South Korea will play host to this year's world congress of the International Federation for Home Economics in the city of Daejeon on July 31-Aug. 6, organizers said Tuesday.

The organizing committee of the 23rd IFHE World Congress, titled "Hope & Happiness: The role of Home Economics in the pursuit of hope & happiness for individuals and communities now and in the future," is expected to bring together about 1,000 scholars, policymakers and experts from 54 countries.

The gathering is held every four years to enhance the academic status of home economics and increase global networking opportunities for people involved in the academic field.

South Korea is the fourth Asian country to host the congress after the Philippines, Japan and Thailand.

Attending the opening ceremony of the gathering will be IFHE President Carol Warren, South Korean Gender Minister Kang Eun-hee and Kwon Sun-taik, mayor of Daejeon.

During the congress, the organizing committee will run a homestay program for foreign participants to visit families residing in Daejeon, central South Korea, as a way for them to understand Korean family culture, and setup booths on Korean clothes and foods.

Park Mee-sok, chief of the organizing committee, said, "The event will provide us with an opportunity to share around 800 theses to be submitted for the event, discuss ways to increase happiness and ruminate over the role of families." (Yonhap)