By Kim Jae-heun
Asia's largest animation and digital comic business-to-business (B2B) market will take place later this month, according to the Seoul Business Agency (SBA), Monday.
The annual event will return with a star-studded participant lineup including U.S. streaming service provider Netflix, Chinese internet giant Tencent and Walt Disney, the world's largest media company.
“The Seoul Promotion Plan (SPP) 2018 will be held from Aug. 21 to 23 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza,” the city government said in a media statement. The SPP is co-organized with the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
Some 400 global leaders in the content industry will flock to the event that will mark the 18th anniversary since its launch.
The SPP has established itself as an essential event discovering excellent new animation projects as it has offered market opportunities allowing participants to access unique content, network with the world's leading buyers and producers and discover latest market trends.
Last year, 320 global and local companies participated in the SPP and there was consultation on export contract worth $280 million (314 billion won) on the spot.
Along with business matching, the SPP's main programs include project competitions – the animation competition and the webcomic award – and the global conference that will attract high-profile speakers.
Netflix, which owns 125 million subscribers from 190 countries, will host a session about future prospects for the industry, while Ollie Green, vice president of animated production at Turner Broadcasting will introduce new animations for teenagers and adults around the world.
Dan Sarto, co-founder and publisher of Animation World Network, also plans to talk about the global trend of full-length animated films and provide advice on the local animation market that is saturated with kid's content and TV series.
Other experts in the field will also give speeches on the topic related to future content during the international conference scheduled as part of the festival.
“The SPP has become a major inroad into the global market for domestic animation and digital comics. This year, the market invites big-name buyers like Netflix and I hope many firms achieve their goals here,” said Park Bo-kyung, head of the Seoul Animation Center at the SBA.
Companies hoping for one-on-one business matching at the market can apply at spp.kr through the registration system online.