INTERVIEW 'We can win this race' to host World Expo 2030

Busan mayor seeks to capitalize on K-pop boom as part of expo bid

By Ko Dong-hwan

BUSAN ― Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon expressed confidence in winning the bid to host World Expo 2030, saying that the nation's soft power together with strong support from the business community will help the port city beat the oil-rich Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.

"We have the resources to draw the attention of the general public like K-pop and other K-culture, which Saudi Arabia doesn't have. So even though we may be behind Saudi Arabia right now, the real race hasn't begun yet. If we do our best, we can win this race," said Park during a recent interview with The Korea Times at his office in Busan.

The mayor admitted that his city started almost a year later than Saudi Arabia to launch a global bid to host the World Expo 2030. When Korea's biggest coastal city started creating a buzz about the bid last year, its Middle Eastern rival had already begun lobbying countries with financial incentives to make its capital the ultimate winner.

The race, now past the second round of presentations held at the Bureau International des Expositions' (BIE) headquarters in Paris in June, has narrowed down to Busan, Riyadh and Rome. But based on the current outlook, Busan and Riyadh are well ahead of the Italian capital.

Park understands how desperate the Saudis are to host the World Expo 2030. The country's King and Prime Minister Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has set 2030 as a new starting point for his country's prosperity and has set his sights on hosting the expo as a critical step towards realizing that goal. Some Muslim member states of the BIE have already publicly endorsed Riyadh over Busan.

However, the mayor, now in his second term, believes his city can and will outrun Riyadh before all 170 BIE member states vote for the host city in November next year.

“Diplomatic representatives from our country's government as well as large business conglomerates have begun turning the cogs for the bid,” Park said. “Some countries seem to have already endorsed Riyadh, but they didn't actually ink their support on paper. Rather, they did it due to diplomatic reasons. More than 100 member states haven't made up their minds yet.”

The upcoming expo will be a national initiative rather than just for the city of Busan, according to the mayor. The event, if secured, is expected to create an economic value five times bigger than the previous expos held in Daejeon (1993) and Yeosu (2012) due to its scale and scope.

“Since participating countries will reach into their own pockets for 2030, it will be sure to be a surplus. We just provide them with the ground and they will erect buildings worth 50 billion to 100 billion won with their own money,” said Park. “With the World Expo 2030, Korea will be one of the world's top seven economies.”

Korea's central government is playing a leading role, co-headed by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Chey Tae-won, while Busan scrambles to lay down the groundwork.

One of the city's urgent tasks that is required before 2030 is to open a new airport on Gadeok Island, to the south of the city. Park said that it will not only usher visitors to the expo, but also boost the city's economic competitiveness in its bid to grow and rival Seoul.

“We need to build [the airport] no matter what as soon as possible,” the mayor said. “Experts have already assessed its feasibility and it can be built before 2030. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation is now preparing to fast-track it so as to put the construction bid in the pipeline.”