Celion Su

A dream maker in the exhibition industry As a former reporter， David S.H. Lee has now made his way in the exhibition industry， and not on local level， but as his company name Global Business Exhibitions （GBE） says， in global scale.

Many years ago， on a visit to a US trade fair， Lee was deeply impressed by the scale and beauty of the show and after he went back to Korea， he started his own exhibition business with some partners. Today， apart from being the agent or co-organizer for a number of overseas exhibitions， his company GBE also organizes 3 brand shows in Korea： Korea Build， Korea Children Education & Product Expo， and Christmas Gift Show.

In 2018， Korea Build will be the 33rd edition. Lee bought it from a former competitor two years ago and then the two parties joined forces. “GBE takes care of the international marketing， while the original team is responsible for the domestic marketing. Working together， we make the show bigger and more international.” Lee told the reporter.

Now， Korea Build tours around major Korean cities such as Seoul， Busan， Kwangju，and has 7 sessions throughout the year. The biggest edition reaches 55，000 square meters， welcoming about 800 exhibitors from 15 countries and visitors from the globe including China. He esteems cooperation with influential Chinese partners in these shows.

Lee also reveals that in 2018， GBE will march further in the market and will launch new shows including Korea Education Technology Fair and Seoul Handmade Festa. Through his domestic shows， Lee encourages Chinese companies to enter the Korean market and even surrounding markets such as Singapore and Dubai.

More support needed for developing local MICE industry

Regarding Korean MICE industry development， Lee thinks that the exhibition facilities is excellent and he is happy with it. The venues have comprehensive facilities and the prices including space rental fee are reasonable. In particular， the rent is universal for domestic and international organizers. “I wish more Chinese organizers and visitors would look into the Korean exhibition market.” Lee says.

A major challenge as he mentions is that currently， the Korea government attaches much importance to encouraging local companies to participate in overseas exhibitions in order to drive export. Lee hopes that more support including subsidies will be provided to strengthen local MICE industry. According to Lee， the competition in Korean exhibition industry is neither strong nor easy. Even when in recent years， international giants like Reed Exhibitions has entered the market， but it only purchase existing shows instead of launching new shows， therefore the local exhibition ecology keeps good balance.

Quality visitor + good content

As an organizer himself， Lee observes that two factors are extremely important for the success of the show： quality visitor and good content. In most Korea exhibitions， the visitors would register online before the show， and the online and on-site B2B matchmaking is alive， and the popular paid entrance basis helps improve the quality of visitors.

Another factor is excellent concepts and programs. In the past， he points out， exhibitions feature trade effect， nowadays， exhibitions also bear the functions such as education and training， and so the organizers should present up-to-date concepts and programs including forums and B2B sessions to promote industry development， which also provide additional marketing opportunities in the show ground. In this regard， it is important for organizers to cooperate with governmental bodies and industry associations to design good show content for participants.

A bright future for Korean exhibition industry

Lee shares that Korean exhibition industry values talents cultivation. In 2017， the Korea Exhibition Organizers Association in which Lee is a management member launched a certificate program， which is open for all industry players. There are also regular competitions for MICE students and the winners receive considerable bonus. In terms of practice， organizers， venues， convention and exhibition bureaus provides various internship positions for MICE major students. In fact， some employees at GBE are previous interns at the company.

Looking ahead， Lee thinks that venue expansion is a sign for a more developed Korean exhibition industry. More importantly， Korea is in favorable position in terms of trade. The country has not only signed FTA with counties in Asia， but also with Euroasia countries. Lee observes that the recent visit of the Korea President to China and the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping will surely bring new strength for trade communications between the two countries， and with China being strong in the manufacturing industry and Korea features in creative culture industries， the two countries need each other and there is huge space for mutual cooperation.

“I chose the exhibition industry， and now everything is going well and up.” Lee confessed happily at the end of the interview. Started from that initial impulse as a visitor to a show， he is realizing his dreams for a pursuit of a MICE career. It is hoped that GBE will present more excellent shows and in the same time bringing more Korean exhibitors to worldwide fairs and markets.