[Gangneung (Gangwon) = E-Daily Reporter LEE SEON-WOO ] The “Gangneung Convention Center,” the first and only standalone MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) facility in the Gangwon region, will officially open on the 26th. With a total investment of 125 billion won—including approximately 92.7 billion won in construction costs—the center is a standalone building, not an annex to a hotel or resort, and features a large convention hall capable of accommodating up to 2,200 people at once.
Having completed the construction of the center—a project pursued for over four years since Gangneung secured the bid to host the “ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) World Congress” in September 2022—the city has established itself not only as a tourist destination but also as a MICE hub. Gangwon Province has now secured a MICE hub in the Yeongdong region, following the Oak Valley and Museum San areas in Wonju, Yeongseo, which were designated as a provisional international conference district in April 2025.

◇ An independent building, not an annex to a hotel or resort
Located within Olympic Park in Ponam-dong, Gangneung, the center occupies a site area of approximately 59,000 square meters—equivalent to eight standard-sized soccer fields combined. With one basement level and four above-ground floors, and a total floor area of approximately 19,000 square meters, the facility’s entire purpose and function are tailored to “conventions,” including corporate events and international conferences. The total area of the meeting rooms is 5,550 square meters, which is larger than the Cheongju Osko Conference Center (approximately 3,800 square meters), which opened last September, and more than double the size of the aT Center in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, and the U-ECO Conference Center in Ulsan (approximately 2,100 square meters).
The Convention Hall on the first floor, the largest of the 20 conference rooms, spans 2,400 square meters and can accommodate up to 2,200 people (theater-style). By partitioning the space, events for approximately 1,000 people are also possible. There are a total of four medium-sized meeting rooms on the first and third floors, with capacities ranging from 150 to 430 people, while the 15 small meeting rooms can accommodate between 100 and 260 people. The “Arena,” located within Olympic Park and spanning approximately 15,000 square meters, and the “Speed Skating Arena”—Korea’s largest column-free facility at approximately 38,000 square meters—can be utilized as exhibition spaces in conjunction with the center.
The center has already secured nearly 30 events, starting with the “ITS World Congress” this October and continuing through the first half of next year.

The ITS World Congress (October 19–23), often referred to as the “Olympics of the transportation sector,” is the most prestigious international event of its kind, attracting approximately 60,000 participants from over 90 countries worldwide. Over the course of five days, the center will host ministerial-level meetings and over 150 academic sessions, while the speed skating arena will feature an exhibition and trade show with approximately 400 booths, featuring participation from over 200 domestic and international institutions and companies. Following that, starting January 26 of next year, the “Korea Semiconductor Conference”—the nation’s largest event of its kind—is scheduled to take place over four days, bringing together approximately 4,500 semiconductor experts. Recently, the center also secured the right to host the “International Thin Film Conference” in August 2029, which will bring together approximately 1,000 experts in the fields of thin films and coatings.
The convention center’s abundant tourism and lodging infrastructure is considered one of its key strengths. Wellness tourism destinations centered on the theme of “rest”—such as the Daegwallyeong Healing Forest and Recreational Forest, Anbandeugi, Gyeongpodae and Gyeongpo Lake Park, and Anmok Beach—are recognized as unique tourist attractions that embody Gangneung’s distinct character. All of these locations are within a 35-minute drive from the center, making them easily accessible for international events. Including St. John’s (1,091 rooms), Shilla Monogram (917 rooms), and Sky Bay (538 rooms), there are approximately 4,100 guest rooms located within a 15-minute drive of the center. An official from the Gangwon Tourism Foundation stated, “Gangneung, which attracts approximately 35 million domestic and international tourists annually, has long been recognized for its excellent location, featuring abundant tourism resources and accommodation infrastructure, even before the construction of the center.”

◇Air and rail accessibility is poor… Cooperation with neighboring cities and counties remains a challenge
Although the center’s opening marks the city’s first step toward becoming a MICE hub, challenges remain. The biggest challenge is accessibility from overseas. Currently, the best way to reach Gangwon Province by air is to enter the country via Incheon or Gimpo Airport, take the Airport Railroad to Seoul Station, and then board the high-speed rail (KTX). Yangyang Airport, located about 40 km from the center—a 40- to 45-minute drive—does not operate a single international route.
The Yangyang–Shanghai route, which was allocated last April, has yet to begin operations even four months later. As for domestic routes, the only one available is the Jeju route operated twice daily by Parata Airlines. Industry experts argue that the most realistic solution to increase the airport’s utilization rate is to lift China’s ongoing restrictions on charter flights to South Korea—which have persisted since the “ban on group tours to South Korea”—and redirect the entry routes for incentive travel groups from Incheon and Gimpo to Yangyang.
Kim Eung-soo, CEO of Premium Pass International, noted, “Most incentive tour groups visiting Gangwon Province are day-trippers who only visit areas in the Yeongseo region close to Seoul, such as Wonju and Chuncheon,” adding, “Now that the center has opened, it’s worth targeting demand from large incentive tour groups arriving by cruise ship at Sokcho Port.”
Even the KTX Gangneung Line (Seoul–Gangneung), which is the fastest public transportation option, currently operates only 34 times on weekdays as of the 1st of next month. This is only about 15–34% of the 100 daily trips on the Honam Line (Seoul–Gwangju/Mokpo) and the more than 230 daily trips on the Gyeongbu Line (Seoul–Busan), and fewer than the 45 daily trips on the Jeolla Line (Seoul–Jeonju/Suncheon/Yeosu). The Donghae Line (Busan Bujeon–Gangneung), which opened in January 2025, operates only six semi-high-speed train trips per day on weekdays. The tourism and MICE industries expect that if weekday rail ridership increases following the opening of the Gangneung Convention Center, the number of train trips on the Gangneung and Donghae Lines could rise.
Regional-level cooperation to maximize the ripple effects of hosting various events remains a key challenge. For the Gangneung Convention Center to function effectively as Gangwon Province’s premier MICE facility, there is a call to establish a regional cooperation system that integrates and markets the tourism and lodging infrastructure of the seven cities and counties in the Yeongdong region (Gangneung, Donghae, Sokcho, Samcheok, Taebaek, Goseong, and Yangyang) along with the neighboring areas of Pyeongchang and Jeongseon. Professor Han Jin-young of Catholic Kwandong University advised, “The functions and benefits of the convention center should not be limited to Gangneung alone,” adding, “Since each region has different levels of infrastructure and varying interests, it is necessary to introduce financial incentives as a policy measure to encourage cooperation among cities and counties.”