[EXPO BID D-100] Busan World Expo bid focuses on storied past, greener future

With the final voting set for November, the city of Busan is making a last-minute effort to land the World Expo 2030 with a range of initiatives that it hopes will distinguish itself from rival contenders Riyadh and Rome.

Busan flies 1,500 drones, which is a record number of drones deployed for a drone light show in Korea, displaying Busan's logo for the World Expo 2030 above Gwangalli beach to welcome the enquiry mission delegation from the Bureau International des Expositions and rally support on April 1. [SONG BONG-GEUN]

With about 100 days to go before the final vote in November, the city of Busan is making a last-minute effort to land the World Expo 2030 bid with a range of initiatives that it hopes will distinguish itself from rival contenders Saudi Arabia's Riyadh and Italy's Rome.

Busan has shaped its bidding campaign around tackling high-stakes challenges such as the climate crisis, global health problems, and the harmonious growth of developed and developing countries.

At the center of the push are environmental messages. Busan, vulnerable to rising sea levels and typhoons, is trying to showcase possible solutions to the climate crisis with the world's first floating city made of interconnected, modular platforms powered by renewable energy.

The city is also drawing on its proven track record of hosting large-scale sports events and diplomatic meetings.

At the beginning of the race, Busan was widely considered a weak contender, but the tide has since turned following the visit of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) delegation, the intergovernmental organization in charge of World Expos, to Korea, according to comments by multiple delegation members in the industry.

“It is seen that Busan was most favorably evaluated [out of all candidates] during the BIE’s on-site inspection of each city and received positive reviews on the report,” said Lee June-yi, a professor at the research center for climate sciences in Pusan National University, who gave a speech at the third presentation at the BIE general assembly in Paris in November.

“In terms of how responsive BIE member nations were at the presentation, Busan definitely got the inside track,” Lee added. “Riyadh has received support from its promise of a $7.8 billion investment, but Busan has the possibility to turn the tables with its authenticity in solving the climate crisis."

The winning city will be finalized at the end of November by a secret ballot of 179 BIE member countries. If a country fails to win two-thirds of the votes, the first and second places battle again in a second round of votes.

Busan's journey to host the World Expo 2030

━ Expo as a channel for solving urgent challenges

Busan plans to turn the World Expo into a discussion platform to find a solution for challenges facing humanity, an initiative that a democratic country is best suited to spearhead.

“Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy, so everything is based on royal authority, so people lack awareness,” said Kim Yi-tae, a tourism professor at the Pusan National University and member of the special committee for the 2030 Busan World Expo bid support. “Rome was the latecomer to the race so is absent from such passion [from citizens].

“Busan started its preparations in early 2014, so in terms of the citizens' awareness, it is advantageous compared to Riyadh and Rome.”

Rendering of the floating city in the North Port, a proposed venue for the World Expo 2030 [BUSAN METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

With the hope of serving as a bridge among countries, Korea unveiled the online resource WAVE, where people around the world can share their thoughts on addressing global challenges.

Introduced by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), it helps countries better communicate and solve international problems together.

People can write about a topic of their choice across 10 keywords including environment, energy, education, climate crises and poverty. Everyone is welcome to leave comments presenting solutions or offer words of encouragement.

“Korea used to be a poor country so we are well aware of the problems and can speak for others,” said KCCI Chairman Chey Tae-won, who also serves as the co-chair of the World Expo 2030 Busan Bid Committee.

To tackle the climate crisis, Busan is presenting Oceanix Busan, a floating city, as a possible solution.

The city will be set up in the North Port, the proposed venue for the World Expo 2030, which can accommodate up to 100,000 residents. Busan was selected by United Nations Human Settlements Programme in 2021 for the mega-scale project beating out New York City, the United Arab Emirates' Abu Dhabi and Singapore.

President Yoon Suk Yeol promotes Busan's 2030 World Expo bid at the 172nd general assembly of the BIE in Paris, in June. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

━ Favored host city

In Korea, Busan is a favored location to host global mega-events from film festivals to sports leagues, which can also be used as an asset to host the expo.

After the 14th Asian Games in Busan in 2002, the city also hosted the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2006.

The country's southern port city also hosted ITU Telecom World, the Korea-Asean Summit in 2014 and 2019 and the Inter-American Development Bank annual meeting in 2015.

Busan is also home to the annual Busan International Film Festival, Asia's largest film festival.

As Korea's second largest city after Seoul in terms of population, Busan is rich in resources and infrastructure that makes it qualified for hosting global events.

Since it jumped into the race to host the World Expo, it has been selected as the host city to organize the world’s first Asia Contents Award and World Disability Conference this year.

“Armed by sea, river and mountain, Busan is advantageous and well-known for cultural and touristic sentiment,” said Professor Kim.

This compares to Riyadh where “visitors only have to enjoy in the convention center built in the middle of the desert.”

The BIE delegation watches samulnori, or traditional Korean percussion performances, at the Busan Station in April. [YONHAP]

━ Vibrant citizens backing Expo

Busan has “enthusiastic passion,” something beyond what others have, in the BIE delegation’s words.

