Hosting Overseas Employees in Korea: One Schedule for Meetings, Dinners and Transfers
When you bring overseas staff to Korea for a company event, start with where guests will be and what they will do across each day, not with the meeting room. Book the room first and meals, transfers and social programmes get squeezed in later.
If you are the HR, administration or regional events lead for a conference or staff gathering, collect the conditions below in one document before asking for quotes. They draw on the Antalis Asia Pacific Conference, which Chris & Partners planned and ran.
What Chris & Partners did at the Antalis Asia Pacific Conference
Themed "Let's Grow, Let's Go!", the Antalis Asia Pacific Conference 2016 took place on 26–28 September 2016 at the Millennium Hilton Seoul, with staff from 16 Asian and 2 European countries — 18 countries in all.
A welcome reception opened the event, followed by two days of conference; the second afternoon included a showcase and a visit to Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), followed by a Korean dinner. Chris & Partners planned and ran the event, covering the meeting space, food and beverage, tours and events, transport and signage. (View the project)
The steps below are general suggestions for a new event. They do not reproduce Antalis's internal run sheet or staffing plan.
1. Attach transfers and meals to the meeting timetable first
Between the end of the meeting and the start of dinner, write down the actual times for gather → board → travel → arrive. Announcing only a bus departure time misses late-running sessions and bag storage.
- Name one meeting point and one escort at each venue, restaurant and hotel
- Agree whether vehicles wait when a session overruns or leave in groups
- Decide how you will find guests you can't reach in transit
2. Turn guest information into operating conditions
A list of countries won't tell you how to plan catering and guidance. Confirm:
- meeting language and the language of printed guidance
- arrival and departure dates and the days each guest actually attends
- dietary requirements (religious, allergy, vegetarian and so on)
- whether anyone needs mobility support
Collect only what you need, give one person ownership of it, and don't fill unanswered items with guesses. A one-line format helps: dates attending / meeting language / dietary needs / transfers / owner.
If you need hotel booking or flight support, confirm at the start whether it sits inside or outside event operations.
3. Give tours and dinners their own run sheets
For tours, check time on site, guiding language, booking conditions and the wet-weather plan before the name of the attraction. Venues that mix indoor and outdoor areas may need a different route in bad weather.
For dinners, set the start time, order of speeches, seating and audio, and how guests get back to the hotel. For a Korean dinner, also prepare how the menu will be explained and how dietary requirements will be handled.
4. Reflect why the event is in Seoul
If you are bringing overseas staff to Seoul, decide what beyond meetings belongs on the schedule — a showcase, a city visit, a Korean dinner — and whether each fits comfortably between sessions.
Five things to send your agency
- Guests: [expected numbers by country and attendance dates]
- Main purpose: [meetings / networking / visits]
- Venue status: [hotel, meeting venue and restaurant confirmed / shortlisted / open]
- Open conditions: [language / catering / transport]
- Scope: [planning / meetings and catering / tours and transfers / on-site operations]
Even without a final schedule, separating confirmed conditions from pending decisions lets scope be defined concretely. For overseas companies planning their first event in Korea, our sister site's complete guide covers contracts, customs and timing.
Frequently asked questions
How early should we start planning an overseas staff event in Korea?
It depends on scale, but for a multi-day event, allowing three months or more to fix dates, hotel and venue is safer, because guests' flights and visas follow the event dates.
What should we ask guests in advance?
Meeting language, actual attendance dates, dietary requirements and any mobility needs. Ask only for what you need, and have one person chase unanswered items.
How do we choose a tour?
Check time on site, guiding language, booking conditions and the wet-weather plan before the attraction itself. The test is whether it fits comfortably between sessions.
Can the agency handle hotels and flights too?
It varies by agency and is often scoped separately from event operations. Make clear in your first quote request whether it is included.
Planning an overseas staff event in Korea?
Tell us your dates, expected numbers, venue status and which of the items above you need help with. Chris & Partners will review the planning, production and operations scope you need.
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hello@chrisandpartners.co · +82-2-375-4620
Chris & Partners is a Seoul-based event agency, founded in 2013, that has planned and run 250+ events in 12 countries across five continents.
Case source: Chris & Partners official portfolio, "Antalis Asia Pacific Conference 2016". Event dates 26–28 Sep 2016 / checked 2 Nov 2026. The planning steps and FAQ are general suggestions, separate from the case.