Global Bio Conference (GBC) 2022 ended its three-day run on Wednesday.

According to the conference organizers, the GBC, hosted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), aims to set the stage for active communication aiming to lead a balanced international regulatory environment.

The conference prides itself on being a major “international” event.

However, after visiting the conference in person, this writer felt that the conference had not much to show how it was “global.”

The conference did offer a wide range of global speakers from various related industries, administration, academia, and research communities.

During the three-day run, however, only a handful of foreigners attended the event.

This writer stayed at the event venue the entire day of Wednesday but saw only two to three foreigners attending the program.

The conference was also available online. 

But when asked how many foreigners attended the conference, the organizers could not give an immediate answer. They just simply said that they would tally up the total foreigner participation and disclose the number through a future brochure.

The online tools were not user-friendly at all. 

In the past, GCB had offered on-demand videos of each program for online participants.

Considering the time difference between foreigner attending from various countries, the on-demand service provided them with a chance to listen to the event at a convenient time of their choosing.

However, this year, the organizers did not offer an on-demand service. People living in other countries had to wake up really early in the morning or stay up late, outside their working hours, to watch the GBC programs.

Despite GBC stating that the conference presents an atmosphere of communication among “global participants” through in-depth discussions in the field of regulatory science as a reason to attend, the conference looked more like a domestic event for Koreans to learn and listen about the global regulatory field from foreigners.

It is regrettable, indeed, to see that GBC stopped short of exploring all potential routes to increase foreign participation and provide a more user-friendly experience for foreigners participating online.