Ahead of the ASEAN Community’s inauguration in December, which was announced officially during the 27th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, the ASEAN-Korea Center held a trade and food fair last week to help galvanize the bilateral flow of commerce and communication between Southeast Asia and Korea.

Under the banner “ASEAN Fair 2015: Touch and Taste ASEAN,” the venue at Coex from Nov. 18-21 in Seoul gathered over 100 small and medium-sized vendors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

The largest of its kind since the center was launched in 2009, the event showcased a variety of vegetables, fruits, seafood, meat, alcoholic and caffeinated beverages, processed food and other food products. 

“The realization of the ASEAN Community in December will bring a new era of cooperation and coprosperity between ASEAN and Korea,” ASEAN-Korea Center secretary-general Kim Young-sun said in a speech at the opening ceremony Wednesday.

“This fair has put together trade, food, culture and tourism for synergy, with a focus on promoting the cultural diversity of each member state.”

At the exhibition, Brunei featured its flagship blue shrimp; Cambodia, its aromatic pepper; Indonesia, its disparate seafood from 18,000 islands; Laos, its organic coffee cultivated 1,300 meters above the sea on the Bolaven Plateau; Malaysia, its famous durian-made products; Myanmar, its lahpet tea made of fermented tea leafs; the Philippines, its nutty coconut; Singapore, its diverse food ingredients and desserts; Thailand, its mango, durian and tropical fruits; and Vietnam, its shrimp snacks and rice noodles.

One-on-one meetings between potential Korean investors and ASEAN exhibitors were held, along with a trade facilitation seminar to acquaint the participating businesspersons and government officials with quarantine regulations and export-import procedures in Korea. 

Tourism booths have been set up to introduce each country’s uncharted destinations; coffee tasting stalls with baristas were open; and 70 performers of traditional music and dance from different countries pleased the crowds on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

“ASEAN’s diverse cultures and heritages have made the region a gastronomic heaven,” said Malaysian Ambassador Rohana Ramli, whose country is chairing the 10-member state association this year.

Noting that 3.7 million Koreans traveled to Southeast Asia out of the 14.6 million touring abroad last year, Ramli said that many of them revisited “because they miss our food.”

Last year, Korea’s trade with ASEAN was $138 billion, second only to China. For the food industry, bilateral trade reached $4.3 billion and $3 billion through September this year, evidence of the increasing number of Koreans craving exotic international flavors.

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)