Koba

Predominantly a broadcast show, KOBA nonetheless included a
significant number of exhibitors specialising in live and fixed install
audio and lighting products.

The entertainment industry in South Korea - both touring and
permanent install - seemingly takes second place to the country’s
substantial house of worship market. Many of the distributors with
products suited to this segment have therefore found themselves
well placed to deal with the current global economic downturn.
Among them is Hebsiba Multimedia, whose distributorship of
Outline has proved very fruitful. Outline Director Giorgio Biffi
visited KOBA to lend his support. “We don’t have many regrets
about our business over there because the new products we
recently unveiled have fueled a lot of interest and helped put deals
in place,” he told mondo*dr after the show. In particular, Outline’s
new Mantas and Minicompass Live, which were demo’d in the
auditorium upstairs from the show, proved of interest to visitors.
“The main market in Korea is in houses of worship and these new
products - small footprint line arrays with high quality and intelligibility
- fit the needs of such venues perfectly,” he said.

Despite the existence of Kosound + Stagetech later this year,
KOBA still seems to have strong support. Among them Yun Suk
Oh of Sound Solution: “Koba contributes to the improvement of
A/V system business. It started as a small show 19 years ago, but
it has made remarkable progress and now the show is not only a
place of publicity, but also a meeting place for all Korean A/V dealers.”
According to the organisers, May is a very busy month for the
Korean industry, a factor which may have had an impact upon the
show turnout. Consequently, next year’s KOBA is set to take place
slightly later in the year on 15-18 June.