The Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Regional Specialized Youth Trade Experts Training Project Group (hereinafter the GTEP Project Group), which is helping local small and medium-sized enterprises open overseas sales channels, recently participated in an overseas trade fair and succeeded in exporting products of regional companies.

From July 12–14, students from the project group participated in the 'Cosmoprof Las Vegas' exhibition in Las Vegas, United States, together with the industry–university collaboration company 'sm' and carried out marketing activities.

Cosmoprof began in 2003 and this year marked its 19th edition; it is the beauty exhibition held in the United States among the four Cosmoprof exhibitions held worldwide. The organizers estimated more than 50,000 participants and around 1,000 exhibiting companies.

At this exhibition, JBNU's GTEP Project Group was represented by Se-hee Park (Department of International Trade) and Mi-so Choi (Department of International Trade), who participated as young trade experts. They directly took part in the entire exhibition preparation process, including local market research, booth setup and display, consultations with overseas buyers, and sample sales.

During the event, the students conducted some 30 export consultations, sold all samples on-site, and secured several export contracts.

Se-hee Park (Department of International Trade) said, 'I am pleased to participate in Cosmoprof Las Vegas as a representative K‑BEAUTY brand of Korea.' Mi‑so Choi (Department of International Trade) added, 'I feel rewarded to have been able to directly assist the partner company's exports through this exhibition.'

Meanwhile, JBNU's GTEP Project Group is a global trade talent development program led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and supported by the Korea International Trade Association, the Jeonbuk Provincial Government, and Jeonju City. Each year, it selects around 35 students and operates a program to train trade experts, including foreign language special lectures, trade theory and practical training, and participation in trade fairs. The group participates in domestic and overseas exhibitions for promising regional export companies to provide interpreting services and export support.