11 July 2023, Arirang Radio KOREA NOW, “KOREA BRAND AND ENTERTAINMENT EXPO 2023”

11 July 2023, Arirang Radio KOREA NOW, “KOREA BRAND AND ENTERTAINMENT EXPO 2023”

Host>

• This year marks the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Germany. To commemorate this, a variety of events are being held in both countries. On June 29 and 30, the “2023 Korea Brand and Entertainment Expo” took place in Germany. It was the first Hallyu expo to be held in Europe in ten years. How strong is Europeans’ enthusiasm for Hallyu? Let’s talk with our correspondent, Kyunghun Choi, who visited the expo himself. Hello? (greeting)
• Q1> First, how was the overall atmosphere of this Hallyu expo?

(*Please start by talking about the atmosphere. You can say you took a few photos and then describe the photos below. I’ll show these photos in the order listed from what you sent! Since this is radio, be sure to explain what each photo shows!)

KOREA BRAND AND ENTERTAINMENT EXPO 2023 had a truly wonderful atmosphere. Fans of Korean culture wanted to immerse themselves in the world of K-pop music, Korean cuisine, and captivating traditions.

At this event, I had the opportunity to take several photos.

✅ (01:17) One of them captures the stage, where popular K-pop groups STAYC and KARD performed. They not only won over their loyal fans but also interacted with the audience, with South Korean announcer Yeomyeong Park helping by interpreting their words into German.

In the second photo, you can see the large number of attendees getting excited. The members of STAYC and KARD were greeted with huge applause and cheers, vividly showing the influence Korean culture currently has in Europe.

• Q1-2> Kyunghun, how did you come to visit the expo?

I worked as an interpreter with the K-pop groups STAYC and KARD at this event. I also contributed to proofreading the subtitle texts for the speeches by Hong Kyun Kim, the Korean ambassador to Germany, and Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg, the deputy mayor of Frankfurt am Main.

In addition, I joined a rehearsal session with announcer Yeomyeong Park, serving as a stand-in for the German moderator.

• Q2> The Hallyu expo aims to support Korean companies’ entry into overseas markets through Hallyu marketing. I understand it was hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. What were the scale and components of this year’s expo?

In 2010, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) planned an impressive event that leveraged the power of Hallyu to further strengthen the export marketing efforts of Korea’s small and medium-sized enterprises.

This year, Germany was selected to mark the 140th anniversary of Korea-Germany diplomatic relations. Notably, it has been ten years since the KOREA BRAND AND ENTERTAINMENT EXPO was last held in Europe, after the 2013 event in London.

The venue—about the size of two football fields—featured an engaging K-makeup show, a Korean food show, and an immersive traditional Korean clothing experience center. More than 100 companies took part, spanning cosmetics and daily goods as well as materials, equipment, and technologies.

• Q3> What tangible results did the companies achieve?

KOTRA made an important announcement on the 3rd of this month, stating that export contracts and MOUs totaling 32 million dollars had been signed.

Among them, an eco-friendly auto parts company signed an 8-million-dollar contract with a local buyer, and a cosmetics company successfully concluded a 300-thousand-dollar contract.

In total, ten contracts and MOUs were signed, covering Korea’s high-tech industries, consumer goods, and services.