The Race to Host the 2028 Group of Twenty (G20) Summit in Korea Heats Up... Jeju Brings All 17 Institutional Heads to the Airport

[Financial News | Jeju = Jung Yong-bok] As competition among regions to host the 2028 G20 Summit in Korea intensifies, Jeju has chosen Jeju International Airport, the gateway for travelers during the Chuseok holiday, as the stage for a nationwide promotional campaign.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the 23rd, Wi Seong-gon, the heads of 17 public institutions in the province and the Jeju Special Self-Governing Tourism Association held a joint campaign at the domestic arrivals hall of Jeju International Airport to promote Jeju's bid to host the 2028 G20 Summit.
The campaign involved directly explaining to tourists arriving in Jeju during the Chuseok holiday why the island should host the summit.
Wi Seong-gon and the heads of the public institutions wore sashes bearing the words “Jeju's G20 Bid” and handed out information materials and promotional items to tourists. In conjunction with a Chuseok welcome event for arriving visitors organized by the Jeju Special Self-Governing Tourism Association, they also distributed tangerines and tangerine granola and held traditional games and a commemorative gift event.
More significant than the event itself is the fact that Jeju is expanding its case for hosting the G20 from an internal provincial effort into a pan-regional promotional campaign.

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province is presenting its experience hosting international conferences, along with its accommodation facilities and natural and cultural assets, as key strengths. It recently also launched a national promotion committee involving public institutions and representatives from the economic, tourism, cultural and sports sectors.
One of Jeju's key assets is its experience hosting high-level international summits. Since opening in 2003, International Convention Center Jeju (ICC Jeju) has hosted, planned and operated more than 400 online and offline international conferences. The ASEAN-Republic of Korea Special Summit was held in Jeju in 2009, followed by the Korea-Japan-China Summit in 2010. Jeju can use its hands-on experience with protocol, security and conference venue operations at leaders' meetings as part of its case for hosting the G20.
The G20 Summit requires a far broader scope of preparation than a typical international conference. Because national leaders, delegations and members of the press move around at the same time, planners must consider not only the summit venue but also accommodation, airport access, security and transportation routes, telecommunications and medical services. That is why Jeju emphasizes not only its international conference experience but also the accommodation and transportation capabilities it has developed as a tourism destination.
Domestic competition has also begun. Gwangju, Jeju and Incheon Metropolitan City are taking relatively active steps to attract the summit, while Busan and Gyeongsangbuk-do are also preparing. As each region highlights its international conference facilities, airport access, accommodation and tourism infrastructure, and previous experience hosting summits, the competition is expected to become even more distinct once the government's selection criteria are finalized.

Jeju's challenge is to move beyond simply expressing its desire to host the summit and prove its concrete capacity to do so. It must present figures and operational plans showing how the summit venue and accommodations for national leaders would be arranged, how security routes from Jeju International Airport to the main conference venue would be secured, and how inconvenience to ordinary tourists and residents would be minimized during the summit.
Jeju must also support with objective data the effects hosting the G20 would have on the local economy and the island's MICE industry. The time has come for Jeju to go beyond emphasizing its established image as an international conference city and present a concrete blueprint demonstrating that it can actually operate a high-level international event.
Beginning with this campaign at Jeju International Airport, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province plans to continue its efforts to attract the G20 Summit through the online and offline channels of the province, its administrative cities and related organizations.
Wi Seong-gon said, “Jeju has the capacity to host a summit of this scale. We will expand nationwide interest in bringing the G20 Summit to Jeju.”


[email protected] Jung Yong-bok Reporter