If there’s one market that’s managed to export its pop and fashion culture better than Hollywood in Asia, it’s South Korea.
K-pop stars pack concert halls faster and quicker than Western acts. When Exo Planet #2 staged its concert in Singapore late last year, hordes of teen girls started queuing from early morning, those more enterprising set up stalls to sell self-made merchandise and they performed two nights, packing the Indoor Stadium each night.
In shopping malls, Korean cosmetics brands dominate – it may be impossible to pronounce but suddenly, Sulwhasoo is everywhere, as are names like Skin Food and Face Shop. In Incheon airport, the biggest selling items are cosmetics and Chinese passengers make up half of all sales of these items.
South Korea is also known for as the world’s most connected country. It has the fastest Internet speed in the world, according to this report from Statista
Countries with the highest average internet connection speed as of 3rd quarter 2015 (in Mbps)
High smartphone penetration – according to Statista’s data, in 2015, 84.8% of the mobile phone population accessed the internet from their mobile device. This figure is expected to grow to 90.7% in 2019.
This Statista report ranks it is one of the biggest e-commerce markets worldwide. In 2014, the country was ranked seventh in terms of retail e-commerce volume at US$33.11b. It is projected that the retail e-commerce volume in the country will grow to US$47.82b by 2018.
A good indication of digital disruption happening across industries is tech start-up activities and this Tech in Asia infographic profiling the top 15 top-funded companies in South Korea gives an indication of which sectors are being disrupted.
Travel is clearly on the horizon – last year, AllStay, a travel metasearch play, raised US$432,000 and MyRealTrip, a marketplace for tour guides, has also successfully raised several rounds and is expanding outside the country.
It all marks a good time for WIT to make its debut in Seoul and on March 25, for the first time, overseas digital travel experts and Korea’s travel industry will gather at Seoul Partners House to discuss and learn about the state of online travel in the region as well as locally.
The half-day programme fields a mix of overseas speakers representing travel brands such as Booking.com, Trivago and Agoda, and local leaders such as JEJUAir, Interpark and Hana Tour and Tide Square. Foreign brands such as TripAdvisor operating in South Korea will also be featured, along with start-ups that are gaining attention of venture capitalists abroad.
“We’re excited to be coming to Seoul. Local industry players have been asking us to hold our event in their city for a couple of years and I’m glad we finally made it, thanks to champions on the ground. WIT Seoul is part of our investment in community building to develop a strong and professional digital travel industry in Asia Pacific,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder, WIT.
Hyuk Park: A very rare opportunity
Hyuk Park, head of planning of JEJUair, said, “Having all Korean based travel-related execs in one place, it’s a very rare opportunity.”
Chris Lee: A good opportunity to learn how local companies are doing it.
Chris Lee, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Korea & Asia Emerging Markets, Booking.com, has long been a champion of WIT entering his home country and is clearly excited.
“Finally WIT has arrived in Seoul, the most innovative and dynamic city in the world. Seoul has been an untapped market for many foreign online travel companies and investors due to its inclusive market culture. I’m very excited to see how our foreign friends react to this great market opportunity.”
Min Yoon, CEO of Tide Square, on the local organising team, said, “WIT is a top travel tech related show in the Asia Pacific area and Korea’s travel industry noticed this a couple of years ago. Many Koreans have attended their events in Tokyo and Singapore and our start-ups have performed well. Finally it comes to Seoul and we welcome WIT with open arms.”
As for what foreign attendees can expect to learn,
Lee said, “People should expect to see how local online travel companies run their business here in Korea; how they target local Korean customers, how they deal with local government policy, growing FIT trends and attracting talent.”
Min Yoon: “The market is changing.”
Min added, “Although Korea’s travel industry is relative slow in the tech area, due to its highly localised nature, recently we are seeing changes. Local players are evolving and many start-ups have entered the market, changing the industry. You can learn about how they are trying to change this very conservative and localised market.”
Hyuk said one interesting outcome would be to learn more about mobile commerce and Korean consumer behavior in a market that’s dominated by Samsung and LG, both Android platforms.
The three executives also have tips for foreign attendees coming to Seoul. One thing they must do?
Korean BBQ, a must-try
Chris Lee:
1. Korean BBQ+Soju
2. Korean fried chicken +Beer+Soju
Min Yoon:
Visit small alleys in Itaewon, try new cuisines from the world and check out the trendy shops. Itaewon is very close to Seoul Partner House, where WIT Seoul is being held.
Hyuk Park:
Fly with JEJUair – modern Korean beef BBQ
Two Plus http://dinehill.co.kr/our/Restaurant_Intro.asp?category=4,
han6gam www.6yuk.com
Korean redbean ice dessert (bingsu in Korean) – Okrumong www.okrumong.co.kr
* Sign up for the event here. Admission is free, seats on first come first serve basis.
