As South Korea’s fourth-largest metropolitan hub, Daegu is focused on elevating its status as a destination for business events, while systematically addressing areas for improvement.
Jin Seob Kim, executive director, Daegu Foundation for Culture & Arts, told TTGmice at Korea MICE Expo 2025: “Daegu is well-known for textiles and electronic manufacturing, but this segment (is shrinking), hence we are working hard to boost the business events and tourism sectors.”
On average, Daegu hosts approximately 50 international business events each year, drawing around 50,000 inbound visitors. Recent major events include the Federation of Asian Small Animal Veterinary Associations Congress 2025 (4,500 attendees), and the International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics 2024 (3,243 attendees).
Daegu has also secured two major upcoming congresses – the World Congress for Neurorehabilitation in 2026 (2,000 attendees), and the World Filtration Congress in 2028 (1,200 attendees).
To incentivise business events, the Daegu tourism board offers a dual approach of financial support and convenient planning options. As an example, Bella Daeun Choi, manager of the tourism marketing team at the Daegu Foundation for Culture & Arts, shared that the city can provide direct transport from Incheon International Airport as well as arrange social events or leisure tours for groups.
“We can customise the incentives based on what the group, and its size, requires,” she stated.
Daegu’s business events and tourism strategy targets shorthaul markets like Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, and Japan, capitalising on direct flights to its international airport. Nonetheless, the city faces significant challenges as it strives to secure more business events.
“While Daegu is a safe, convenient city with the required infrastructure, we need to address the language barrier to secure more international events,” Choi opined.
Kim regards Daegu as a “little behind” major hubs like Seoul and Busan in terms of business events and tourism marketing.
He elaborated: “The awareness of South Korea as a MICE destination is very high, but many groups opt to only stay in Seoul or Busan. I hope in five years time, they will move out to explore other cities.”
Addressing a core structural issue, Kim also pointed out that unlike many South Korean cities where business events marketing is integrated with tourism, Daegu’s tourism and business events are currently managed by separate departments.
“The city is aware of this and is actively working on cooperation and developing joint policies, with the goal of combining these efforts in the future to increase overall awareness,” Kim shared with TTGmice.
