A group of Korean-American environmental activists will visit the International Garden Exposition Suncheon Bay Korea 2013 Saturday to forge deeper ties with the city, the event organizers said Tuesday.

The Suncheon Bay Garden exposition plans to welcome 220 visitors from California-based environmental organization PAVA World, including 160 Korean-American students.

The visit came after Cho Chung-hoon, the mayor of Suncheon, visited the United States in January and clinched an agreement with PAVA World to promote the city's 184-day-long global event.   

"The invitation aims to allow Korean-American teenagers to recognize their identity, and educate them about the meaning of sharing and preserving the ecosystem," an official said.

The garden expo, which runs under the theme of "Garden of the Earth," is being held in Suncheon, 415 kilometers south of Seoul, until Oct. 20.

The festival offers a wide range of exhibitions through four major districts - the Arboretum Zone, Wetland Center Zone, World Garden Zone and Wetland Zone -- at its venue of 1.11 million square meters.

The venue includes 83 types of gardens, including 11 sites boasting exotic views, as well as the ECOGEO Greenhouse, the Suncheon Literary Museum and the Suncheon Bay International Wetland Center.

Suncheon Bay, covering 2.6 million square meters near the exhibition site, is also anticipated to be a major tourist destination during the six-month event, the organizers said. (YONHAP)