate goal to
become a representative MICE
destination in Northeast Asia, with an
international business-friendly
environment. MICE business can
stimulate the local economy with its huge
economic impact.”
An international outlook
At every turn, the technological
advancements of South Korea are a stark
contrast with the North. When our tour
bus takes us up to the DMZ, North Korea
is identifiable by its barren hillsides: the
country’s residents still cut wood for fire,
having limited access to electricity.
But South Korea’s north-western city
of Incheon, which is host of the 2019
Korea MICE Expo and the country’s
main gateway airport, is full of the spirit
of international collaboration. The city’s
Songdo district, full of shiny new
skyscrapers and cultural centres, is a
perfect example of how foreign business
can lead to economic prosperity.
The South Korean government has
designated the region as a tax haven,
called the Incheon Free Economic Zone
(IFEZ). International businesses which
move their headquarters to IFEZ are not
taxed, as part of an incentive to drive
growth in this upcoming region of the
country. IFEZ, which has been ranked as
the world’s safest city, is home to a diverse
group of residents from many continents.
The MICE Bureau at the Incheon
Tourism Organisation says international
MICE business is at the top of the agenda
in the region. A spokesperson
commented: “MICE business has great
importance to Incheon, since it is the
place where MICE first started in Korea.
Our country’s first expressway, and it’s
first western-style hotel, were based in
ISSUE 102
A brighter future
The city of Incheon serves as a
microcosm for South Korea as a whole,
demonstrating how the country has
managed to build a thriving economy,
and a varied MICE industry, by working
closely with international governments
and businesses.
International delegates looking to host
an event in South Korea are spoiled for
choice, whether they want an intimate,
premium meeting experience in Busan’s
Nurimaru APEC House, or a large-scale
conference in Seoul’s Coex. This wealth
of choice is the result of the country’s
open-door policy to international
business, and demonstrates the power of
the MICE industry to serve as a catalyst
for development.
If North Korea’s supreme leader were
to take notice, perhaps there is hope that
future meetings between the North and
the South could be
done with a little bit
less security - and that
the country might be
able to change its
economic destiny.
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