South Korea Reclaims Global No.2 in Hosting International Conferences; Seoul Tops Asia
Creatrip Team
a month ago
South Korea moved up to world No.2 for international conferences in the UIA’s 2025 report, hosting 491 meetings last year—second only to the U.S. Seoul remained world No.3 among cities with 216 events and kept its title as Asia’s No.1 city. Non-capital regions drove much of the growth: 35 Korean cities hosted meetings (up from 30), with big increases in Busan, Jeju, and Daejeon. The UIA counts all international meetings held by associations or organizations (regardless of size) while ICCA applies stricter criteria (regular events with 50+ participants from 3+ countries), which explains differences in rankings. Experts say Korea should now focus on attracting higher-value, high-profile conferences (so-called “high-value MICE”) and strengthening industry infrastructure rather than only increasing event numbers.
