[News] VM Consulting CEO HyoungJoo Lee Delivers Keynote at the “2026 1st Korea Unique Venue Council”

“In the AI Era, Unique Venues Must Move Beyond Visibility to Become Recommended Destinations”

HyoungJoo Lee, CEO of VM Consulting, delivered a keynote presentation at the “2026 1st Korea Unique Venue Council,” presenting new strategies for unique venue marketing and competitiveness in the AI era.

The event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), bringing together approximately 50 representative unique venue operators from across South Korea to discuss the future competitiveness and strategic direction of the country’s unique venue industry.

Under the theme “Unique Venue Marketing that Builds Brand Value,” Lee emphasized that the competitiveness of unique venues should no longer be defined only by physical space itself, but by the experiences and transformations those spaces can create through business events.

Moving beyond traditional venue classifications such as cultural heritage, contemporary complex facilities, and art-focused venues, Lee explained that venue competitiveness should be activated by connecting each venue’s unique Story, Environment, and Resources to business event programs and participant experiences.

“Venue categories are not the final goal,” Lee stated. “They are merely the starting point for designing meaningful event programs and differentiated participant experiences.”

During the presentation, Lee introduced several practical case studies, including entrepreneurship forums linked to local historical narratives, DMZ peace experience programs, and local food culture participation programs, demonstrating how unique venues can transform physical characteristics into experiential and business value.

One of the most discussed topics during the keynote was AI-driven venue marketing.

Lee explained that venue marketing is rapidly shifting from traditional SEO (Search Engine Optimization) toward AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), where AI platforms increasingly recommend venues directly to users.

“In the AI era, venues are no longer competing simply to be visible,” Lee said. “They must become recommendable.”

He further emphasized that AI systems prefer credible and context-rich information rather than abstract promotional language such as “beautiful venue” or “premium space.” Instead, AI platforms prioritize detailed explanations about what types of business events a venue is suitable for and what kinds of participant experiences it can deliver.

Lee highlighted the growing importance of:

• media articles,

• open-platform blogs,

• detailed YouTube descriptions and subtitles,

• English-language content,

• and long-term archiving of successful event case studies.

  
  

He also noted that global event organizers and international corporations increasingly seek benchmarkable success stories and trusted venue references when selecting destinations for business events.

A key message of the keynote was the need for Korea’s unique venues to strengthen independent marketing capabilities rather than relying primarily on government support programs.

“Unique venues must evolve beyond a subsidy-driven structure,” Lee stated. “They need to build sustainable marketing capabilities that allow them to attract global business events and corporate clients independently.”

He added that in the AI era, long-term accumulation of trustworthy content, participant experiences, and event success data will become one of the most important competitive assets for venue operators.

The presentation is also directly connected to Lee’s ongoing DBA dissertation research at Business School Lausanne (BSL), which explores how unique venues can activate competitiveness through business events beyond purely physical venue attributes.

Following the session, representatives from the Korea Tourism Organization reportedly commented that the presentation addressed many of the key questions currently being discussed regarding the future competitiveness of Korea’s unique venue industry.

VM Consulting currently provides strategic consulting for unique venues, convention centers, and global exhibition marketing projects, including CES, IFA, ADIPEC, and GITEX, while expanding research and consulting services related to AI-era venue branding and AEO-based venue marketing strategies.

(C)VM Consulting