Includes web links to local trade fair or show authorities and local newspapers, trade publications, radio/TV/cable information.
Last Published: 8/29/2019
The U.S. Government’s primary trade promotion agency in South Korea is the U.S. Commercial Service.  Located within the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, it is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration.  Consult: http://www.export.gov/southkorea.
In Korea, the Commercial Service works with numerous trading and commercial entities, to include:
  • The Korea International Trade Association (KITA): http://www.kita.org/.  KITA organizes overseas trade missions, conducts market surveys, assists potential foreign buyers or sellers, and offers consultation and personalized advisory services regarding trade rules and regulations, export and import procedures, business management, market research, technology development and taxation.  KITA has offices in Washington, DC, and New York.  It also has seven offices in other countries.
  • The Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI): http://english.korcham.net/nChamEng/Service/Main/appl/Main.asp.  KCCI is Korea’s largest private economic organization, with 71 regional chambers and approximately 135,000 members.  Since its establishment in 1884, KCCI has contributed to the growth and development of the national economy and the enhancement of Korea's status in the international community.
  • The Korean Importers Association (KOIMA): http://www.import.or.kr/.  KOIMA is Korea’s primary import association and represents over 4,000 businesses.
  • Korea hosts many trade shows and exhibitions each year.  Historically, many of these shows are highly focused on B2C activities and, thus, are not necessarily attractive to U.S. firms interested in meeting qualified companies, versus end-users.  The following trade facilities and event schedules may be of interest to U.S. firms:
  • COEX:  http://coex.co.kr/eng - Korea’s largest full-service trade show organization, has 36,027 square meters of exhibition space.  Hundreds of shows (B2B and B2C) are held throughout the year.
  • SETEC:  http://eng.setec.or.kr/index.do - The Seoul Trade Exhibition Center is operated by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).
  • KINTEX:  http://www.kintex.com/client/_eng/index.jsp - Located in Ilsan, Gyeonggi-do, near Seoul, KINTEX has the largest exhibition space in Korea, with 108,566 square meters.
  • BEXCO:  http://www.bexco.co.kr/eng/Main.do - Located in Busan, Korea’s second largest city (southeast Korea), BEXCO holds dozens of B2C and B2B national exhibitions and features 26,446 square meters of exhibition space.
Advertising
A geographically small country, Korea is an exciting place to launch effective, sophisticated, state-of-the-art advertising.  Korean advertisers are highly creative and utilize a host of media to capture the consumer’s attention.
Particular aspects of Korea’s advertising market include the following:
  • Korea’s advertising market is the sixth largest in 2017 among member nations of the OECD, according to the Korea Advertisers and Media Audit Korea.
  • Total media advertising spending in Korea reached $10 billion, up 4.6 percent in 2018.  
  • More than 80 mega-LED screens strategically pepper commercial areas (in Seoul and other cities) with 24/7 promotions.  Monthly advertising opportunities exist.
  • Thousands of excellent promotional sites on Korea’s well-used bus stops, subway stations, railways, and airports should be considered by U.S. firms.
  • On-line advertising offers significant market growth potential. In 2018, Korea’s digital advertising reached $4.6 billion, growing by 16.0 percent compared to the previous year. Mobile advertisements made up the biggest proportion of digital marketing, with a 60 percent share. Display ads account for 44 percent, search ads for 56 percent, and visual ads for 15 percent of total on-line advertising.  Currently 15 million households, or 98 percent of all, use the Internet.  The Korea On-line Ad Association (KOA) can be found at the following website: http://www.onlinead.or.kr.
  • The presence of over 3,031 foreign (to include all major ad agencies) and Korean ad agencies.  Foreign equity participation is permitted at 100 percent.
  • Hundreds of TV and radio stations, including:
    • KBS I, KBS II:  TV and radio stations owned/operated by the Korean government
    • MBC, SBS:  Independently operated, but with ROK government influence (Consult: www.kobaco.co.kr/eng)
  • Comprehensive Programming Channels:
    • Launched on December 1, 2011, four new nationwide networks supplement existing conventional free-to-air TV networks like KBS, MBC, SBS, and other smaller channels.  Unlike land-based television channels, new comprehensive programming channels can broadcast for 24 hours and commercial breaks are allowed.  In Korea, over 80 percent of the population watches cable or satellite TV, so the influence of these comprehensive programming channels is strong.
    • Channel A www.ichannela.com is managed by Dong-A Media Group. The Dong-A Media Group consists of twelve affiliate companies, including Dong-A Ilbo, the leading newspaper in Korea since 1920.
    • TV Chosun http://www.tvchosun.com/main.html, also known as Chosun Broadcasting Company, is owned by the Chosun Ilbo-led consortium.  Chosun Ilbo is one of the major newspapers in South Korea, with a daily circulation of over 2,200,000.
    • JTBC http://jtbc.joins.com/ is managed by the JoongAng Media Network. JoongAng Ilbo is one of the major newspapers in South Korea.
    • MBN www.mbn.co.kr, also known as Maeil Broadcasting, Inc., is owned by Maeil Business Newspaper.  MBN was formerly a news channel, between 1993 and 2011.  It transitioned to a general programming cable TV channel after 17 years of operation. 
  • The Korea Advertising Review Board (KARB: http://www.karb.or.kr/) is responsible for advertising regulation and compliance.
  • The Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC: http://eng.ftc.go.kr/) assures accuracy in advertisement. 
  • Korean Cable TV Association (KCTA: http://www.kcta.or.kr/).
  • The Korean cable TV industry serves 32 million households, with 99 system operators offering over 150 programs.  Korea Digital Broadcasting (KDB), a subsidiary of Korea Telecom (KT: http://www.kt.com/eng/) broadcasts more than 150 satellite channels to over 2.6 million households.
  • There are seven leading shopping channels in Korea: GS, Hyundai, CJ, Lotte, Shinsegae, NS, and Home and Shopping.  In 2017, Korea’s market scale of the home shopping industry reached $14 billion.

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.