By Lee Hyo-sik
Yeosu Expo organizers were initially confident that the event would draw at least 10 million visitors, including 550,000 from abroad, during its 93-day run.
However, the event has been a real disappointment over the past three weeks since it kicked off on May 12, with less than a half of the originally-expected visitors coming to tour the 2.71 square-kilometer venue in southwestern port city, South Jeolla Province.
On top of slower turnout, some visitors have lodged complaints that they had to wait in a long line to enter the aquarium and other popular exhibition halls.
Others criticized expo organizers for turning a blind eye to visitor inconveniences caused by a lack of restaurants, bathrooms and other amenities.
The Organizing Committee for Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea said Sunday that the number of cumulative visitors exceeded 1 million Saturday, 22 days after the expo first opened. On Saturday, about 72,000 visitors, mostly Koreans, toured the site, pushing the cumulative figure over to 1.03 million.
If the current trend continues, expo visitors are projected to reach about 5 million during its three-month run, falling far short by half of its target of 10 million.
Korea’s first expo in more than 20 years must attract at least 100,000 daily to draw 10 million visitors in total.
“To be honest, we had fewer than expected visitors in May,” said Cho Yong-hwan, a spokesman for the expo organizing committee. “Traditionally, it is an off-season for tourism in May. But we are positive that more families from Seoul and adjacent areas will come to the venue beginning from June.” Cho also said large numbers of students will tour the expo during summer vacation.
“Both students and workers will come to get a real idea of what Yeosu Expo offers during the summer holiday season, which normally begins from mid-June and last through mid-August.” However, those planning to visit the expo ahead of and during the summer vacation will likely have to wait in long lines under the sweltering heat to see popular exhibition halls.
On May 27, the expo organizing committee decided to stop operating a reservation system for eight popular facilities after a group of visitors unable to secure tickets staged a protest at the organizing committee headquarters a day earlier.
Under the system, visitors have to reserve an entrance ticket at the expo’s official home page (https://www.expo2012.kr) or download a smartphone application from the website.
They can also make the reservation at machines set up at the venue’s entrance. The eight most popular attractions were inaccessible to those visiting without a reservation.
The system was initially designed not to have visitors wait to enter the exhibition facilities.
However, the committee was forced to abolish it as many could not make a reservation amid a rise in the number of visitors.
“We had to discontinue the reservation system on May 27. Now visitors can enter the exhibition halls on a first-come, firstserve basis,” Cho said. “But unfortunately, people have to wait for some time to enter the halls. So, we have installed additional shade for those waiting.
We will also hold more street performances for them.” The spokesman then said there is more to see, besides eight popular exhibition facilities.
“Visitors are beginning to realize that the eight facilities are not everything. The International Pavilion is attracting more visitors, while theme-based pavilions are hosting more families with children day after day.”
Meanwhile, the expo’s country day celebration experienced a little bit of a hitch on Saturday, which was “Japan Day.” The Japanese government filed a complaint against expo organizers for exhibition materials displayed at a booth run by the North Gyeongsang provincial government.
The material named the country’s eastern most islets as Dokdo and the sea lying between Korea and Japan as the East Sea.
To celebrate “Japan Day” on June 2, Japan had initially planned to dispatch a deputy foreign minister to the Yeosu Expo. But in protest of such exhibition materials, a lower-ranking director- general level official took part in the ceremony.
Despite this expo organizers said the Japan Day festival proceeded without a major problem.