CHUNGCHEONGBUK-DO < invest Korea

According to Yonhap News,

(JECHEON=Yonhap News) The number of visitors to an international expo on the Korean medicine, therapy and related biotech industry under way in the southeastern town of Jecheon has breached the 100,000 mark in three days after its opening, raising hopes for attaining its target, organizers said Wednesday.

The 2017 International Korean Medicine Bio Industry Expo began in Jecheon, some 170 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Friday for a 19-day run under the title of "Recreation of Korean Medicine-Evolve into the Korean Medicine Bio Industry."

The organizing committee said visitors began to flood the bio expo early Sunday, which received the 100,000th visitor in the afternoon of the day.

"I visited the bio expo with my family for the weekend. I am very pleased since I unexpectedly became the 100,000th visitor to the event," said Kang Dae-gyu, a 44-year-old who hails from Gunsan on the west coast.

With the 100,000 mark posted in just three days after its opening, the committee expressed hope that it will easily achieve its target of attracting 800,000 visitors.

"The bio expo has been going smoothly so far with a large number of people visiting the event each day," said an official of the organizing committee. "We hope that the expo will be able to give each and every visitor a chance to learn the importance of a healthy life."


Kang Dae-gyu (C) poses with his family members and Lee Keun-kyu (R), mayor of Jecheon, after becoming the 100,000th visitor to the 2017 International Korean Medicine Bio Industry Expo in the southeastern city on Sept. 24, 2017. (Yonhap)

The annual bio expo is designed to offer a glimpse into the current state of the Korean medicine industry, which is developing various fields through the creative fusion of bio and traditional medicine. It will also promote Jecheon as being at the center of the development.

Well known for its prowess in the field of oriental medicines, Jecheon has been one of the biggest producers and distributors of high-quality medical herbs on the Korean Peninsula.

A series of symposiums and conferences is scheduled to be held during the expo with the participation of more than 1,900 local and foreign experts on Korean and other alternative medicines, as well as the bio industry.

The first symposium, "2017 Bio Plus -- Jecheon," was held Monday under the sponsorship of the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization to discuss ways to tackle the Nagoya Protocol, which took effect last month.

The protocol, adopted in October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, seeks the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the utilization of genetic resources for the subsequent conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

The Plant Resources Society of Korea will host another conference at Semyung University on Thursday under the title "2017 International Symposium of Natural Materials and Autumn Academic Conference."

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