The POSCO pavilion has been constructed at the 2012 Yeosu Expo site in the southwestern port city in South Jeolla Province. / Courtesy of POSCO

By Lee Hyo-sik

Yeosu ― POSCO, the world’s third-largest steelmaker, will open a pavilion at the 2012 Yeosu Expo site in this southwestern port city, South Jeolla Province, welcoming both Korean and non-Korean visitors to the country’s biggest international event in recent years.

The company will open its doors to visitors from May 12 through Aug. 12 under the theme ``Uniting Nature, People and POSCO into One,’’ promoting itself as an environment-friendly and socially-responsible member of the corporate community. The POSCO Pavilion is a three-story building with a gross floor area of 2,113 square meters.

Its exhibition halls, with five themes of ``Love,’’ ``Challenge,’’ ``World,’’ ``Environment’’ and ``Sea,’’ will deliver abundant experiences to visitors as they present each one in a differentiated and unique way.

``We expect to attract a total of 8 million visitors during the three-month period, including up to 400,000 non-Koreans,’’ a POSCO spokesman said. ``The POSCO Pavilion will be a place to show the company’s sustainable management for the future. Guests will be able to picture their future throughout the vision and experience hearing the voice of the ocean.’’

Among others, the ``Sea Together with POSCO’’ displays the firm’s efforts to preserve the ocean by creating the Triton Sea Forest, restoring coral reef, mangrove, and clearing contaminated sediment, the spokesman said.

``Triton is an artificial fish shelter, mainly made of steel byproduct slag. This provides optimum living conditions to seaweed and other marine creatures,’’ he said.

``Slag triton will become a sea forest where seaweed absorbs carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, which will bring about carbon dioxide reduction in the air. We will show visitors how it happens.’’

In November 2011, POSCO installed 510 slag triton forms in waters off Yeosu, creating the rich sea forest over the past year. It also plans to build two more sea forests in Korea’s South Sea.

``We will also help Indonesia restore damaged coral reefs. Visitors to our pavilion will know in depth about what POSCO has been doing and will do in the future to preserve the marine environment,’’ the spokesman said.

Under the theme ``The Living Ocean and Coast,’’ the Yeosu Expo organizers are aiming to attract a total of 10 million visitors, including 550,000 from overseas. Organizers expect about 300,000 Chinese will visit the trade fair, followed by 200,000 Japanese. Those from Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas will account for most of the remainder.

Organizers say 105 countries and 10 international organizations have confirmed their participation.