Hyundai Motor Group's promotional videos for Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo racked up over 100 million combined views after the first video was released three months ago, the country's top automotive group said Monday.
The promotion campaign comprises 37 videos, which include two videos targeting the global audience, and 35 short-form videos addressing individual member countries of the Bureau International des Expositions, the international body responsible for overseeing the World Expo. The videos were released on the social media channels, including YouTube and Facebook, of Hyundai Motor Group.
Hyundai had released its first series, comprising 19 videos, dubbed, "Busan Citizens Invite You All" on March 26, ahead of the BIE delegation’s visit to Korea in early April. Garnering 56.4 million views across all platforms, the series features a diverse group of Korean citizens living in Busan, including young families and market vendor owners. They introduce Busan’s various attractions and the city’s suitability as the host for the World Expo.
The conglomerate released the second series titled, "Busan is Ready!" on April 5, featuring foreigners from 17 BIE member countries residing in South Korea. Speaking in their native tongue, they share the cultural, historical, natural and industrial similarities between Busan and their respective countries.
The second series consists of 18 episodes and has collected some 44.7 million views.
Of the 111.5 million total views on all of the videos, overseas views accounted for over 70 percent, Hyundai said. The videos also collected 110,000 likes, 12,000 comments and 7,500 shares.
Among the 35 videos addressing the various BIE member states, the video targeting Peru garnered the highest number of views at 2.93 million, followed by the video targeting Libya at 2.3 million views.
Hyundai said it anticipates the global interest witnessed through this campaign to set the groundwork to boost attention on Busan at the 172nd General Assembly of the BIE, which will be held in Paris from Tuesday to Wednesday.
The assembly will be a major turning point for the election race as candidate cities will be assessed based on the BIE’s inspection reports and individual presentations by each country.
Hyundai Motor Group has been actively utilizing social media platforms to showcase Busan's competitiveness and future vision, generating positive responses from netizens worldwide.
