I’m really stoked! There’s going to be a special preview day of the 2012 Expo on May 5th, which is Children’s Day here in South Korea. The Expo is selling advance tickets for only 3,000 Korean won, which is a bit less than $3.00 and quite a bit under the regular daily ticket price of 35,000 won that will be charged when the Expo officially opens on May 12th. Proceeds from the special preview will go to UNESCO’s Children’s Fund.
Expo officials put 110,000 preview tickets on sale, and, as of Tuesday morning, when I bought my ticket, there were 24,800 remaining. So, the number of people at the Expo site that day will probably total around the daily average for the three months running time of the event.
Many of the other English teachers at the university also bought tickets, and I think were all excited about spending some time at the site. I’ll be sure to take plenty of photos and, of course, post here about the day.
However, not all the news about the Expo is good. Here’s an article from the Korean Times entitled Expectations for Yeosu Expo in which concerns are raised about attendance at the Expo.
According to press reports, domestic ticket sales remain at about 425,000, only 14 percent of the organizer’s goal of 3 million. Overseas sales targeted 500,000 but only 37,000 tickets have been sold so far. The organizing committee says this week a contract to sell 100,000 tickets to China will be finalized.
Hopefully, as the event draws nearer, interest and excitement will pick up.
Here are a few more links to recent news about the Expo.
First are some links to news of various countries’ pavilions and exhibits.
Singapore — Singapore unveils concept for Yeosu Expo
United States — USA Pavilion to Showcase Diversity, Wonder and Solutions . . .
Norway — Norway to offer wind energy tech during Expo
Romania — Romania will participate at the international Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea
Germany — Germany to show futuristic marine tech at Yeosu Expo
Switzerland — S Korea gets a bite off the old Swiss glacier
Algeria — Algerie Poste issues stamp on Yeosu International Expo 2012
Australia — Australia to participate in 2012 Yeosu Expo
Philippines — PH joining exposition in Korea
Turkey — The Turkey Wind will Blow in South Korea in 2012
And, here are a boat load of other links, some interesting, some perhaps not, to various news items about the Expo. I’ve collected these from here and there over the past few months; they’re in order from oldest to newest.
Korea is the Special Events Capital of Asia in 2012
Around the World with Yeosu Expo Passport
Yeosu Expo, a must-visit destination
South Korea’s little Yeosu prepares for Expo 2012
Chinese snatching up tickets for Yeosu Expo
High-concentration ozone possible during Yeosu expo
6.5m tall Robot “Navi” Unveiled at Yeosu Expo
More train services for Yeosu Expo
Yeosu Expo Launches Landmark Stage and Screen
Yeosu Expo to feature diverse exhibits, performances
Expo 2012 aims to boost tourism in Yeosu
Countdown to Yeosu Expo begins
Yeosu to makes waves with expo
Major Facilities at the EXPO 2012 Yeosu Korea
The Expo site is looking awesome. Like I said, I’m really excited about being able to actually walk around the area on May 5th. From the look of things from outside the construction lines, it’s gonna be great. Hopefully, enough people will attend to make the effort pay for itself. In any case, I think it will prove to be worthwhile.