Gaining momentum : how Korea is bouncing back
CATIE OWEN SITS DOWN WITH KOREAN TOURISM ORGANISATION ( KTO )’ S ACTING PRESIDENT SANG YONG SHIN TO DISCUSS THE BUZZ AROUND SOUTH KOREA ’ S MICE
F or anyone with an interest in popular culture , the surge of affection for all things South Korea over the last few years has been unmistakable .
Even before 2021 ’ s mega-hit-series Squid Game , 2020 had seen two defining moments for the cultural phenomenon ; with Parasite making history as the first foreign language film to receive Best Picture at the Oscars , and renowned K-Pop boyband , BTS achieving the musical genre ’ s first Grammy nomination in a major category .
Whilst South Korea has captivated the hearts and minds of people everywhere , has its MICE industry received the same love ? KTO ’ s acting president , Sang Yong Shin , has the answers .
Recouping losses Shin states that , prior to the pandemic ’ s economic upheaval , the South Korean MICE market was growing quickly :
“ Before Covid-19 , we saw an increase in the number of people visiting Korea for MICE events . In 2019 we reached 399,000 visitors . This was a 30 % increase from the 2017 rate , which was about 187,000 visitors .”
“ Korea ’ s MICE industry was hugely hit by Covid-19 - we saw quite a big drop in the number of people visiting for MICE events .”
As Asia ’ s fourth largest economy – and the world ’ s tenth – re-numerating this loss was vital according to Shin : “ Statistically , the MICE industry in Korea has created an output of around $ 80.6bn in terms of economic impact on the country .”
“ In terms of its relation to income , we would say that it ’ s around $ 4.2bn . In terms of import , it would be about $ 1.8bn . This is the real economic effect on Korea .”
By planning “ new events straight away ” post-pandemic , the KTO aimed to get the MICE market back to 2019-levels as soon as possible . In doing so , the country has been able to track two key trends : where the market originates and what they are hosting .
Shin says that the country ’ s MICE market has since changed in both size and origin : “ Pre-pandemic , we had a large number of visitors from the regions surrounding Korea , such as China , Japan , Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries .”
“ As of 2022 , we now have a good number of people coming in from the US , China , Vietnam , Canada and the Middle East . From here , we are looking to recover about 50 % of the loss we experienced by the end of this year .”
The range of MICE events planned in South Korea this year is as diverse as their organising companies . Shin explains how the KTO has broken down the type of events that Korea is currently in demand for : “ About 30 – 32 % of held events are what we would consider ‘ small ’ events , about 28 % are what we would call ‘ medium ’ and 40 % are ‘ large ’ events .”
Spreading the love Due to its metropolitan nature , Seoul has historically been the MICE organiser ’ s Korean location of choice , KTO has been working hard to spread the love to other regions .
Shin details : “ There is a trend with Seoul that , as the capital of Korea , it is the place where people are the most utilised for MICE events . But we ’ ve also seen a trend where other regions are being utilised for MICE-style events .”
To demonstrate , in May 2022 the city of Daegu hosted the World Gas Conference , as the region is ,
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