The shows, which ran under the same roof, included IMID 2009, 2009 KES and the 11th International Semiconductor 2009 (i-Sedex). So what were the hot products and technologies at these events?

Rivals LG Display Co. Ltd. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. wowed the crowd with two hot product categories: 3-D TVs and LED TVs. They also showed ultra-high definition TVs (3,840 x 2,160) and related products. Here's what they showed. Here's another account.

Here are the other hot products from Korean (and Korean-backed) vendors:

ClairPixel Co. Ltd.

MtekVision spin-off is pushing the MV5103, a single-chip video/image camera sensor designed for automotive or surveillance systems. Its Wideye technology allows MV5103 to handle varying brightness within the same scene. This device incorporates a 640 x 480 image array capable of operating at up to 60 frames per second. It outputs NTSC or PAL interlaced composite video and several kinds of digital video formats. The product can be seen here.

CogniVue Corp.

MtekVision spin-off specializes in programmable image cognition processors (ICPs). These ARM-based devices enable real-time embedded image and video analytics applications in automotive smart cameras, Internet Protocol (IP) video surveillance, and mobile consumer devices. The product can be seen here.

Dongbu HiTek

Specialty foundry has been shipping BCD (Bipolar/CMOS/DMOS) process at the 0.18-micron node. It is working on a 130-nm version as well as other processes. Foundry is enabling new mixed-signal designs from an emerging crop of fabless players in Korea, such as Pulsus, TLI, Silicon Mitus, Silicon Works and others.