The government of North Chungcheong Province and the city of Jecheon will jointly host an international exposition focused on the Korean medicine and bio industry in September in a bid to develop the herbal medicine-based bio industry into a future growth engine, organizers said June 15.

As part of efforts to promote the International Korean Medicine Bio Industry Expo, the organizing committee for the Sept. 22-Oct. 10 event held an event at Gwanghwamun Plaza in downtown Seoul on June 14 to mark the 100-day countdown to the exposition and vowed to make it a success. Attending the event were North Chungcheong Gov. Lee Si-jong; Semyung University President Lee Yong-gul, who serves as co-chairman of the organizing committee; and Jecheon Mayor Lee Keun-kyu, who heads the executive committee for the event, as well as 1,000 other people.

The governor told the crowd that the exposition is "a meaningful opportunity to show the world the future of a new industry through a fusion of Korean herbal medicine and the bio industry."

"By hosting the exposition, Jecheon will become a mecca to discover the Korean medicine-bio industry," Lee said.

Jecheon Mayor Lee wished that the exposition will help "make the city both become one of the world's centers in the Korea medicine-bio industry and evaluated as a mecca of the natural product industry in the Northeast Asian region."

The organizing committee designated Lee Sim, chairman of the Korean Senior Citizens Association, and Kim Byeong-won, chairman of the National Agricultural Cooperatives Federation, as honorary ambassadors to promote the exposition.

Jecheon Mayor Lee Kyun-kyu gives a speech at a D-100 event to pray for the successful hosting of the 2017 Int’l Korean Medicine Bio Industry Expo in Jecheon.

The governor also formed a friendly pact with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on helping make the expo launch a great success.

Spearheaded by the exposition's official mascots of Bakdali and Geumbongi, the participants will march through the plaza and Cheonggye Plaza.

Themed "Recreation of Korean Medicine-Evolve into the Korean Medicine Bio Industry,” the exposition will be launched around the Korean Medicine Expo Park in Jecheon. The organizing committee is offering tickets for the exposition via its website (http://www.korean-medicine-expo.kr). The ticket purchases in advance, scheduled to run through Sept. 15, give ticket buyers a 20 percent discount off the list price.

The Jecheon International Korean Medicine Bio Industrial Expo is designed to show off to the world the theme of the recreation of Han Medical Glory and its progress as the Han Bio Industry.

Based at the Han (Korean) Medical Expo Park in Wangam-dong, Jecheon City for 19 days, the organizers expect to spend 13.6 billion won to build facilities for the event, including booths to accommodate 800,000 people and 250 Han (Korean medicinal) hospitals and clinics and related firms such as Han medicinal pharmaceutical firms, operating their booths to display Han bio medical products, medical equipment, among others. Around 3,500 domestic buyers will be joined by some 300 foreign buyers to visit the expo, along with 40,000 foreign visitors. In 2010, some 60 Han bio firms participated in the expo.

The D-200 commemorative event for the 2017 Jecheon International Korean Medicine Bio Industry Expo took place at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan on Monday. “The integration of oriental medicine and high-tech natural product bio industry will be reinforced through the expo, allowing Jecheon to rise as the mecca of the natural product industry in Northeast Asia,” said Jecheon city mayor Lee Geun-gyu.

About 300 people visited the site to enjoy various promotional events, and seven organizations, including Jecheon city, Jecheon Hometown Alumni, Expo Organizing Committee, signed a memorandum of understanding to push forward the expo’s success. The expo to be held from Sept. 22 to Oct. 10 will promote the Korean bio industry as a new growth engine and increase its dominance in the global market.

The city of Jecheon will hold the World Korean Medicine-Bio Industry Expo that will showcase the importance of Korean medicine and help with the merging of traditional and western medical treatment methods, organizers for the event said recently. Last month, the city located 168 kilometers southeast of Seoul in North Chungcheong Province, set up an electric countdown clock in the center of town to mark its anticipation of the upcoming event slated for Sept. 22 through Oct. 10. Leading up to this, Jecheon held a traditional Korean medicine exhibition to showcase its heritage in herbs and cures.

Chungcheongbuk-do Gov. Lee Si-jong and Jecheon Mayor Lee Kyun-kyu hold the flag of the 2017 Int’l Korean Medicine Bio Industry Expo in Jecheon at a D-100 event.

Through the upcoming expo, the city aims to let itself be globally known as a center of Korean traditional medicine, attracting interest from places like China. The gathering can also bolster the regional economy. Organizers said the exposition could expand discussion on how to combine the traditional Korean medicine with western medical practices that can create positive synergy.

Traditionally, Jecheon has been one of the biggest producers and distributors of high quality medical herbs on the Korean Peninsula and is well known for its prowess in the field of oriental medicines. Today, there are many research institutes and traditional medicine hospitals in the area.

Various participatory events, professional seminars and exhibitions are expected to take place at the expo. 

The poster of the 2017 Int’l Korean Medicine Bio Industry Expo in Jecheon.