Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
KITA hosts Korea Grand Sourcing Fair 2023
Korea International Trade Association (KITA) Chairman Koo Ja-yeol, right, shakes hands with an attendee of this year's Korea Grand Sourcing Fair in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of KITA
By Lee Min-hyung
The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) hosted a two-day trade fair in Seoul to help boost the nation’s IT, bio and healthcare exports, the association said Thursday.
A total of 152 companies from 26 countries took part in Korea Grand Sourcing Fair 2023, and representatives held meetings with some 800 Korean companies in the IT, bio and healthcare sectors during the event held on Wednesday and Thursday.
Buyers from the United States, Vietnam, India, China and Japan, accounted for more than half of all invited overseas companies, according to KITA. This reflected the growing popularity of Korean culture and content in the aforementioned countries.
The invited buyers included Pan Pacific International Trading, which operates Japan’s largest discount store, Don Quijote, and Wincommerce General Services that runs more than 3,400 supermarkets and stores in Vietnam.
“The preference for Korean content is surging among the young population abroad, so we visited the fair to watch potential items to import from Korean companies,” a buyer from an overseas retail firm said.
The trade association also held diverse events to help Korean firms expand sales abroad by inviting diplomats from 12 countries. They offered advice on the investment environments of their countries and helped Korean firms seek more business opportunities there.
The organization also offered a series of seminars to help attendees can get a clearer picture of the 2024 global trade environment and the outlook for exchange rates. Officials from KITA also shared their insight on how Korean firms can build their marketing strategies in the era of the artificial intelligence.
“We expect the Korea Grand Sourcing Fair to have offered practical help to local firms facing difficulties in their trade activities this year due to the ever-complex global trade environment and growing economic uncertainties,” Kim Gi-hyun, vice president of the KITA’s international affairs group, said.