Koreans unite in support of Busan's World Expo 2030 bid

Kim Young-man, in his 80s, remembers when he visited Yeosu Expo in 2012 with his son, and hopes to be in good health for another trip to Busan to see the World Expo 2030. It could be one last international event to attend in his lifetime, he said.

“I do believe Busan will win the bid for the World Expo,” he said as he was visiting a festival at Gwanghwamun Plaza in central Seoul.

"Southern port cities of Korea, including both Yeosu and Busan, are nice tourist attractions with sunny weather, so people will like the city in no time.”

Jeong, in his 30s with two children, said he understood Busan is in a heated race, but added South Korea's second city will mesmerize voters with its unique charm.

"Other candidates are certainly very competitive, but Busan has its own charms, so we do have a chance. If we do succeed in this bid, it will boost our country again," he said while taking photos of his children next to roses made of light-emitting diodes.

Kim and Jeong were visiting Gwanghwamun Plaza, where adding to the illustrious statues, interactive experience booths were set up to exhibit the country's support for Busan to host the Expo in 2030.

Organized by the Bid Committee for World Expo 2030 Busan, the five-day festival was also to celebrate the visit of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), which oversees the World Expo. The BIE is on a six-day trip to South Korea to assess how well equipped Busan is to hold the international event. The group heads to Busan on Tuesday.

Gwanghwamun Plaza was decorated with large lanterns in the shape of the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty and Crystal Palace – historical landmarks representing World Expos past – alongside hundreds of blue LED roses. Lanterns of Busan's mascot, a seagull character named Boogi, were placed here and there as well, providing attractive photo spots.

Just down the road were booths organized by Korean industry giants from Samsung to Hyundai packed with attendees wanting to try their hand at various promotional events related to Korea's bid to host the World Expo.

Buildings in central Seoul were also transformed into giant canvases to display South Korea’s aspiration for the World Expo in Busan. Media facade videos and large banners were displayed at the outer wall of the Sejong Center, Government Complex Seoul and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote Busan’s value as a suitable World Expo venue.

“So many activities are being held to promote the World Expo. With these creative efforts to raise people’s awareness about the Busan Expo, and the active utilization of social media, I think Korea will definitely rise as one of the strongest candidates to host the Expo,” said Kim Yoon-ha, a housewife in her 30s, as she walked out of the booth after sticking a note that read “Busan Expo Fighting!” on the wall of SPC’s booth.

“I think these promotional events will definitely raise people’s awareness about the nation’s efforts to host the Expo. I think a lot of the participants didn’t even know about the event before,” she added.

Lee Myung-hwan, a white-collar worker in his 40s, said that he is sincerely cheering Busan to be selected as the host city of the World Expo, with its many factors that would benefit Busan -- the city where his family came from.

"With the expo being able to stimulate Busan's local economy and even work as a solution for the population decline that is negatively affecting Busan, I cheer for Busan's and the country's efforts to have Busan host for the 2030 World Expo," he said.

Hwang Yi-young, a student in her 20s, said she had been to Yeosu expo with her parents when she was in middle school, and hopes that Busan will be able to go through the same transformation that Yeosu did with the hosting of the 2030 World Expo.

Hwang added that the odds for Korea look very optimistic, with such state-of-art displays and eye-catching exhibitions.

"The booths organized by different companies and the LED garden look really interesting. It's enough to grab passersby's attention who are just merely passing by Gwanghwamun and make them question about what the World Expo is," said Hwang.

“With such attractive events, I suspect that soon, all of the nation will be aware of what the country is trying to do, and put in their efforts to make South Korea the winner of the expo bid,” she said.