- The world's first festival on health and healing, featuring a variety of content

- Opportunity to enhance the competitiveness of K-anti-aging industry and show the excellence of traditional Korean medicine to the world

GYEONGNAM, South Korea, Oct. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2023 Sancheong World Traditional Medicine Antiaging Expo (hereinafter the "Expo") ended on the 19th with a closing ceremony after its big run of 35 days. The Expo, an international event jointly hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Gyeongsangnam-do, and Sancheong-gun with the government's approval, ended with great success, drawing a total of about 1,382,000 people (about 40,000 foreigners from 34 countries).

With the key themes of health and healing, the Expo featured a variety of exhibitions, hands-on experiences, academic events, and performances related to oriental medicine and traditional medicines from around the world. It is said to have opened new horizons for the globalization, standardization and scientific advancement of traditional Korean medicine and also provided the audience with a fresh perspective on health and happiness.

To help the audience easily grasp the Expo's theme, "Promise of the Future, Traditional Medicine in the World," each showroom provided a wide array of smart-experience content. Splendid graphics with a touch of media art caught the audience's eye, while showrooms featuring interactive content and VR experiences went viral, enjoying broad popularity across diverse age groups and genders.

Hyeminseo, a historical hospital that served the nation for free during the Joseon Dynasty, was recreated in a contemporary fashion to convey the love for the people of that era. It blended the principles of oriental medicine with the advancements of the modern bio-health industry. Hyeminseo was sought by over 3,000 visitors daily, with traditional Korean medicine doctors providing personalized medical treatments to each person for free of charge while running a range of traditional Korean medicine programs.

In particular, the Expo's Korea Medicine Antiaging Business Pavilion, attended by 128 domestic companies and 10 companies from five countries, showcased a carefully curated selection of traditional Korean medicine, health and beauty products, such as health supplements and cosmetics. It was also attended by Gyeongnam Aging Research Institute, Jinju Bio-Industry Promotion Agency, Korea Traditional Medicine Industry Promotion Institute, and Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, which support the growth of the domestic traditional Korean medicine and antiaging industry. These organizations provided the audience with an opportunity to engage in hands-on experiences to enhance their understanding of the domestic oriental medicine antiaging industry and traditional Korean medicine.

The Expo also saw the presence of prominent companies, such as Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical, the national leader in oriental herbal medicine, Insan Life, a pioneer in the industrialization of bamboo salt worldwide, and Cheonggang-won, a well-regarded brand specializing in medicinal herbal tea from Mt. Jirisan. The export consultations(meetings), which were held three times for six days and invited buyers from 50 companies from 13 countries, resulted in a total of 23 export agreements worth 15.52 million dollars and sales of KRW1.8 billion.

The Expo invited experts from both within the country and abroad, holding academic conferences to serve as a platform for the global exchange of information on traditional medicines and antiaging practices. Kicking off with the 20th International Oriental Medicine Academic Conference, which took place on September 17 at Seoul National University Global Engineering Education Center under the theme "Traditional Medicine as Integrative Medicine", attended by around 750 experts from the country and abroad, a total of six academic events were successfully organized, showing the excellence and efficacy of traditional Korean medicine to a global audience, paving the way for advancements in the national antiaging-related industries.

Officials from the Expo said, "This Sancheong Expo showcased the future of the traditional medicine and antiaging industry, which is gaining global attention," adding, "Building on the momentum of this expo, we will make efforts to expedite the globalization of oriental medicine anti-aging industry, solidify the brand position of Donguibogam-chon, and enhance oriental medicine antiaging wellness tour programs to raise awareness of Sancheong. Our goal is to showcase the excellence and value of Donguibogam and traditional Korean medicine, thereby strengthening the competitiveness of the K-medicine industry."