The Yeosu Expo opened almost two months ago. The number of visitors so far is 2.8 million, or 52,000 per day on average. The turnout is much lower than hoped. It falls far short of the 8 million targeted by the Yeosu Expo Organizing Committee.
The committee is doubling efforts to attract visitors during the one month left before the finale. It says visitors will enjoy more diverse and interesting programs during this period. For example, the Expo Pop Festival takes place at 8 o’clock every night, and different kinds of street performances will be offered to catch the eye. When it rains, artificial lighting at the Big ‘O’ Show is worth watching, giving you a moment to be remembered for long.
This is the second expo held in Korea after the Daejeon Expo in 1993. Other Asian hosts were Japan and China. The latest one out of the five expositions in the continent was in China in 2010.
This exposition is certainly distinguished from the past ones. At the Yeosu Expo, the beautiful, vigorous nature and dynamic life that the ocean contains shows us where human beings have come from and what the earth should look like at the end of the day.
The Living Ocean and Coast, the theme of the expo, is more than enough to tell what Yeosu is moving for. The official mascots, Yeony and Suny, are personifications of a water drop and plankton, implicating the exposition’s aim is to conserve the beauty and resources of the ocean.
What makes the Yeosu Expo special is that it does not just highlight the greatness of Mother Nature or insist on a return to nature. It shows how the ocean is connected to human civilization and how it has maintained harmony with people’s lives. Finally, we can learn that the ocean is the core engine that will guide us toward a sustainable world.
The expo obviously boasts various attractions related to the ocean. The Digital Gallery, a digital aquarium overhead in the ceiling, is built on a large LED screen and projects ocean scenes. With cutting-edge technology, the gallery creates the illusion that visitors are floating in the ocean. The aquarium is just like a smaller version of the actual ocean, allowing visitors a 360-degree view of the 34,000 different marine organisms.
The Marine Life Pavilion built on the sea represents the coexistence of the ocean and humans, stressing the value of Yeosu as a coastal city.
The International Pavilion, which exhibits science, culture and civilization of countries around the world, covers the largest area in the site. After looking around the pavilion, you might feel that you just finished traveling all around the world. A total 46 nations out of 104 countries participating have individual exhibitions full of diverse events. For example, the glacial period in the Swiss Pavilion, an icebreaker in the Russian Pavilion and the Spanish Pavilion’s marine investigation history exhibition are waiting for you.
The Sky Tower, a symbol of the Yeosu Expo is a must-see, too. It used to be a cement storage tower, but it is surprisingly now an eco-friendly landmark after being renovated into a beautiful building.
The Yeosu Expo was voted as the top place to visit in 2012 by CNN. It stated that the Yeosu Expo, which will be one of the most sophisticated and magnificent expositions, features interactive displays, film screenings and exhibitions housed in weird and wonderful buildings.
Lonely Planet, a world-renowned travel guidebook, included the Expo in its list of “Top 10 things to do in 2012.” Euro News, Europe’s most-watched TV station, covered the Expo in a special report.
“As a place with 360 islands and a repository of rare marine organisms,” said the report, “the Yeosu Expo is an ideal place to think about the mutual relationship between the ocean and human beings.”
Not everyone has a chance to visit and see an international fair. It is also a rare occasion that an expo is held in Asia. Taking this opportunity, Asians can get a taste of the exposition. Those countries in Asia had lagged behind their Western counterparts in the past, but now they have more potential to grow. Korea, in particular has become an interesting growth model for its neighbors by overcoming narrow territory and scarce natural resources. It has astonished the world with its success story. The Yeosu Expo can be a guide for Asians to figure out the future of their nations.
Tickets can be purchased at the official website (http://www.expo2012.kr) provided in English, Chinese and Japanese. A $28 ticket will bring you a full experience of a round-the-world trip starting from the gorgeous city of Yeosu.
By Seo Kyoung-duk
Seo Kyoung-duk is a public relations expert and visiting professor at Sungshin Women’s University. ― Ed.
