Gyeongsangbuk-do Hosts 6th World-OKTA Leaders Convention and 2025 Korea Business Expo

Gyeongsangbuk-do Gov. Lee Cheol-woo, Andong Mayor Kwon Ki-chang, Chmn. Park Jong-beom of World-OKTA, and overseas Korean businessmen attend he 26th World-OKTA Leaders Convention and 2025 Korea Business Expo. (Photos Gyeongsangbuk-do)

Gyeongsangbuk-do hosted the 26th World-OKTA Leaders Convention and 2025 Korea Business Expo Andong to boost Korea’s trade activities and help SMEs explore overseas markets at the Andong International Convention Center from April 28 to April 30.

About 1,000 overseas Korean businessmen delegates of World-OKTA as well as 252 SMEs around the country participated in the exhibition and export consultation sessions.

The overseas Korean businessmen from 151 World-OKTA branches from 70 countries around the world attended subcommittee sessions of the World-OKTA Commerce Committee and an opening ceremony.

They coincided with 2025 Korea Business Expo Andong, a commerce forum and an overseas job fair.

During the opening ceremony, 150 million won was delivered in a fund to overcome damage caused by bushfires in the Andong area to recover the regional economy and realize the value of community solidarity.

Gyeongsangbuk-do struck an MOU to build “OKTA woods” for the preservation and recovery of the environment in the Andong City area with Andong City Word-OKTA.

Two hundred and fifty-two SMEs around the nation, including 125 from the province, held 2,010 business consultation meetings, in which exports worth about $164 million were discussed and contracts on $21 million were struck.

Companies from Gyeongsangbuk-do, including PNT, struck 63 MOUs, held negotiations on exports worth $170 million and reached agreements on $80 million.

PNT signed a deal to export lithium secondary battery process line equipment worth $84 million with a Chinese buyer.

World-OKTA has played a pivotal role to not only expand Korea’s economic territory, but also help the nation overcome a crisis through the global network of overseas Korean businessmen.

Gyeongsangbuk-do dispatched 40 companies to World-OKTA Leaders Convention in Europe, which took place in Austria last October. The provincial government has held “Gyeongbuk Excellent Production Exhibition” in the Philippines in cooperation with World-OKTA Manila Branch since 2012.

Gyeongsangbuk-do Gov. Lee Cheol-woo said, “With the holding of the World-OKTA Leaders Convention, Gyeongsangbuk-do will join forces with overseas Korean businessmen around the world to make Andong City a center of recovery and hope in solidarity, and World-OKTA and Gyeongsangbuk-do will ramp up cooperation to revitalize the Korean economy and boost exports amid ever-worsening overseas trade environment conditions.”

Gyeongsangbuk-do Accelerates Recovery Efforts for Areas Damaged by Bushfires

Gyeongsangbuk-do’s efforts to boost recovery efforts for the province’s areas damaged by bushfires, and participatory strategies to revitalize the regional tourism industry, are in full swing.

The provincial government has strategies to revitalize the vitality of the region through a new type of recovery-based tourism, conducting volunteer service and tourism and spending beyond simple support.

The pilot project, dubbed “Voluntour,” a combination of volunteer and tourism, made its debut in May.

The project calls for participants to help in volunteer activities, such as repairing forests in areas damaged by bushfires and improving the village environment and cultural heritage and representative tourist sites of cities and counties.

The public-private sector collaboration project is being jointly implemented by Gyeongsangbuk-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do Culture and Tourism Organization (GCTO) and Gyeongbuk Volunteer Center.

Participants will have to cover costs for conducting volunteer activities and traveling. Volunteer service hours will be recognized by related organizations.

The provincial government will come up with tourist products combining donations and tours in cooperation with 10 specialized travel agencies.

If tourists participate in theme tours connected with key tour contents in certain areas damaged by bushfires, 10,000 won will be deposited per person in a fund to recover the damaged areas.

Gyeongsangbuk-do Gov. Lee Cheol-woo said, “Even if the project is only a first-step stage, I hope the small start will give a new hope to the damaged areas, and as Gyeongbuk has lots of beautiful tourist sites with a seed of hope, I urge more people to come to Gyeongbuk and fully experience Gyeongbuk’s attractions and nurture the hope.”

Gyeongsangbuk-do Offers ‘Invitational Tour’ Inviting Arabian Ambassadors in Korea

Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do Culture and Tourism Organization (GCTO) offered “Silla-Arab Silkroad Tour,” inviting ambassador delegations from seven Arabian countries from April 29 to April 30.

The tour was designed to build a foothold in tourism and investment by giving prominent Arabian figures a chance to experience Gyeongbuk’s culture, tourism and industry resources ahead of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.

The participants included ambassadors to Korea from seven countries — the United Arab Emirates, Omna, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, Morocco and Tunisa — as well as five officials from Korea-Arab Society.

The delegations arrived in Pohang via KTX and toured POSCO headquarters and its historical museum on Day 1 on April 29.

The tour took the participants to the Sila Dynasty, including Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond, Tomb of King Wonseong and the Bulguksa Temple, and they looked into exchanges between Silla and Arabs via the ancient silk road.

The fam tour was arranged in accordance with an MOU on the culture and tourism sectors in which GCTO struck with Korea-Arab Society last December.

The provincial government plans to implement a variety of collaboration projects to jointly hold cultural events and develop tourist products.

Gyeongsangbuk-do Gov. Lee said, “Relationship forged between Silla and Arab 1,000 years ago is going on until today, we plan to build close relationship via the fam tour, and Gyeongsangbuk-do will expand international exchanges and cooperation so that it can become a global culture and tourism center by hosting the 2025 APEC Korea Summit.”