Korea MICE Expo 2026 to Put Business Outcomes and MICE Tech in Focus

© COEX Magok Le West

KOREA MICE EXPO 2026 will return to Seoul from 17–19 November, with a stronger emphasis on business conversion, international participation and the technologies shaping the next generation of MICE.

Korea MICE Expo 2026 (KME2026), billed as Korea’s largest MICE industry exhibition, will take place from 17–19 November at COEX Magok, Seoul’s new convention centre in the city’s emerging MICE hub.

Hosted and organised by the Korea MICE Association, with official support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Tourism Organization and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the internationally certified exhibition will bring together a broad cross-section of the industry under the theme ‘Define Your Angle, Shape Your MICE’.

The 2026 edition will bring together domestic and international MICE host cities, venues, PCOs and PEOs, hotels, tourism and service companies, and MICE technology businesses. The stated ambition is to use the exhibition as a meeting point for different perspectives and areas of expertise, creating opportunities for new business and partnerships.

From meeting numbers to measurable outcomes

One of the clearest shifts at KME2026 will be in the way its business meetings are structured. The organisers say the emphasis will be on actual conversion and outcomes rather than simply increasing the number of appointments.

International buyers will undergo a rigorous selection process, focusing on companies and organisations with concrete plans to host MICE events in Korea within the next three years. Their decision-making authority and previous event experience will also be assessed.

The domestic buyer programme will bring together MICE-hosting organisations from fields including medicine, science, technology and education, with the scope and scale of participation continuing to expand.

A pre-matching system will connect buyers with relevant sellers according to their requirements, with the objective of improving the effectiveness and commercial results of the meetings.

The exhibition floor will also reflect the increasingly interconnected nature of the MICE sector. Regional tourism organisations from the public sector, regional MICE alliances from the private sector, as well as international organisations and companies, are expected to participate, with networking and business meetings also taking place between exhibitors themselves.

A regional conversation around Sports MICE

The conference programme, MICE WAVE, will feature the second Korea-China-Japan MICE Forum, a private-sector initiative jointly organised by the MICE associations of the three countries.

This year’s forum will focus on Sports MICE, bringing together the participating countries to exchange ideas for collaboration and examine relevant case studies. The wider conference programme will also feature sessions developed with international partner organisations, addressing global MICE trends, transformations within local industries and strategic responses to change.

International organisations participating in the KME Conference will include Encore, ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association), GSTC (Global Sustainable Tourism Council) and MPI (Meeting Professionals International), among others.

Putting MICE technology centre stage

Technology will have a more prominent role at this year’s exhibition through the introduction of a dedicated MICE Tech Zone, designed to showcase AI-based MICE technology companies and rapidly growing solution providers.

The new zone will be complemented by the inaugural MICE Tech Awards, which will recognise outstanding MICE technology companies. Entries will be assessed across innovation, applicability in the field and potential for wider industry expansion.

The initiative is intended not only to identify leading technologies but also to create a direct bridge between technology innovators and MICE professionals operating on the ground.

For Danny Hyundae Shin, Chairman of the Korea MICE Association, the event’s ambition extends beyond bringing together a larger number of participants. “KME2026 will be a place where diverse industry players with different roles and angles come together to create new possibilities. Based on highly qualified selected international buyers, a broader range of domestic buyers, and expanded international seller participation, we will focus on the quality rather than the quantity of business meetings and evolve KME into a global business platform encompassing both inbound and outbound business.”

That positioning places KME2026 around a broader idea of the Korean MICE industry as an international business platform — one that connects qualified demand with suppliers while creating space for collaboration across destinations, venues, organisers, hospitality, services and technology.

KME2026 will run from 17–19 November at COEX Magok in Seoul. Booth applications, sponsorship participation and pre-registration are available through the official Korea MICE Expo website, with the early-bird booth application deadline set for 14 August.