Promoting Arkansas at the 2023 Hansang Korean Expo

International businesses are thriving in Arkansas.

Across the state, there are many foreign-owned companies that are producing essential products and employing thousands of Arkansans. In fact, Arkansas has 524 international employers who employ 34,891 workers – including 26,347 manufacturing workers.

One country that is a priority for us, due to the great opportunities for foreign direct investment projects, is South Korea.

Major Korean companies have found a home in Arkansas. Companies like Samsung Corp., Shiwon Corp., and Zinus Inc. have locations in Bentonville, while Kiswire Ltd. and LG Electronics have locations in Pine Bluff and Rogers, respectively.

Arkansas and South Korea also have a growing trade partnership. South Korea is Arkansas’ 8^th largest international trade partner, and we look forward to growing this partnership in the years to come. In 2022, Arkansas exported more than $141 million in goods to South Korea – this was a 26% increase in trade from the previous year.

At the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, we are always looking to win more than our fair share of projects and help grow our state’s business community. To encourage the growth of Korean businesses in Arkansas, AEDC is attending the 21^st Hansang convention from October 11 to 14.

Since its inception in 2002, the World Korean Business Convention – or Hansang – has become the largest Korean business convention in the world, helping to bring small and medium-sized Korean companies to the global marketplace.

This year, Hansang will be held in the United States for the first time. AEDC’s International Business Manager Ben Walters and I are attending Hansang at the Anaheim Convention Center in California this week to promote Arkansas as a place to live and do business, highlighting the connections between Arkansas’ and South Korea’s economies, as well as the business possibilities available in the state.

Ben and I look forward to speaking to and interacting with Korean executives and business owners during our time at Hansang. We recently had a great meeting with a delegation of Korean executives in Houston, and we hope to have a similarly fruitful time in Anaheim.

If you’re in Anaheim for the Hansang expo, please drop by Booth 2331 to learn more about the advantages of doing business in the Natural State. 

Clint O'Neal Executive Director Arkansas Economic Development Commission Email