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South Korea
Asia will talk fondly of Singapore’s Changi airport, but Incheon has won the title of Airport Council International’s world’s best every year since 2005, helped by the addition last year of two cinemas, the world’s only airport Louis Vuitton shop and, incredibly, an ice rink to entertain its annual 39 million passengers. South Korea earns its brownie points with the efficiency of its gateway, although at 43 miles from the city, it can be a challenge reaching Seoul through its horrendous traffic. Seoul’s convention offering is led
by COEX, the world’s tenth largest convention centre and host to the G20 Summit in 2010. This year, COEX will host events and exhibitions ranging from seafood to golf, and meetings including the Global Alcohol Policy Conference. It is located in the heart of the trendy Gangnam area, the inspiration for the hit song. COEX’s vast campus offers 54 dividable rooms within 450,000 sq m, an exhibition hall for up to 10,000 people, and 36,000 sq m of display space. When the working day is over, delegates can entertain themselves in the aquarium with its 72m walk-through tunnel, or the 16-screen cinema, four theatres and the attached shopping mall. On a smaller scale, SETEC, also in the Gangnam district, offers exhibition space for up to 12,500 visitors and a small conference venue. There are 12 four- and five-star hotels within a 10-minute walk of either location. Seoul is big on statement architecture and two projects that are coming on to the MICE radar are its floating islands and the Dongdaemun
Design Plaza and Park. The three islands are part of the regeneration of the Han River and are anchored to its bed. The biggest of the futuristic flower- themed constructions offers a 900 sq m convention space and the whole complex is a novel evening venue, particularly when combined with a cruise to view nearby Banpo Bridge, its 10,000 LED-lit nozzles providing a spectacular fountain at night. Dongdaemun, designed by Zaha
Hadid, the architect of the London Olympic Aquatics Centre, opened in April this year and capitalises on Seoul’s hip design and fashion image. Situated in an area renowned for both, the buildings are intended to showcase and nurture talent, and include two exhibition halls with two auditoria for 1,500 and 3,000 delegates respectively.
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“South Korea is a nation of ‘early adopters’, which makes Seoul a very exciting destination”
This, however, is eclipsed by Convensia, a US$155 million development at Songdo, a new city and Free Economic Zone constructed on 1,500 acres of reclaimed land umbilically linked to Incheon by a seven-mile-long bridge. The plan is for the jagged pyramidal Convensia building to grow from its current 300,000 sq ft first phase to 1.3 million sq ft. When complete, it will provide an indoor, column-free area equal to about four football fields. Songdo, a US$35 billion sustainable ‘aerotropolis’, might disappoint
REASONS TO MEET in South Korea
Excellent infrastructure and hotels
Signage in Seoul is in English as well as Korean
The capital’s Metro system is very efficient and signposted in English
No tipping is needed or, in many places, accepted Cities are safe Exceptional broadband and communications Cheap shopping for electronics
those wanting to be in the heart of the city, but they can take some consolation that the ‘Gangnam Style’ video was shot here and that Songdo’s sustainable credentials are such that the UN chose to locate 500 employees from its Green Climate Fund here. It may be a while, however, before this new metropolis persuades many meeting planners to stop short of Seoul and convene here and, when it comes to venues, there is no shortage in the city itself. MICE Seoul lists 36 hotels in the three- to five-star bracket that also offer convention facilities, with capacities ranging from 500 to 1,500. Still in Seoul, another development
is planned to capitalise on the country’s growing worldwide visibility. Apart from K-Pop, South Korea’s food, electronics, social media presence and areas such as animation have brought the country on to the global stage. These elements, known as ‘the K Wave’ or Hallyu, will be celebrated at a venue due to open in 2017: the Hallyu Tourism MICE Complex, 25 minutes on a new metro line from Gangnam, marries a K-Pop arena with conventional conference facilities plus Hallyu- themed hotels and ‘experience centres’ on a 990,000 sq m site.
Yeouido Han River Park, Seoul; (right) stone monkey, Gyeongbok Palace, Seoul
OUTSIDE SEOUL The capital does not have a monopoly on MICE venues, distinctive or functional, as other locations are also important and all are less than an hour’s flight from Seoul or a few hours on the country’s excellent high-speed rail network. Topping the list is the port and beach destination of Busan, South Korea’s second city, less than an
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