Yeosu Expo set to steal spotlight

This is the first in a three-part series to preview the Yeosu World Expo which will be held from May 12 to Aug. 12 in 2012. ㅡ ED.

By Park Si-soo

Now its Yeosu’s turn to draw the limelight after the Shanghai World Expo ran its course at the end of last month. The tranquil coastal city, 400 kilometers south of Seoul, is gearing up to host the World Expo between May 12 and Aug. 12, 2012 under the theme “The Living Ocean and Coast.”

Yeosu wants to showcase how to wisely use the ocean and coastal areas for sustainable growth of the planet.

More than 100 countries and major international organizations are expected to join the event to promote and share their knowledge and experiences regarding so-called “green growth.”

A total of 72 countries, including the U.S., China and Japan, have pledged to take part in the event, according to the organizing committee. The committee aims to draw at least 8 million visitors.

“Every preparation step has gone as smoothly as planned and on schedule,” said Kang Dong-suk, chairman of Yeosu Expo Organizing Committee. “I’ll try to make it an event that thrills and touches all visitors.”

Kang said the 2012 Yeosu Expo will adopt “The Yeosu Declaration” aimed at highlighting the significance of creative development of coastal areas and their preservation.

“We expect the declaration to be viewed as a tool eligible to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which is set to lose effect in 2012,” the committee said in a statement. The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997, has served as a major tool drawing planetary support to fight climate change.

To help the declaration work in the real world, the Korean government has run the “Yeosu Project” since 2009, in which it has invested 10 billion won ($8.9 million) in developing and underdeveloped nations to install basic facilities needed for the eco-friendly development of maritime resources and to preserve them. The project will continue until 2012.

Promotion of expo at G20

To increase the exposure of the expo, the committee plans to capitalize on Seoul’s hosting of G20 summit that kicks off Thursday. It is expanding its publicity through media outlets and distributing brochures to make the expo better known to the delegation.

The committee is seeking to promote Korean culture and cuisine worldwide through the expo. It also expects the expo to give a fresh momentum in developing southern coastal areas of the Korean Peninsula.

These areas of the country have long been abandoned from large-scale development projects. But now, the ways leading to Yeosu are literarily full of construction noise.

The railroads for the KTX bullet-train will be extended to Yeosu by 2012, enabling people in the northern part of the country to reach the city in two or three hours.

A large, five-star hotel and other forms of residential facilities that can accommodate more than 10,000 visitors are under construction ㅡ part of a project initiated to develop Yeosu as a key tourist attraction in the region following the expo. A dock capable of hosting an 80,000-ton cruise ship is under construction at the heart of the expo site, a measure to attract rich Chinese and Japanese travelers.

Yeosu Mayor Kim Chung-seog said the city is considering building one or two more docks of the same size in the future. The committee believes the expo alone will generate an estimated 12.3 trillion won ($11 billion) worth of domestic production and create 79,000 jobs.