Fair to highlight Southeast Asian interior design

Envoys from about a half a dozen Southeast Asian nations and the ASEAN-Korea Center will kick off an international furniture fair showcasing items from Southeast Asia.

The Seoul Furniture and Home Living Fair 2014 will kick off Thursday and continue until April 27 in Hall 4 at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

ASEAN Korea Center General Secretary Chung Hae-moon is expected to join with other Southeast Asian envoys in kicking off the event this Thursday.

A slew of companies are to display unique home furnishings and interior designs from Southeast Asia, including Basket & Weaves Handicrafts and Prado Filipino Artisans of the Philippines, Furnizone Industries of Malaysia and Haleywood Industries of Singapore.

The pavilion will exhibit furnishings from eight Southeast Asian nations, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.

There are two furniture companies from Myanmar participating this year. The country was released from crippling sanctions only a couple of years ago. Asia Wood and Bella Interiors will present furniture from the country.

The goal in participating as a unified Southeast Asian region is to promote ASEAN furniture and interior products in the South Korean market and to provide business networking opportunities for these Southeast Asian companies and Korean buyers, said an official at the Seoul-based ASEAN-Korea Center.

South Korea has been increasing its imports of furniture from the region. In 2007, South Korea imported $140 million in furniture from ASEAN member states. Last year, South Korea imported $291 million in furniture from those Southeast Asian nations. That represents an increase of over 100 percent in six years.

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)