According to the national census record, Korea’s architectural design service related industry including urban planning, landscape architecture, building related civil engineering and interior design services generated revenue estimated at $22 billion (W25 trillion)
ITA CODE: TBD
 

Overview

According to the national census record, Korea’s architectural design service related industry including urban planning, landscape architecture, building related civil engineering and interior design services generated revenue estimated at $22 billion (W25 trillion) (architectural design $6.7 billion; urban planning and landscape architecture $491 million; building and civil engineering $7.1 billion; other engineering services $7 billion; and interior design $734 million) in 2017.  Among these sectors, the design service has provided the most business prospects for U.S. and other foreign companies.

Overview of Korea’s architectural design service market                          Unit: $ millions
 20072011201420162017Growth rate
(2016-2017)
Architectural design services4,5484,4424,8866,0226,70711.4%
Urban planning and landscape architecture36554844344149111.1%
Building and civil engineering services4,7226,4636,4577,6467,119-6.9%
Other engineering services3,1975,3746,2136,8447,0202.6%
Interior design services34559256360873420.7%
Total13,17617,41918,56121,56222,0702.4%
Source: Korea Economic Census and Statistics

Korea has evolved considerably and became as one of major hubs of international business in Northeast Asia. Especially, Korea's three largest cities, Seoul, Incheon and Busan have positioned themselves to be new global centers for high-rise and sustainable aspirations competing against other major cities in Asia.  There is a national interest in architectural design, yet the practical needs of rebuilding after the Korean war took precedence over aesthetics.  If the emphasis is on developing new or renovating residential, cultural or educational spaces, Korea’s growing trend is heading towards design focused architecture.

Based on this projection, over the next few years, Korea has the potential to offer business opportunities to international players in architectural design, urban planning, sustainable design consulting service and interior design services increasing activities and challenges in its architectural design services market.

 

Best Prospects

The U.S. is considered a global leader in many environmental technologies.  Companies with price-competitive technologies and services should have the potential to successfully penetrate the market in the following areas:
  • Schematic design services
  • Building Information Modeling (BIM) software

Opportunities

Among the architectural design, landscape architecture and interior design firms in Korea, the top 50 firms account for about 30 percent of the country’s revenue in the sector.  Even though large Korean architectural service firms monopolize the industry, Korea also relies on international companies when it comes to servicing schematic designs of supertall building structures, mixed-used business complexes and high-end private residential buildings.  As a result, Korea offers ample business opportunities to foreign firms with experience in the international market.
To enter the architectural design market, U.S. design firms should partner with a qualified Korean firm which maintain existing sales networks to serve end-users and which are fully aware of the regulatory changes that drive the market.  Also, developing and maintaining a reliable professional relationship with these firms is an effective way for U.S. firms to tap into the Korean architectural service market.  The relationship a firm is engaged in, combined with the relationships of its partners can build up an important and vast business network across markets and national boundaries.  This network can help a firm connect to potential customers.  Although many projects get awarded through competitions or prequalification processes more opportunities are provided through networks and referrals.  The availability to build strong international reputations is strongly associated with firm’s ability to network.  Therefore, establishing close contact with experts, academics and associations that have the knowledge of local market is very important.

Resources

Trade Shows
Korea Architecture Fair and Festival 2018 (KAFF2018)
November 27-30, 2019 - http://www.kaff.biz/www/doc/language1.asp


Key Contacts
Korea Institute of Registered Architects (KIRA) – http://www.kira.or.kr/eng/index.do
Architectural Institute of Korea (AIK) – http://www.aik.or.kr/
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) – http://english.molit.go.kr/intro.do
Architecture and Urban Research Information Center (AURIC) - http://www.auric.or.kr/
Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement (KAIA) https://www.kaia.re.kr/eng/main.do

Local Contact
Nathan Huh
Senior Commercial Specialist
U.S. Commercial Service, Korea
U.S. Embassy Seoul
188 Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu
Seoul 03141 Korea
Tel: 82-2-397-4130
Nathan.Huh@trade.gov
http://www.export.gov/southkorea

 

Prepared by the International Trade Administration. With its network of more than 100 offices across the United States and in more than 75 markets, the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.