So, as part of my work as a global blogger for Korea.net (part of KOCIS*), I was invited to attend the 2012 Expo in Yeosu. Having only arrived in Seoul a week ago and still finding my feet, I was a little nervous but really excited to not only go to the Expo but also to meet some of the other global bloggers.
I will admit to not knowing about Yeosu before being offered the chance to go so I hit the books and did my research before I went! Here's a little information about Yeosu itself.
Yeosu is located on the Southern coast of South Korea, as shown below, and is made up of 365 islands of which 49 are inhabited, the remaining 316 are uninhabited, preserved in their natural state. It remains a fairly small city with a population of nearly 300,000. The expo has had a dramatic effect on the area, including the creation of nearly 80,000 jobs and adding up to 5,7 trillion won in estimated value.
The expo opened on the 12th of May this year and will remain open until the 12th of August. Home to 104 participating nations and 10 international organisations, the expo expects to receive more than 10,000,000 visitors in it's 93-day run.
The expo develops the subject of "The Living Ocean and Coast", focusing on the pursuit of the preservation of the sea and marine resources through the coexistence of the ocean and humankind.
So, with all this information in mind, I felt ready to pack my bags for the expo!
The other bloggers and I met at Seoul Station on Friday morning at 8.20am. It was great to finally put some names to faces although since I was previously unacquainted with the craziness that is the Korean underground in rush hour, despite leaving plenty of time, I still found myself jogging to get to the meeting point on time!
Upon arrival, I was introduced to the other bloggers (addresses below!) Suzy, Dorothea and Dita and also to our guide, Min-Kyoung. After the introductions, we proceeded to the platform to take the KTX to Yeosu. Now, I've never actually taken the KTX before so it was a novelty for me!
After departing at 8:55am, we arrived at Yeosu 3 hours later at 12am. We went straight to the Media Centre where we were issued with our high-vis "PRESS" jackets (which we refused to wear!) and press passes (which we did wear~).
There was time for one quick shot with the official Yeosu logo before we were off to discover what the expo had to offer....
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| (L-R) Suzy, Thea, Dita and I (Anna) |
For the curious, a little information about the emblem of the expo. The emblem symbolizes the harmony of the earth, the ocean and the ecology. The red represents the organisms living in the sea and on land, the blue represents the clear and clean ocean, the green represents the environment all living things inhabit and the white wave in the middle symbolizes the water flowing, joining everything together. A key point of the expo was interdependence, we all depend on each other and caring for our environment must be a group effort.
KOCIS: The Korean Culture and Information Service
Asif Quadri : www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/londone7/1/tpod.html
Dita Utomo: www.ditautomo.blogspot.com
Dorothea Suh : http://novemberbeetle.tumblr.com/tagged/Korea
Suzy Chung: http://seoulfullife.blogspot.kr/
Suzy Chung: http://seoulfullife.blogspot.kr/
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