As the World Korean Business Convention, set to take place in Anaheim, Orange County, approaches within 40 days, the organizing committee members visited Korea to provide updates on the preparation status and interim reports.

On June 28th, Korean time, the "2023 World Korean Business Convention Exhibition Information Session" was held at the KBIZ Hall in Yeouido, Seoul. Members of the organizing committee including Chairman Hwang Byung-gu, Venue Chairman Noh Sang-il, Event Co-Chair Edward Youn, and Advisory Board Brian Chung visited Korea to share detailed information about the upcoming convention with participating companies, organizations, and local government officials. They discussed how this year's convention, being held abroad for the first time in history, differs from previous conventions, what to expect, and what preparations are necessary. Before the consultation session, speeches were given by Chairman Lee Ki-cheol of the Overseas Korean Agency, President Kim Ki-moon of KBIZ, and Representative Bae Hyun-jin of the National Assembly, to encourage participating companies.

Chairman Kim Ki-moon of KBIZ stated, "Starting from the 2002 World Korean Business Convention, this year's event being held overseas is expected to expand the exports of domestic SMEs more efficiently through the effective use of the Korean business network in USA." He also mentioned that KBIZ will establish a KBIZ Pavilion with around 50 companies in fields such as beauty, food, and lifestyle products to support SME exports.

During the information session, Venue Chairman Sean Roh, who provided an overview of the convention, stated, "As this is the first overseas convention taking place in the United States, we are fully prepared to welcome our guests. Various business programs await entrepreneurs, especially aiming to create visible results in economic cooperation between Korea and the United States."

Chairman Henry Bang, who is preparing the Venture Capital Investment Forum and Startup Competition, and Chairman Kim Hyun-kyum, who is preparing for company recruitment and 1:1 business matching, explained the preparations via online Zoom. Additionally, Michael Daniel, Director of the Small Business Development Center in Orange County Inland Empire, Manal Richa, Director of the Global Trade Center, and Roger Lloyd, Director of the Digital Marketing Center, all of whom will be attending the convention at the California Pavilion, participated online to explain the 1:1 business matching based on state and federal government databases and various webinars planned for participating Korean companies in September.

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The World Korean Business Convention is an event that connects compatriot enterprises and entrepreneurs active in over 180 countries worldwide with domestic businesses. This year's convention is particularly significant as it is the first to be held overseas and the name has been changed.

At the convention, 380 SMEs from 12 local governments and related agencies in Korea are participating, along with around 180 companies from the United States, including government agencies such as the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA), local governments like California, chambers of commerce associations, and local companies. This totals around 560 companies, providing them with broad opportunities for business exchange with the economy and over 30,000 local visitors. Both participating Korean companies and the participating US government agencies and companies in the East and Midwest regions are looking forward to expanding their networking opportunities with local businesses and government agencies.

The purpose of the session was to provide information to participating companies, promote events such as exhibitions, consultations, seminars, and investment forums planned by the organizers, and to make online participation possible in order to provide information to more companies. The organizing committee plans to continually provide updates through regular online briefing sessions until the convention.

Exhibition pass applications are available for the period of October 11th (Wednesday) to October 13th (Friday), allowing a 3-day access to the exhibition hall. Early bird benefits are available until September 10th, 2023, offering free admission with the coupon code "2023WKBC." For more detailed information and application procedures, please visit Register "2023 WKBC" Exhibition Pass

Exhibition Pass