2013 California Wines Tasting, Seoul

California Wine Institute (CWI) brought a delegation of 59 California wineries to Seoul for both consumer and trade events, October 9-10, 2013. Consumer Tasting on October 9 (Conrad Hotel Seoul) allowed over 150 local opinion-leaders to expand their perspective on California wine by tasting wines from diverse sub-Californian appellations. Trade Seminar on October 9 (Sheraton Hotel D Cube Seoul) provided over 50 professionals from the Korean industry with an in-depth education on the Paso Robles region with expert presentations and guided tasting. The seminar was followed by Trade Tasting which showcased some 300 different California wines to over 400 wine traders in Korea. Many of the wines were new-to-market products so the event also served a tool to develop business contacts between the suppliers and local importers. California remains the dominant supplier of American wine to Korea. Imports of American wine to Korea totaled $9.7 million during the first half of 2013, up over 31 percent from the same period previous year. The Korean wine market continues to recover from the economic slowdown and is likely to see a record-high imports in 2013.

Outreach Trip to Busan Market, September 2013

Kevin Sage-EL and the ATO staff made an outreach trip in September 2013 to the Busan area, 200 miles south of Seoul. Busan is the second largest market in Korea with a population totaling over 4 million. The trip allowed the ATO to develop contacts with some of the key importers and distributors in the region. Contacts and industries visited during the trip included Jinwon Trading (fresh fruits), the new container port in Jinhae, Busan Cooperative Fish Market, BEXCO (convention & exhibition center), Shinsegae Department Store (the leading retail store in the region) and Dongyeong Cold Plaza (temperature controlled warehouse for fish & produce). Busan is currently undergoing a major restructuring and is likely to generate bigger consumer demand for imported agricultural products in the coming year. In particular, development of the new port and Free Economic Zone in the western front of the city is followed by a renovation of the old port in the eastern front into commercial, cultural and residential areas. Satellite cities in the vicinity of Busan, including Jinhae and Masan, are also expanding their business/industrial infra structure to cope with Busan. As a result, the Busan metropolitan market is expected to attract more importers and distributors of imported agricultural products in the coming years beyond the current focus (mainly fishery and produce). On the other hand, the new Free Economic Zone could diversify Busan’s imports even further as it attracts new processors in the future.

Great American Culinary Camp Seoul, September 4, 2013

‘Great American Culinary Camp Seoul 2013’ successfully promoted the value and quality of a wide variety of American products to 178 decision makers of the Korean food service sector. As a joint effort between ATO Seoul and the Korean Alumni Association of the Culinary Institute of America (KACIA), the event showcased 16 new recipe ideas that incorporated the latest American restaurant trends as well as products of twelve sponsor organizations, including the U.S. Meat Export Federation, USA Poultry & Egg Export Council, California Milk Advisory Board, Cranberry Marketing Commission and Sunkist. Sponsor organizations conducted a tabletop show at the event and provided the audience with additional product information. Electronic copy of the Culinary Camp Guidebook containing recipes and sponsor product information was made available in ATO Seoul website (www.atoseoul.com) together with UCC cooking videos of select recipes for on-line dissemination.