▲ The groundbreaking ceremony for Expo 2012 held on November 30 in Shinhang Area in Yeosu


- Celebrated groundbreaking ceremony for Expo 2012 on November 30, 2009 … 30 countries committed to participate in Expo 2012


The site construction for Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea is gaining momentum.

The Organizing Committee for Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony for the Expo at 3 p.m., November 30 in Shinhang Area, where the 2012 Expo will be held. The ceremony was attended by 1000 participants including Prime Minister Jung Woon-chan, Jeollanamdo Province Governor Park Jun-young and Yeosu City Mayor Oh Hyun-sup.

In keeping with the green theme of Expo 2012, ‘The Living Ocean and Coast’, conventional explosives were not used during the event and instead, a water fountain was operated to symbolize a new hope and start. Also, an advertizing balloon was flying to wish every success to Expo 2012. After the ceremony, Yeosu citizens had a special event of treading on the ground of the expo site as a wish for a successful and safe Expo 2012.
Prime Minister Jung Woon-chan announced the Korean government’s strong support for the Expo 2012 and South Coast Sunbelt Project.

Yeosu was selected as the host city for the Expo 2012 in the 142nd General Assembly of BIE, held in Paris on November 27, 2007. After the selection, the Organizing Committee designed the master plan and organized an international design competition for International Pavilion and Thematic Pavilion.

For the Expo, 13 pavilions including International Pavilion, Thematic Pavilion, Big-O and Corporate Pavilion will be built in a total area of 174,000㎡ in the Shinhang Area. Expo Town accommodating 2,010 units will be constructed for BIE delegates and operational staff. The Organizing Committee announced the winners of international competitions for International Pavilion and Thematic Pavilion which commenced from April of this year. A design competition for Korean Pavilion which will be a model building for zero carbon emission will kick off the end of this year.

The site construction is expected to run smoothly as 70% of the compensation for the Expo Town has been completed. In order to help the relocation of the working families living in the area of the future Expo Town, a housing support program and income generation project will be implemented at the same time.

Meantime, Expo 2012 will have the largest aquarium in Korea with 6,030 tons capacity. It will be built with investment of 46.8 billion won from the public sector and 31.2 billion won from the private sector.

The aquarium will be developed for education and research to be the first one of its kind in Korea by introducing ‘White whales’ which are considered rare species.

As for transportation, 9.5 trillion won will be invested to provide easier access to the Expo site from Seoul area and around the Korean peninsula. For example, the construction of the double tracks of Iksan- Yeosu railroad line and new highways between Jeonju-Gwangyang and Gwangyang-Mokpo will reduce the travel time to Yeosu from Seoul to less than three hours, to 2 hours from Pusan and 1.5 hours from Mokpo.

For this goal, the government included in the 2010 budget bill 1.5686 trillion won for investment of the construction of double tracks and the new highway between Jeonju and Gwangyang.

The Organizing Committee has worked hard to invite participation from countries around the world. As a result of that effort, as of November 30, 30 countries including Saudi Arabia, Japan, China, Germany, Spain, Thailand and three international organizations including OECD, IPCC and PEASEA officially announced their participation in the Expo.

Mr. Kang Dong-seok, the Chairman of the Organizing Committee announced that “We will begin the site construction in earnest after the groundbreaking ceremony and plan to finish the construction for pavilions by 2011 commencing the first half of 2010.”

Expo 2012 will be held from May 12 to August 12, 2012 for a total of 93 days with the expected participation from 100 countries and 8 million visitors