International Exposition Yeosu Korea 2012, which is attracting public attention, started at the New Port area in Yeosu, Korea on May 12th with a spectacular opening ceremony. The expo will be held for three months, from May 12th to August 12th. The main theme of the expo is The Living Ocean and Coast, and it is subtitled Diversity of Resources and Sustainable Activities. It was divided into three sub-themes: Coastal Development and Preservation, New Resources Technology, and Creative Maritime Activities. These sub-themes have been further developed into 6 thematic groups, namely, Climate & Environment, Marine Life, Marine Industry & Technology, Marine City & Marine Civilization, and Marine Arts, each of which will have demonstrations in the respective sub-theme pavilions.

The Day of Nations, on which we can experience various other countries’ culture every day, is hosted at the Expo. Beginning with the Day of Brunai, which was held on Sunday May 13th, a flag hosting ceremony, ritual, traditional performance and cultural performance of 104 participating nations will take place during the expo period. It is very fascinating that we can see their unique, exotic performances which have their own local color all over the exhibition venue. In the expo, about 8000 diverse performances, including the peculiar performances of each nation, will be held.

Let’s look at the event schedule. First, Expo site opening hours are 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. The ticket office operates from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Exhibition halls are open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., except for the two open air exhibition sites, Energy Park and Fisheries Experience Zone (Deep Sea and Coastal & Maritime Forest zones). If you want to see the exhibition, you should enter the site by at least one hour before closing time. Of the exhibition sites, there are some sites (Korea Pavilion, Aquarium, Marine City Pavilion, and so on) where people should have advance reservations before going, though they are permitted to enter without a reservation if it is possible. When people want to see performances and exhibitions, they can use all the facilities and watch them for free with no additional fee if they have a ticket for the Expo.

As the Expo is held on a large scale, there are many groups sponsoring the event. And some of the groups try to promote themselves by running their corporate pavilions during the event period. Also, they provide many interesting things to see, such as people demonstrating high technology. Corporate pavilions explain their specialized industries to visitors.

The Yeosu Expo will provide an opportunity to enhance the international community’s perception of the function and value of the ocean and coast, share knowledge on the proper use of the ocean and coast, and recognize the need for cooperation in the marine sector. It will also serve as a venue to learn about the achievements of and future models for the marine sector and offer a valuable chance to promote state-of-the-art marine science and technology and marine industries. And the Exposition will be a chance to induce and urge cooperation and joint efforts from the international community. In particular, the Yeosu Project will offer a golden opportunity for resolving imminent ocean-related problems facing developing countries.

Park Ji-min  applemaro@changwon.ac.kr

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