South Korea’s Busan – a strong contender to host World EXPO 2030
Having hosted a series of events of global repute, Busan has historically played a crucial role in Korea’s path from being a recipient of economic assistance into a donor country within half a century.
NEW DELHI: Busan – the second largest city of the Republic of Korea has shot into the global limelight as the country has pitched this port city overlooking the expense of the Pacific Ocean as the next venue for the World EXPO in 2030. Busan – a living testament to Korea’s “Great Transformation” of the past, present, and future, possesses all the necessary ingredients to emerge as the winner for hosting this mega show that comes every five years. As is widely known, South Korea has bid for hosting the World EXPO in 2030 in Busan under the theme “Transforming Our World, Navigating Toward a Better Future”.
A hi-powered delegation led by South Korea’s Prime Minister Duck-soo Han and the Mayor of the Metropolitan City of Busan, strongly presented the project to organise World EXPO 2030 in Busan at the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris recently claiming that Busan is an excellent choice for hosting the World EXPO 2030.
President Suk-yeol Yoon, also made an appeal to BIE Delegates via a video message.
The other contending cities having staked their claim on hosting this mega event include Rome (Italy) and Riyad (Saudi Arabia) under their themes “People and Territories: Urban Regeneration, Inclusion and Innovation”, and “The Era of Change: Leading the Planet to a Foresighted Tomorrow”, respectively.
South Korea’s neighboring country Japan, which is hosting the World EXPO 2025 in Osaka-Kansai, has twice organized it previously in 1970 and 2005.
Why Busan seems a promising contender?
During the World Expo 2020 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, the Korean Pavilion, decorated with 1,597 spinning cubes, symbolically demonstrated Korea’s dynamism in leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution and sharing the future vision with mankind as a whole under the theme of the ‘Smart Korea, Moving the World to You.’
South Korea’s theme for the Word EXPO in 2030 in Busan “Transforming Our World, Navigating Toward a Better Future” is evidently the smart and wise extension of ‘Smart Korea, Moving the World to You.”
This global megacity of Busan is eager to host World EXPO 2030 on the basis of 3Ws: Well-developed; Well-placed; and Well-experienced.
Having hosted a series of events of global repute, Busan has historically played a crucial role in Korea’s path from being a recipient of economic assistance into a donor country within half a century. Strategically located, Busan is a transportation & logistics hub, and a connecting passageway from the Eurasian continent to the Asia-Pacific offering an easy access to world-class infrastructure such as airports, high-speed railways and top-edged ports.
Busan a Well-developed city:
Busan is playing a leading role in the transformation process amidst the Fourth Industrial Revolution. On July 23, 2019, Busan was designated as a regulation-free zone for Blockchain technologies to test innovative technologies and foster related businesses.
A center for Korea’s future industries, Busan Eco Delta Smart City, is becoming a logistics hub of Northeast Asia. This thriving city now serves as a center for marine science and R&D, and a home to relevant institutions, such as the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) and the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST).
Busan a Well-placed city:
Busan is a much loved city with 40 million tourists visiting from many countries around the globe annually. Whilst a thriving metropolis, it also offers a captivating natural environment emanating from the harmony among the sea – including the seven beaches in Busan -, rivers and mountains. This fun and lively city is at the forefront of promoting K-Culture through the holding of various cultural events, including the annual Busan International Film Festival, Busan One Asia Festival, and G-STAR.
Busan a Well-experienced city:
The municipality has an extensive experience of holding large-scale international events such as the Asian Games in 2002 and the APEC Summit in 2005.
The meaningful events it has hosted include the 2011 Busan World Development Institute General Assembly; 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference; 2014 & 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit; the 2015 IDB Annual Meeting; and the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) World Congress in 2022.
Busan, the 5th and 13th largest MICE city in Asia and the world respectively with outstanding talent pool and exhibition infrastructure (such as BEXCO), has outstanding expertise in hosting international exhibitions.
This global megacity has full capacity and heartfelt aspiration to host the World EXPO 2030 and is indeed a powerful potential for the realization of the ideals of the Bureau International des Expositions
About the theme “Transforming Our World, Navigating Toward a Better Future”:
While the development of technology and the economy has been pursued as the way to better and happier lives, humankind is also facing unprecedented global challenges of the climate crisis, the pandemic, and digital divide. Dramatic and fundamental change, therefore, is called for to address them.
To achieve this goal, Busan aims to host the World EXPO 2030 with the main theme of “Transforming Our World, Navigating Toward a Better Future”.
Under the main theme, sub-themes have been selected to address the three following global challenges: climate change, downsides of the digital transformation, and inequality among and within nations.
Each sub-theme correlates with the three pillars of the UN SDGs – people, planet, and prosperity.
[…] Han said, “With BTS alongside us, from the bidding to the hosting of the event, we can make Busan Expo into a festival on ’Fire‘ for people all over the world. I expect something like […]