Cha Hyang Da Saek Hadong World Tea Expo, 1.35 Million Tourists Expected

"A wonderland in a bottle gourd, the Hadong World Tea (茶) Expo will be held from May 4 to June 3 in Hadong."

Park Ok-soon, Secretary General of the 2023 Hadong World Tea Expo Organizing Committee, is explaining the progress of the expo.
[Photo by Lee Se-ryeong]

원본보기 아이콘

The Hadong World Tea Expo Organizing Committee said this during a briefing held at the provincial government press center on the 13th.

Park Ok-soon, the secretary-general of the organizing committee, said, "This expo is the world's first and Korea's first official expo in the tea sector to receive government international event approval," adding, "It will widely promote the excellence of tea in Hadong, the birthplace of tea."

The committee expects to spread the historical and agricultural value of Hadong wild tea, which has been recognized as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage, and contribute to expanding the base of tea culture through exchanges among tea enthusiasts and tea culture.

According to the committee, the first venue of the expo will feature five exhibition halls including the ▲Tea Millennium Hall ▲Wellness Hall ▲World Tea Art Hall ▲Industry Convergence Hall, and the second venue will host the main theme event hall welcoming visitors.

Throughout the venue, events such as the Grand Festival of Tea People, World Tea Food Competition, Tea Bakery, Traditional Dasik Making, Green Tea Flower Making, Together ChaChaCha, and Wagle Wagle Tea Meeting will also take place.

2023 Hadong World Tea Expo Venue Layout. [Image source=Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

원본보기 아이콘

The committee aims to attract 1.35 million tourists including 60,000 foreigners through this expo, achieve export contracts worth 30 billion KRW within the province, and sales of agricultural specialty products exceeding 5 billion KRW.

They projected a production inducement effect of 189.2 billion KRW, a value-added inducement effect of 75.3 billion KRW, and employment inducement effects creating 2,363 jobs in the Gyeongnam region.

For visitor convenience, the committee secured 5,802 parking spaces at Hadong Sports Park, Seomjingang Riverside Park, Ssanggyesa Temple parking lot, and Hwagae Complex Administrative Town, and will operate shuttle buses on four routes.

The committee, along with local governments, police, fire departments, and military agencies, will coordinate to prepare and implement safety measures to prevent crowd accidents and ensure visitor safety.

Food at the venue will be sold by operators selected by the committee at five container booths with designated prices ranging from 8,000 to 12,000 KRW.

The committee plans to continuously monitor to ensure that the 14 types of booth-sold foods do not arbitrarily exceed the designated prices or degrade in quality, and that food prices at stands outside the booths do not become so-called "overcharging."

At 163 affiliated accommodations outside the venue, hospitality training and other measures will be implemented.

Secretary-General Park said, "This expo will be an opportunity to globally imprint the image and brand of Hadong green tea," adding, "Please look forward to the best 2023 Hadong World Tea Expo, which will lead innovation from consumer awareness to production, distribution, and product transformation."

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.