Participants of the 28th World Korean Business Convention are entering the Austria Center in Vienna, Austria, the venue of the event, on the 28th. This competition will be held on the largest scale ever, with 850 overseas Korean businessmen and 500 buyers attending. Vienna = Reporter Choi Hyuk ‘African wig king, Sinbad of Oman, fashion godmother of the Middle East… .’
In line with the opening ceremony of the 28th World Korean Business Convention, which will be held on the 28th (local time), overseas Korean businesspeople who are active in 89 cities in 46 countries gathered one after another in Vienna, Austria. This event, co-hosted by the World Korean Trade Association (World Okta) and the Korea Economic Daily, co-hosted by KOTRA, and sponsored by Kookmin Bank, will last for five days until the 1st of next month. It is the largest event ever with 850 businessmen from World Okta participating.
They will play the role of assistants who introduce the products of ‘K small and medium-sized companies’ that want to expand overseas to the world, and will help build a global network. It is expected to play a role in not only developing export markets but also spreading the cultural capabilities of the Korean people around the world, including Korean cultural content, food, and art, which are attracting attention in conjunction with the new Korean wave.
○“We will serve as a bridge for overseas expansion”
A large number of overseas Korean businessmen who are more famous in the global market than in Korea will attend this event. A representative example is Choi Young-cheol, chairman of Sana Group, the ‘King of African Wigs’ and the 8th largest conglomerate in Kenya. Chairman Choi settled in Kenya on his own in 1984 and grew the company through trading and the wig business. The company quickly expanded its business by selling wigs in the form of hair extensions, which are preferred by locals rather than full wigs, at a lower price. Currently, factories have been established in 10 African countries, including Tanzania and Ethiopia, and occupy more than 70% of the East African wig market. Recently, the business has been expanding into beauty fields such as hair, skin, and cosmetics. Chairman Choi said, “Through this competition, I want to help domestic small and medium-sized businesses trying to enter Africa,” and added, “We also plan to spend time finding new markets where the demand for wigs is increasing.”
Park Jong-beom, Chairman of Youngsan Group, and Totally Source International Chairman Sook-cheon Jeong, who is called the ‘Fashion Godmother of the Middle East’, is also a Korean Wave evangelist leading the ‘K craze’ in the Middle East. Chairman Chung runs ‘K Style Sook’, the Middle East’s first store exclusively for Korean products, in places such as Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). This store handles Korean cosmetics, traditional crafts, clothing, and beauty products, and is receiving a positive response from local consumers. Chairman Chung said, “Based on the K-pop craze, expectations for a ‘second Middle East boom’ are growing,” and added, “We will become a bridge between Korea and the Middle East.”
Alchao Trading Chairman Kim Jeom-bae, who is famous in the deep-sea fishing industry, will also attend the event. Chairman Kim stayed in Oman, the main setting of the novel Arabian Nights, for 43 years and became successful in deep-sea fishing, earning him the nickname ‘Sinbad of Oman.’ He operated an oceangoing fleet in the waters of Oman and Somalia and became a major merchant supplying seafood to Korea, Italy, and Japan. Chairman Kim also plans to become a mentor for small and medium-sized businesses seeking to enter the Middle East and Africa.
○The largest Korean businessman event ever
Choi Young-cheol, Chairman of Sana Group, Youngsan Group Chairman Park Jong-beom (Chairman of World Okta), who leads the World Korean Business Convention, is a famous Korean businessman in Europe. Youngsan Group produces automobile semi-finished products and related parts in more than 20 countries, mainly in Austria, and has annual sales of around 600 billion won. Chairman Park said, “I want to give small and medium-sized businesses, such as K-food and K-beauty, the opportunity to expand overseas.”
In North America, Lee Kyung-cheol, chairman of Whale Enterprises, will represent the Korean American Chamber of Commerce Rifle Association. He runs a group with annual sales of 700 billion won, including Whale Enterprises LLC, which supplies syringes and intravenous treatment vaccines to about 5,000 hospitals in the United States, Whale Enterprises, which is in charge of alcohol trade and distribution, and Global Wood Stick, a wood processing company. World Okta Chairman Lee Young-joong, who claims to be a helper for Korean businessmen in the United States, also added his support.
Sook-Cheon Jeong, Chairman of Totally Source International This conference will gather the largest number of Korean businesspeople in the history of the World Korean Business Convention held overseas. 850 people will participate, which is 207 (32.2%) more than the 643 people attending the 18th Indonesia Bali Games, which has the largest number of attendees. Korean small and medium-sized companies are also looking for export opportunities by setting up 400 booths, the largest number ever.
During the competition period, approximately 2,500 export consultations were scheduled between buyers and K small and medium-sized businesses around the world.
Vienna = Reporter Choi Hyeong-chang/Park Jae-won/Kim Woo-seop [email protected]
