By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff reporter
Korea is holding a wide range of promotional events during the ongoing 2010 Shanghai World Expo to publicize its second hosting of the international trade fair two years later in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province.
The Organizing Committee for EXPO 2012 Yeosu Korea held a celebration at the Shanghai Expo's main venue Wednesday to promote the next trade show in Korea. The Yeosu Expo will open its door to visitors on May 12, 2012. The nation hosted its first Expo in Daejon in 1993.
The Wednesday celebration lasted for about an hour, featuring a series of Korea's traditional and modern performances, which attracted thousands of spectators. A group of promoters dressed in the Yeosu Expo mascot costumes toured exhibition halls and other Expo sites to advertize the 2012 trade fair.
After the opening of the Shanghai World Expo in May 1, the organizing committee set up a 300 square-meter public relations space on the second floor of Korea's exhibition hall in a bid to inform visitors, mostly Chinese, of the 2012 Yeosu Expo.
The committee also prepared various souvenirs, including an umbrella with the Yeosu Expo emblem and logo, for visitors to the exhibition site. It plans to launch a series of road shows throughout China in the second half of this year, targeting local journalists and government officials, as well as foreign diplomats residing in the world's fastest growing economy.
``We have and will do everything we can to make the best use out of the Shanghai Expo to promote the Yeosu Expo. We expect around five million visitors to stop by Korea's exhibition hall in Shanghai, which means the same number of individuals will be informed of the Yesu Expo,'' an organizing committee official said.
The official said more than eight million spectators will likely visit the Yeosu Expo during its run in 2012, adding that out of the eight million, about 550,000 will be foreigners. ``We need to increase the number of non-Korean visitors by attracting Chinese, Japanese and other Asian nationals.''
The organizing committee will introduce an array of promotional events during ``Korea Week'' from May 27 to 30, including concerts featuring Korean entertainers popular among Chinese and other Asian fans.
``It's hard to promote the Yeosu Expo in the early phases of the Shanghai Expo. We plan to publicize our trade fair intensively in September and October when the Shanghai event comes closer to an end,'' the official said.