SEOUL — Design Korea, the nation's largest industrial design fair to date, is expected to attract a flood of international industrial designers and buyers this year as it offers a glimpse into the development and latest trends in design.

"As Asia's most representative and comprehensive design business event, we are confident that Design Korean 2014 will contribute to the creation and vitalization of real business opportunities," said a spokesman for the Korea Institute of Design Promotion, the organizer of Design Korea.

"We welcome the participation of many companies in the field of design, as well as general visitors."

The design fair has been hosted annually by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy since 2003. This year, it will be held from November 6-10 at Ilsan's KINTEX under the theme of "Design Flowers the Creative Economy."

Organisers said this year's event is thus likely to provide a platform where academia, private companies and government organisations can work together to come up with ideas on design's role and future direction.

Sections including the Good Design Selection, Korean Design Exhibition and the World's Best Design Exhibition will showcase over 400 renowned domestic and foreign design companies.

To help corporate participants utilise Design Korea as a business platform, a variety of support programs will be offered, such as one-on-one business matching and company information-exchanging sessions.

At the Design Business Conference that will run on the sidelines of the event, entrepreneurs and companies will share the know-how behind the successful strategies that they deployed to expand into markets such as China, Europe and the U.S. There also will be a series of talks by famous designers who will share their experiences in the field, a job fair and employment mentoring sessions.

KIDP said it expects about 300 companies to participate in the fair. Inquiries and applications for Design Korea can be submitted to suhnara@kidp.or.kr or on the website www.designkorea.or.kr. — The Korea Herald/ANN