2012-03-12

Perched atop the Gangnam Finance Center, Canada’s Pacific gateway office headed by Kim Kyung-suk acts as a connecting point between business leaders from Korea and Canada.

The Canadian west coast province of British Columbia offers the shortest transportation routes from Korea to North America, explained Managing Director Kim of the B.C. International Trade and Investment Office.

Because of its 58-hour shipping transport lead over other west coast North American ports, British Columbia has positioned itself as the leading entry port for Korean products traded with Canada and it will only get busier once both countries finalize a free trade deal.

“Trade is driven by the traditional sectors like mining, coal, agroproducts and forestry,” he told The Korea Herald.

Korea is British Columbia’s fourth-largest trading partner amounting to over $3 billion worth of goods traded. The west coast province also represents 50 percent of Canada’s exports to Korea and is growing.

Valued at $1 billion annually, British Columbian coal fuels the fire of that trade, making up 53 percent of all the province’s exports to Korea.

To drum up more trade links, Kim is actively promoting British Columbia at every major trade fair that could benefit companies in the province’s rich resource industry.

This month, Kim organized several trade delegations to take part in three trade shows in both countries.

Nevertheless, British Columbia’s economy has been becoming more diverse, less resource-dependent, with their Seoul office following suit.

“We are also working on advanced technologies, which include environment and green technology,” he said.

B.C.’s Bioenergy Network is currently fine-tuning a memorandum of understanding with a local research and development organization, more details will be made public later.

Vancouver’s Winter Olympic legacy as a green city will be discussed when Kim connects the PyeongChang Olympic Committee with their counterparts who hosted the 2010 Games. Things discussed could include the Richmond Oval, the speed-skating rink used for the 2010 Games, which has a 26,000-square-meter roof made from trees that had been killed by pine-beetle infestation.

While many sectors lead the pack or show great promise, British Columbia’s beef sector might not be ready to supply anxious Korean shoppers demanding a different infusion from the popular Australian and newly arrived United States beef products.

“The slaughter centers need to be certified by the Korean government so I don’t think there are enough slaughterhouses ready for the exports to Korea,” he said.

But what is ready and arriving almost daily by plane are fish products like pollack, which are filling the gap left behind by the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan one year ago, unleashing the world’s worst nuclear crisis in a quarter century.

“Korea stopped the imports from Japan and began the imports from Vancouver by air,” he said.

The biggest success story so far is the province’s deal with KOGAS.

The world’s largest liquefied natural gas importer has agreed to explore shale gas areas in the province ― a deal which is worth $1.1 billion over five years and will get KOGAS a 50 percent stake in three unconventional gas properties