The Commercial Service section of the U.S. Embassy is the primary US government trade promotion agency in Korea. Among the non-USG organizations, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) is the largest international trade association in-country. As a member of the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA), KITA explores new trade opportunities for Korea by organizing trade missions and market survey teams to a number of foreign countries on a regular basis. KITA's Trade Service Center also assists potential foreign buyers or sellers. The Center also offers on-the-spot consultation and personalized advisory service regarding trade rules and regulations, export and import procedures, business management, market research, technology development, and taxation. In addition, KITA maintains six overseas branch offices, two of which are based in Washington D.C. and New York.
Seoul is the largest trade show venue in Korea with its Convention and Exhibition Center, popularly known as "COEX." Covering 36,027 square meters of exhibition space, COEX is a full-service trade organization providing multi-lingual simultaneous translation, full range of audio-visual equipment, lighting and sound systems, as well as comprehensive information services. The Seoul Trade Exhibition Center (SETEC) also located in Seoul, is run by the Korea Trade/Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).
The second largest city in Korea, Busan, located in southeastern part of Korea currently holds regular national exhibitions. The Busan Exhibition & Convention Center (BEXCO) has a floor space of 26,446 square meters. There is also an outdoor exhibition site with 13,223 square meters of available space.
Advertising
Korea's advertising market is open to 100 percent foreign equity participation. Foreign advertising agencies control more than 50 percent of the Korean advertising market. All the major international agencies are present in Korea.
There are four major broadcast networks (television and radio) in Korea. KBS I and KBS II are owned and operated by the Korean government, while MBC and SBS are independently operated. However, government influence remains, since advertising time on these and other broadcast networks is sold exclusively through a government organization known as the Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation (KOBACO). Companies must register with this corporation if they intend to advertise. As of 2008, approximately 273 foreign and Korean agencies were registered with this corporation.
Though censorship in advertisement is still practiced in Korea, it is not as strict as it has been in the past. The Korea Advertising Review Board (KARB), which consists of advertising and industry associations, currently controls advertising censorship procedures. In addition, the government’s Korean Fair Trade Commission is responsible for determining whether an advertisement makes accurate claims.
Several local TV stations have been established in recent years. This development, as well as the advent of cable television in 1995, has expanded advertising's potential reach to Korean audiences. As of August 2008, the Korean cable industry was served by 103 system operators and about 200 program providers offering diverse cable programs such as business news, sports, music, Buddhist programming, shows on the Korean board game "baduk" ("Go"), etc. There are also five shopping channels, including CJ, Hyundai, GS, Lotte, and Nongsusan. Estimated total sales volume for these five shopping channels in 2008 was approximately USD 4 billion.
Advertising market opportunities are predicted to show strong growth as more Koreans gain access to electronic media. Cable television in Korea currently has an audience of over 15 million households. Additionally, the government took steps to promote broadcast satellite television in digital format in 2001, with expectations of nationwide coverage by 2010. Korea Digital Broadcasting (KDB), a subsidiary of state-run Korea Telecom, holds the contract for digital broadcasting. In 2008, KDB broadcast 150 satellite channels reaching an estimated 2.31 million households.
Internet advertising also offers significant market growth potential, since the number of computer users will further increase in the coming years. There are currently 15 million Internet using households in Korea, which amounts to about 98 percent of total households in Korea.
Local Fair Authorities
Convention and Exhibition Center (COEX)
Tel: 82-2-6000-0114
Website: http:www.coex.co.kr
Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX)
Tel: 031-810-8039
Fax: 031-810-8083
Website: http://www.kintex.com
Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO)
Tel: 82-51-740-7300
Fax: 82-51-740-7320
Website: http://www.bexco.co.kr/
Seoul Trade Exhibition Center (SETEC)
Tel: 82-2-2222-3800
Fax: 82-2-2222-3820
Website: http://www.setec.or.kr/eng_new/main.do
Daegu Exhibition and Convention Center (EXCO Daegu)
Tel: 82-53-601-5000
Fax: 82-53-601-5029
Website: www.excodaegu.com
KITA US Offices
KITA NY Office
Tel: 212-421-8804(ext. 26)
Fax: 212-223-38270
E-Mail: kitany@kita.net
Website: http://www.kita.net/ny/eng/01/index.html
KITA Washington Office
Tel: 917-699-2032, 703-242-5713
Fax: 703-242-5714
E-Mail: wayne@kita.net
Website: http://www.kita.net/ny/eng/01/index.html
Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA)
Tel (rep): (82-2) 3460-7114
Fax (rep): (82-2) 3460-7777
Website: http://www.kotra.or.kr/
To view the list of major newspaper agencies in Korea, go to the link below. http://www.buyusa.gov/korea/en/newspapercontacts.html
CS Korea provides the Single Company Promotion service to U.S. firms through which firms can promote their products in Korea. Additionally, the “Featured U.S. Exporters (FUSE)” site provides information on how a company can advertise products on the Commercial Service’s worldwide website in various languages for free. Click on "FUSE" for more information.