As Goyang City mayor Lee Dong-hwan works to raise a city where his people can thrive, he knows he is also laying the foundation for a welcoming business events city of the future. He explains how.
When I last visited Goyang City in 2023, I learnt about the extent of ongoing developments in the city’s intellectual capital, medical, and digital technology industries. What is your vision for Goyang?
Goyang City has declared its transformation into an industrial-driven city. Recently on July 9, the city announced the G-nomics Five-Year Plan that is centred on innovation. This is more than just a policy; it is a promise of positive change for our citizens through fostering startups and unicorns, an expanded AI ecosystem, expanding cultural infrastructure, and supporting ecological developments.
This new direction will bring strong momentum to the business events industry’s advancement, as developments include the construction of KINTEX Exhibition Hall Three and a new hotel close by, ongoing development of K-Culture Valley, and the rise of the Goyang Sports Complex as a venue for large-scale performance events. They will provide the infrastructure needed to position Goyang as a hub that connects international conferences, cultural content and tourism.
At the same time, Goyang City’s focus on future mobility initiatives and AI-based smart city technologies will make event operations even more efficient, and improve the overall delegate experience. We have also been building a strong and efficient transport network that makes it easy for people to move within the city.
Eco-friendly urban policies and safe living infrastructure are important factors that inspire confidence in international participants.
You can see that our city is working towards two goals at once. A city where citizens are happy naturally becomes a city that is welcoming to visitors. This strengthens Goyang City’s global competitiveness and attracts international events.
I’d like you to know that BBC recently named Goyang City as one of the five outstanding cities that are making the world a better place (based on the 2024 Global Destination Sustainability Index or GDS-Index). That counts for something.
Does Goyang City attract many large-scale events that rely on the city’s sports facilities?
We have a wide range of sports facilities that host many large performances. Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres Would Tour concert was held in April at the Goyang Stadium, with 54,000 people in attendance. There have also been many K-pop concerts in Goyang as well, led by popular artists such as BlackPink, J-Hope and Jin from BTS.
English rock band Oasis will take its one-night-only concert in South Korea to Goyang Stadium on October 21.
You are both the city mayor and CEO of Goyang CVB. How do you as the mayor support Goyang CVB’s work in the business events industry?
As the city mayor, I am fully committed to supporting Goyang CVB both with policy and financial resources, so as to strengthen the city’s competitiveness in the global business events landscape. I also support Goyang CVB’s efforts to actively grow its international network through partnerships with overseas cities and global business events associations.
I will integrate Goyang CVB into the newly established Goyang International Expo Foundation in early October 2025. The purpose of the integration is to strengthen Goyang City’s business events industry. The bureau, formerly operating as an incorporated association, will merge with the Goyang Flower Exhibition Foundation, a public foundation that has successfully hosted the city’s signature Goyang Flower Exhibition for over 20 years.
This organisational consolidation will also allow the Goyang Flower Exhibition to be elevated into a global expo while the city’s overall exhibition and convention competitiveness will be enhanced.
By leveraging KINTEX, South Korea’s largest exhibition and convention centre, as its central hub, Goyang City envisions this transition as a key milestone toward positioning itself as a leading global business events destination.
There is intense competition among destinations for major regional and international meetings and events. What more do you think Goyang City needs to do to be a more formidable competitor?
For Goyang City to stand out, it is important not only to focus on facilities, but also to create unique value that sets us apart. First, Goyang City needs to become a platform that connects knowledge with strong industry sectors through business events.
Second, we must strengthen the city’s sustainability and eco-friendly practices. International event organisers are placing greater importance on ESG values. Goyang City has an advantage here, as it is already positioning itself as a carbon-city for business events. It ranks 16th in the 2024 GDS-Index of the world’s 40 most sustainable cities.
Third, we should build global networks and nurture talents through cooperation with organisations like ICCA and by developing professional training programmes.
Finally, Goyang City is growing the business events industry with our citizens. When residents take pride and actively participate in business events, international business events can be even more successful here.
What are your thoughts on the annual Goyang Destination Week, and what do you hope overseas attendees had taken home from the conference sessions and activities last week?
Goyang Destination Week has been happening since 2017, and the intention is for it to let us explore together the future direction of growth for the business events industry.
This year’s theme focused on technology, personalisation, sustainability, return on investment, and other key issues shaping this industry. Attendees would have learnt from cases that showed how latest digital tools and smart solutions had optimised event operations and enhanced the delegate experience.
My hope is for Goyang Destination Week to go beyond simple information exchange; I want to see it build global networks, open new opportunities for cooperation, and provide insights that can be applied directly in the business event industry. And through this, we can continue to establish Goyang City as a growing business events hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
You must have attended several business events yourself. What is one event that stood out for you, and why?
Well, the most impressive business event that I have ever attended was the MWC Barcelona in Spain. It is an exhibition that brings together leaders in the high tech industry, who showcase their products and latest technology. This is very impressive for me, but I am also very much taken by the massive space of the venue, Fira Gran Via.
I hope that such a large-scale high tech event (109,000 attendees were reported at the 2025 show) will be held in KINTEX one day.
Well, your dream is possible since KINTEX is expanding with a third hall.
Yes, indeed. Actually, Goyang hosts a similar high tech event now – RAD Korea Week, which integrates five specialised exhibitions under one roof, expanding the exhibition platform and fostering innovation across advanced technology industries.
RAD Korea Week comprises RoboWorld, AI Show, Drone & Urban Air Mobility Expo, Digital Media Tech Show, and Digital Future Show.
This year’s edition is taking place in the later part of this year, from November 5 to 8, at KINTEX Exhibition Center I.
By uniting robotics, AI, drone and urban air mobility, and digital technology industries into a single comprehensive platform, RAD Korea Week 2025 will not only accelerate South Korea’s advanced technology innovation but also strengthen Goyang City’s position as a global hub for technology-driven exhibitions and business events.
I hope that one day this event would grow as large as the MWC Barcelona.
