The city ’ s flagship , venue , BEXCO , hosted one of the most successful medical events in the world , the International Diabetes Federation Congress 2019 , ( involving 12,000 delegates from 180 countries ), but is now pivoting to offer hybrid events .
Busan held some big meetings , including ITU Telecom and the Korea-ASEAN Special Summit before the outbreak of the pandemic , and the city ’ s future bookings are promising . Busan is scheduled to host the 20th International Microscopy Congress ( 2022 ), the 37th International Geological Congress ( 2024 ), and the 23rd International Federation of Automatic Control ( 2026 ).
BEXCO resides in the heart of Busan ’ s convention district and has a 4,000-seat auditorium , 22 conference rooms and major exhibition space across its 90,000sqm site . There is a whole mini community of hotels , restaurants and services in the district .
Perched high on the coastline on Dongbaek Island , BEXCO ’ s iconic Nurimaru APEC House - venue for world leaders attending the 2006 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference - offers
About Busan Lights , camera , Korean action !
opulent meeting rooms and an 800-person capacity . Nurimaru combines both modern and traditional Korean architectural elements , with wooden floors and a roof that echoes the topography of Dongbaek Island itself . The building offers arresting views of Oryukdo Island and the Gwangan Bridge .
There is a further 14,000sqm of event space at the Busan Port International Convention Center to consider .
Busan has long been a global hub for the marine industry , and the North Port has a history that goes back nearly 150 years . Shipbuilding companies have been vital to the economy and the International Passenger Terminal gives event organisers another convenient , and centrally located venue .
Busan ranked fifth among Asian cities in the 2019 UIA rankings as an international conference host and is second only to Seoul in the country .
While the strategy now is to expand demand for Bleisure and unique venues and strengthen the marketing targeting China , a challenge remains the lack of direct international flights .
Planners should check out the new subsidy system designed to provide financial support for online and offline conferences ( hybrid ) and note there has been a doubling of the support fund for international conferences . Meetings must include more than 30 people a day for corporate meetings or involve a minimum one night stay for incentives , which must also involve at least 30 delegates .
The 2nd Chungju International Martial Arts and Action Film Festival was held over five days at the end of October , 2020 . The opening ceremony was a drive-in event and was held at the Tangeumho International Rowing Stadium . A total of 71 films from 18 countries were screened during the five-day festival , which was held for the first time last August , in Cheongju and Chungju . Then it was the only film festival in martial arts and modern action genre in Korea . This year films were screened both online ( via the Wavve platform ) and offline , as well as at drive-in theatres and cinemas across the city .
International films were also shown as part of a collaboration with The Fighting Spirit Film Festival in the UK and the Universal Martial Arts Film Festival in France .
Korea MICE Expo returns as hybrid
Korea MICE Expo ( KME ), Korea ’ s largest tradeshow for meeting professionals returns this year as a hybrid event for the first time . It will be held offline at Songdo ConvensiA , Incheon , with a corresponding virtual event running 24-27 November , 2020 .
Organisers expect 3,000 MICE professionals to take the opportunity to meet with 300 local exhibitors , including convention bureaus , venues and PCOs . Participants can also engage in 1:1 video business consultation with global buyers and gain access to exclusive virtual content available through a new online platform .
The KME Opening Keynote will be presented by the vice-president of the Consumer Electronics Show ( CES ).
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