Roughly 5,500 Busan citizens of varying ages, gathered at Busan Station on April 4 just to welcome the BIE to the city for an on-site inspection.

Their single, common goal was to show their enthusiasm toward the expo and the passion that “Busan is ready.”

Patrick Specht, president of the BIE's Administration and Budget Committee, at the time, said that such enthusiasm shows “what Korea and Busan can do.”

In 2016, when Busan started its efforts to win the bid, it received signatories from over 1.35 million citizens.

"I heard the BIE delegation was very impressed by Busan citizens' cheering, passion and enthusiasm, which mostly distinguishes Busan from other candidates," Yim Choong-hyeon, head of the planning management team at World Expo 2030 Busan Bid Committee.

"They must have felt Busan people's genuine willingness to host the expo."

A BIE enquiry mission exchanges a high-five with a Busan citizen during a tour of a United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea, the world’s only United Nations cemetery to honor UN military causalities in the Korean War, in April. [YONHAP]

━ From an aid recipient to a donor

In the latest presentation session in Paris, there were some common themes like sustainability and innovation, but something unique to Korea was its determination to repay the support and help it received from other countries after the devastating 1950-53 Korean War.

"The war 70 years ago once turned Korea to ruin. But thanks to the help of the international community, Korea transformed itself into an economic powerhouse full of high-tech industries and innovative technologies," President Yoon Suk Yeol said during a speech at the fourth presentation held in Paris in June.

"Korea wishes to give back to the international community what it has received thus far."

Busan was the key base where Korea received large quantities of war supplies and foreign aid during the Korean War.

The city, now with the world’s second busiest transshipment port, is fulfilling 1,258 official development assistance (ODA) projects with BIE member states.

Busan was home to 880,000 people during the Korean War, double its pre-war population of 470,000 due to the large influx of refugees.

With many foreigners still residing in the city, it has neighborhoods for them such as Chinatown and Russiatown. Texas Street is also situated near Busan Station.

Delegates of the BIE visit the Busan Port International Exhibition and Convention Center on April 5 to hear about the North Port where the 2030 World Expo will be held if Busan wins the bid. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

A total of 72,361 foreigners reside in Busan as of the end of 2021, according to Statistics Korea, which accounts for 2.2 percent of the city’s entire population.

Busan is a popular tourist destination for foreign travelers. Foreign tourist spending in Busan surged 1,092 percent between January to May this year compared to the same period a year earlier.

"Busan is a gateway to the Eurasian continent," President Yoon said. "Cultural diversity will be respected. It will be an expo where every nation can freely express its unique culture, tradition and skills."

This contrast with Riyadh, where its “biggest weakness relies on its closed Islamic religious society and abuses of women’s rights,” according to Professor Lee.

Clothing like an abaya, a black outer garment that comes down to the feet, hijabs and niqabs are still common on the streets of Saudi Arabia as the Islamic Quran requires women to cover everything but their hands and face in public.

The hijabs and niqabs are optional for foreigners, though they are still required in religious places.

It is also meaningful that Busan hosted the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in 2011, which helped transform aid relationships between donors and partners.

Busan’s plan to transform part of the North Port into an ODA memorial hall is reported to have received a positive reaction. Specific plans on how to use the empty exhibition center and facilities after the expo ends are one of the 63 criteria BIE looks closely at when scoring.

Saudi Arabia said it will use the site to construct parks and residences while Italy will use it as a site for a new university, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

"It should be emphasized that Busan is a city that has the capabilities to grow from an aid recipient to a donor, as well as a city that fully understands its responsibility," Lee added.

Spot, a four-legged robot, leads the way for the BIE delegation, during the lunch event with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won in central Seoul, in April. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

━ Economic and technological prowess

The city’s fast economic and technological growth also highlights its capabilities to host the expo.

With a 3.4 million population, Busan’s overall gross regional domestic product stood at 98.7 trillion won ($73.7 billion), the sixth largest of Korea’s 17 cities and provinces as of 2021, even beating that of Incheon, Ulsan and Daegu.

Compared to 2012, it jumped by 38 percent, according to data from the Busan Economic Promotion Agency and Statistics Korea.

Per-capita income surged 40 percent during the same period. People in Busan on average made 21.4 million won per person in 2021, compared to 15.1 million won in 2012.

Busan has also become the hottest destination for companies’ major investments, attracting a total of 3.04 trillion won of investment from 71 companies last year. The range of businesses, which was largely restricted to manufacturing, expanded to IT, semiconductors and biopharmaceuticals.

Busan ranked 18th in London-based Z/Yen Group’s latest ranking of cities with a focus on digitalization. The twice-yearly index rates 76 cities all over the world to rank them based on their abilities to create, develop and deploy technologies.

"Korea is a qualified candidate," President Yoon said.

"The 2030 Busan Expo will be remembered as one shifting our priority from competition to solidarity."

BY SARAH CHEA, CHAE IN-TAEK [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]