Seven global companies showcase new technologies, offer vision for future


Seven major Korean companies are preparing to open their own pavilions at the Expo 2012 Yeosu which runs from May 12 through August 12.

The individual corporate pavilions will be packed with fun yet educational experience-oriented contents that present cutting-edge technologies and insights for the future, say the firms.

Hyundai Motor Group is seeking to express its new corporate vision “Together for a better future” at its pavilion spanning nearly 1,300 square meters.

The facades of the pavilion will show images visualizing Hyundai Motor’s five core values ― customer, challenge, collaboration, people and globality.

Visitors will be introduced to the automotive group’s cars, social contributions, sponsorships and efforts in the bidding for the World Expo on the first floor before entering the main exhibit space on the second floor where they will see a dynamic interaction of hyper-surface images that depict Hyundai Motor’s future vision.

The concept of the exhibit is “Beyond Mobility.”

A “vision gate,” the back of which shows the letter H, will express a circulation of technologies, art and culture through Hyundai Motor affiliates, a company official said.

The Samsung Pavilion will be set up by three affiliates ― Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI and Samsung Heavy Industries ― to deliver a message of “creative coexistence.”

The exhibits at the pavilion are aimed at highlighting Samsung’s role as a reciprocal mediator with the ocean that helps resolve the problems faced by mankind, according to a Samsung official.

Instead of simply displaying its products, Samsung plans to showcase various performances and images that match the theme of the Expo, “Living Ocean and Coast.”

The exhibit concept of the LG Pavilion is “Green Life Provider.”

Water will flow on the outside of the building, helping maintain the interior temperature, and energy will be supplied through photovoltaic power generation.

A “media chandelier,” or 54 LG monitors moving up and down like waves, will show kinetic art with a theme of saving the planet, while a “time tunnel” boasts LG’s three-dimensional technologies as it depicts LG’s achievements through 2050.

Eco-friendly technologies being developed by LG’s subsidiaries will be on display on the third floor.

The POSCO Pavilion is designed with a nautilus and human ear open toward the ocean as the motifs.

Seen from the front, the steelmaker’s pavilion has no doors, implying POSCO’s corporate philosophy for open-minded communication.

The pavilion is shaped like an ear when viewed from the seaside and like an eye when seen from the sky, symbolizing POSCO’s attentiveness to nature and willingness for exchanges with the world.

Teemu Kurkela, the architect that designed the POSCO Pavilion, said visitors to the exhibition hall will be able to “see the future and listen to the ocean through POSCO.”

The three-story building sprawling some 2,113 square meters will house contents on POSCO’s commitment to development of renewable energy and marine resources in five exhibition zones themed love, challenge, world, environment and ocean.

Visitors will see a large structure shaped like a musical instrument in the “love” zone introducing the steelmaker’s philosophy on coexistence, communication and environmental management.

The “challenge” zone will be about POSCO affiliates’ expansion to material and energy businesses, the “environment” zone about its eco-friendly projects and the “world” zone about its operations around the globe.

The “ocean” zone will feature POSCO’s efforts to protect the ocean and marine businesses.

The Lotte Pavilion will allow visitors to experience what it feels like to fly in a hot air balloon, hoping to deliver a message that Lotte is a creative company that gives joy.

Using a circular screen of 22 meters in diameter, a four-dimensional system that creates smog, wind and lightning, and a moving platform, the “360-degree rider theater” will offer visitors the thrills and excitement of flying in a hot air balloon.

They will be shown maps, compasses and the production process of the hot air balloon in a slope connecting the first and second floors called the “skyway.”

The GS Caltex Pavilion will have an “energy field” on the first floor where visitors can experience various energies from nature.

Photovoltaic panels on the roof of the building will generate power, part of which will be used as the energy source of the pavilion, to emphasize that GS Caltex is a company that produces energy instead of consuming it.

The SK Telecom Pavilion, with an exhibit concept of “WE-Cloud,” aims to convey the company’s vision for sharing information and communication technologies instead of monopolizing them.

Visitors will be able to experience SK Telecom’s various technologies on the first floor, media art on the second floor and contents made with the participation of the general public on the third floor.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)