Your Complete Convention City

Welcome to Seoul

Seoul is the capital city of the Republic of Korea and is the eighth largest in the world, with over 10 million people. Seoul is the country's foremost economic, political and cultural and is conveniently located about an hour from the award winning Incheon International Airport which has been rated the world's best airport 4 years in a row by ACI.

Located centrally in East Asia, Seoul has over 53 meeting venues, a variety of hotels to suit any taste, and provides endless opportunities to experience Korea's unique history and culture, as well as its modern transportation systems, architecture, and technology.

The city is now ready to welcome in the Visit Korea Years held in 2010 to 2012. Seoul will be in the spotlight as the official sponsor of 2010 making it the perfect time to visit Seoul as many projects beautifying the city's parks, avenues and waterways will be completed. Another reason to celebrate is that Seoul was unanimously selected as the World Design Capital in 2010 which has dramatically impacted the social, cultural and economic development of the city.

Seoul Welcomes Two New Additions

The Lotte City Hotel Mapo is Seoul's newest premium business hotel for both business travelers and tourists, marking a new chapter in the hotel industry. The hotel room rates are about a third of that of major five-star hotels but aims to provide a similar service. Conveniently located near Hongik University, Yeouido and the Han River, the Lotte City Hotel has easy access to Seoul's public transit systems including the subway, buses as well as airport limousine busses to and from the airport. The hotels modern first class facilities and reasonable prices will guarantee your comfort and pleasure.

Banyan Tree Hotel and Resorts has chosen Seoul as their first city club in Asia. Situated on Namsan, a popular mountain viewpoint right in the heart of the city, this first-class resort offers panoramic views of Seoul. A combination of world-class club facilities and Banyan Tree's signature brand of Asian hospitality, the Banyan Tree Club & Spa offers its members a sanctuary within the city to enjoy a wide range of sporting, leisure, educational, entertainment activities and an ESPN Golf Academy. The Banyan Tree Seoul has opened their swimming pool and plans to open up the entire resort by March of 2010.

Seoul Stands Tall

The efforts of the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Tourism Organization have now come into fruition, as Seoul's international status and ranking as a top global convention destination continues to improve. Seoul moved up in the international standings according to the results announced in 2009 for the Union of International Associations (UIA) and the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA). Seoul's UIA rankings for the number of conferences held captured 7th place and received 9th place in ICCA the rankings in the world. In Asia, Seoul ranked 2nd in ICCA and 3rd in UIA. 

The 2008 Global Cities Index compiled by Foreign Policy magazine ranks cities around the world according to a number of factors. Seoul ranked 7th place in Business Activity which includes the value of its capital markets, the number of Fortune Global 500 firms headquartered there, and the volume of goods that pass through the city.

Seoul is known as one of the digital and technology capitals of the world, and in the Information Exchange category Seoul scored 5th place. This area looks at how well news and information is dispersed about and to the rest of the world. The number of international news bureaus, the amount of international news in the leading local papers, and the number of broadband subscribers round out that dimension.

The Seoul Convention Bureau: We're here to Support You!

As a part of the Seoul Tourism Organization (STO), the Seoul Convention Bureau (SCB) continues to improve and enhance the level of service and support to welcome meetings and conventions from around the world to Seoul.

The SCB now offers a variety of support for organizations that plan to attract, organize and host international conferences. Generous financial support is available in three stages for attracting, promoting and holding international conferences. In addition to financial support the SCB assists meeting and event planners with coordination of events and meetings such as site inspections, bidding proposals, transportation, tourism related activities and also provides multilingual volunteers.
Contact Information

Seoul Tourism Organization (STO)
Seoul Convention Bureau (SCB)
Phone : 82-2-3788-0821~4
e-Mail : mice@seoulwelcome.com
Webpage : www.miceseoul.com  'Request for Proposal'

Seoul Office of Competitive Policy
Phone : 82-2-2171-2291, 2292