[The Editors' Verdict] Why I Was Disappointed After Seeing Germany's IFA Electronics Exhibition

More Than Half of Participating Companies Are from China
A Must-Create Exhibition to Represent Korea, a Powerhouse in K-Pop, Manufacturing, and MICE Industries

Where is the most expensive exhibition space to rent in the world? It is the Las Vegas Convention Center in the United States, where the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is held. Exhibitors say, "The cost to rent and decorate 3.3㎡ (1 pyeong) and display products is about 10 million won." CES is held for four days during the first week of January every year. In terms of monthly rent, it amounts to 75 million won per pyeong. Samsung Electronics created the largest exhibition hall among participants this year, covering 3,368㎡ (about 1,019 pyeong).

Space is not everything. Hundreds of employees packed their luggage and went to Las Vegas. The cost of living in Las Vegas during the event is exorbitant. Hotel prices, which can be booked for tens of dollars during the off-season, soar to hundreds of dollars. The numbers on restaurant menus also change. This year, there was news that the price of Korean side dish pa muchim was 20,000 won during the event period. Airfare, accommodation, and meals alone cost tens of billions of won. Samsung spends hundreds of billions of won every year preparing for CES.

Still, more than 3,200 companies attended CES this year. The number of Korean companies participating was about 550, the largest ever. It is the second largest after the United States. Korean companies spent hundreds of billions of won. It is hard to say this was a wasteful expense. Why do they spend money? Because they believe they can recoup their investment. History and tradition have built this trust. Products that changed the world first met the world at past CES events. For example, Philips first introduced the VCR in 1970. CD (1991), DVD (1996), and HDTV (1998) also passed through CES. When the event is held, people visit the venue and watch the news, curious about what will be released this year. Another secret to CES's success is its timing. CES is held in early January. Products developed last year are unveiled to the world at the beginning of the new year. Companies can gauge customer reactions and plan their management and new product development strategies for the year.

The geographical advantage cannot be ignored either. It is an official business opportunity to visit Las Vegas, a city of entertainment, gambling, and nightlife. Even if they just work and leave, people say they want to go to Las Vegas. This year, more than 100,000 people attended the event, and the exhibition space was the size of 26 soccer fields (186,000㎡). There are not many places with rooms for 200,000 people and exhibition spaces for 100,000 people. The number of people visiting CES has continued to increase.

However, in fact, this year's CES was a failure in terms of attendance. The number of participating companies decreased by 30% compared to January 2020, before COVID-19 hit the United States. This is due to the US-China economic conflict. Chinese companies such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and Haier disappeared. It is expected to be difficult to find Chinese company booths at next year’s event as well. When I heard this news in January, I was slightly excited. I wondered if this could be an opportunity to create a large-scale electronics exhibition held in Korea. But I was a bit disappointed after seeing the IFA electronics exhibition held in Berlin, Germany, earlier this month. Among the 2,097 participating companies, 1,296 were Chinese companies. They overwhelmed the host countries Germany (228) and Korea (165). It was basically at the level of a local Chinese event. Chinese companies flocked to Germany instead of the United States.

We also have the potential to hold a large international exhibition. First, Korea is the home of BTS and Blackpink. The content with the highest market share on TVs and other displays at CES and IFA venues is K-pop. K-pop began to dominate electronics exhibitions quite some time ago. For example, at the 2010 CES, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese TV manufacturers displayed screens featuring Girls' Generation singing "Genie," attracting visitors. Nowadays, if you remove K-pop star content from the displays at the event venues, there is nothing to see. Also, Korea is a manufacturing powerhouse. More than 550 companies travel all the way to the United States to exhibit electronic products.

Meeting, Incentive Travel, Convention, and Exhibition are collectively called the MICE industry. The government is putting its life on the line to attract expos, which are also part of MICE. Market research firm Research and Markets estimated the global MICE market size to be $1.5623 trillion (about 2,070 trillion won) by 2030. Korea is already one of the strong countries in MICE. According to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) statistics, Seoul ranked 15th in hosting international conferences in 2021. The problem is that Korea lacks a large-scale regular event to represent the country. Creating a second CES in Korea would be a greater achievement than creating another large corporation. Hosting an expo is also good. Next, we need to consider founding a large-scale regular exhibition.

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