Seafood Companies and Citizens' Daily Life Recovery... The 20th Busan International Seafood EXPO Opens

November 2-5 at BEXCO: 330 Companies from 22 Countries with 950 Booths

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The Busan International Seafood Expo, a grand event in the global seafood industry, will open on the 2nd of next month and run for four days.

Busan City announced on the 20th that the 20th Busan International Seafood Expo (BISFE 2022) will be held for four days from November 2 to 5 at BEXCO Exhibition Hall 1 in Haeundae.

The Busan International Seafood Expo began in 2003 as the first event and has established itself as the only seafood-specialized expo in Korea.

This year’s expo is hosted by Busan City and organized by BEXCO, the Korea Fisheries Trade Association, and the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, with participation from 330 companies from 22 countries, featuring 950 booths.

In line with the transition to a post-pandemic era, this year’s event plans to harmoniously operate various online and offline programs, including business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions, to help seafood companies explore overseas export markets and revitalize the domestic market economy.

The event is broadly composed of ▲Opening Ceremony ▲Exhibition ▲Trade Events ▲Academic Events. There will also be citizen participation side events such as seafood consumption promotion events and discount and prize events.

The opening ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on November 2. About 40 dignitaries, including Park Hyung-joon, Mayor of Busan, Cho Seung-hwan, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, and the Minister of Marine Economy of Senegal, will attend.

The exhibition will feature ▲Seafood Hall ▲Seafood Equipment Hall ▲Marine and Fisheries Industry Startup and Investment Support Hall ▲Smart Aquaculture Hall ▲Busan Premium Seafood Special Hall ▲Korea Seafood Masters Hall and K-FISH Hall ▲Busan City Mackerel Promotion Hall.

At the Mackerel Promotion Hall, works submitted to the city fish (Si-eo) character contest and design prototypes will be displayed, and an awards ceremony for the contest will be held.

▲Trade events include online and offline export consultation meetings to help seafood companies develop overseas export markets.

Through separate consultation booths set up at the venue, about 100 buyers from 15 countries and 150 domestic companies will participate both online and offline.

The National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives and the Korea Fisheries Trade Association will also host ▲Online Export Consultation Meetings and Overseas Buyer Invitation Trade Consultations to conduct comprehensive online and offline consultations on seafood products.

Additionally, a ▲Domestic MD Consultation Meeting and Product Evaluation Meeting will be held, with participation from domestic product planners (MDs) from major online shopping platforms such as Lotte Home Shopping, NS Home Shopping, Lotte Mart, and Interpark, facilitating matching consultations with seafood companies.

▲A networking event called ‘Night of Seafood Professionals’ for EXPO participants will also be held to strengthen networking among participating companies, buyers, and seafood industry stakeholders.

Academic events presenting the future development direction of the seafood industry will be held. The ▲International Academic Conference of the Korea Fisheries Science Federation will be held under the theme ‘Fisheries Science Amid the Pandemic,’ and the ▲Korea Aquaculture Technology Workshop 2022 will examine ‘Overseas Recirculating Aquaculture System Facilities and Operation Cases.’

The ▲17th Busan Fisheries Policy Forum will be held under the theme ‘Seeking Sustainable Future Development Directions for Busan’s Fisheries Industry,’ and the ▲Seafood Growth Forum will be conducted under the theme ‘Global Growth of Seafood Companies, Listening to Amazon.’

Side events will focus intensively on online programs aligned with the latest consumer trends, such as ▲Naver Shopping Live Commerce and ▲Live broadcasts linked with overseas celebrities (influencers).

Also, a talk concert in collaboration with the ▲MSC Marine Stewardship Council will be held, where YouTuber ‘Memories of Fishing’ and chef ‘Fabraccio Ferrari’ will share stories about seafood.

To revitalize the domestic seafood market, citizen participation events such as ▲Seafood Discount Events and ▲Pre-purchase Discount Events for Abalone (at Saypian Mall) will be held to promote domestic seafood consumption.

Park Hyung-joon, Mayor of Busan, said, “With the slowdown of COVID-19 spread and the lifting of social distancing, we are on the verge of a full return to normal life. We hope the Busan International Seafood Expo will contribute to the economic recovery of seafood companies that have been stagnant and also provide vitality to citizens who have been restrained due to COVID-19.”

The admission fee for the 2022 Busan International Seafood Expo (EXPO) is 5,000 KRW, and among paid visitors, the first 300 people each day will receive a 5,000 KRW seafood product purchase discount coupon.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.