See Where Korea’s Water Industry Stands
The international water industry expo Water Korea took place on March 19-21. Hosted by the Korea Water and Wastewater Works Association (KWWA) and sponsored by the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and K-water, the expo is Korea’s No. 1 water industry event aimed at connecting networks of human resources and state-of-the-art technology and providing fresh momentum for the water industry to move forward. Celebrating its 22nd year since its launch back in 2002, Water Korea highlights the theme “Safe Water and Our World.” With climate change and water crises becoming a daily phenomenon, the adoption of the theme suggests that industry leaders are conscious of the expectations and responsibility that the water industry is expected to fulfill, i.e., ensuring that all people have access to safe, clean water.
This year, the event has expanded in scale with 210 corporations setting up 585 booths that showcase a wide array of water industry technologies. Special exhibitions, special discussions, and seminars were concurrently held as well to predict the industry’s future trends.
K-water: a Major Driving Force Behind Korea’s Leadership in Water & Climate Technology
K-water has been participating each year in Water Korea as a leader in water and climate technology, showcasing the present and future of Korea’s water industry. This year, K-water’s promotional booth featured 3 major super-gap technologies including Digital Twin, AI water purification plant, and Smart Water Network Management (SWNM) in one location. A demonstration video was shown to the audience in order to help them better understand various cutting-edge technologies that are integrated into the water industry. During the expo, K-water’s promotional campaign successfully attracted much attention from the audience by declaring the 2040 Future Water Supply Vision divided into four categories—“high quality,” “smart,” “stabilization,” and “innovation”—and operating a virtual reality-based water management experience.
In addition to its main booth, K-water also runs a “K-water & Partners” booth to help Korean water corporations introduce their technology and find overseas buyers. This year, the joint booth was joined by 21 corporations including CES Innovation Award winner INOSEP, Fawoo Nanotech, and other partner startups. They presented their latest water technology and actively participated in meetings with potential overseas buyers and other programs; thus increasing the possibility of making forays into the global market. K-water CEO Yun Seog-dae paid a personal visit to the joint booth and checked out the innovative outcomes achieved by the participating corporations. During his visit, Yun expressed K-water’s commitment to promoting the growth of Korea’s water industry. “As the nation’s leading water management company, K-water will provide all-out technical and policy support for the private sector and work on creating a model for sustainable private-public cooperation that can easily integrate with private-sector innovation. In so doing, K-water will do its best to transform Korea’s water industry into the nation’s second semiconductor industry and lead efforts in coping with climate crisis,” he said.
Scheduled to be held in Busan next year, Water Korea is expected to play an important role in promoting cooperation and win-win partnership among water technology companies and creating a sustainable water environment.
