Category: Yeosu (Page 8 of 21)

March 2012 Yeosu Expo Photos

March 24, 2012 / montanaron

Lately I’ve been busier than expected with work, that unwelcome intrusion into my life; thus it’s been a while since I’ve posted, so, sorry about that. I and a couple of other teachers have been given a new course to teach, the Yeosu Tour Guide course, in which some of the citizens of Yeosu who are volunteering at the Expo want to improve their English speaking skills. Most of them are not bad English speakers, but we’ve been given the task of increasing their fluency. I’ve also spent many more hours than I had expected proofreading the paper that I mentioned in a previous post. We’ve also had a few teacher/admin meetings to endure, and, of course, daily living intrudes. Hopefully, I’ll be posting more often, especially now that the opening of the Expo nears.

I took a walk around the Expo site last Saturday and there have been some small, but interesting additions to the area. Work seems to be proceeding well at the site, and it appears that on May 12th, the opening day, everything will be good to go. Here, then, are a few photos of the progress.

Here are a few shots from the back entrance to the Expo from a bit higher vantage. The first is of the Big O, the centerpiece of the Expo, followed by a view of the hotel, which now sports its name on the upper floors, the MVL Hotel. I’ll write another post about the hotel soon.

The Big O

MVL Hotel

Here’s a shot of the Theme Pavilion taken from near the railway station.

Theme Pavilion

I love how many of the buildings and their surroundings reflect the oceanic theme of the Expo. You can see how the Theme Pavilion mimics ocean waves, and other areas bring to mind the sailing ships of yore that made Yeosu a port of call.

Railway Station Entrance to the International Pavilion

Expo Shelter Areas

One of the last venues to be constructed has been the Corporate Pavilion (I think–the map I have doesn’t quite match up with the area). Here is some front and back construction on the the building, which is located near the railway station, behind the Sky Tower.

Rear of Expo Corporate Pavilion

Work on the front side of the Corporate Pavilion

I finally managed to be in the right place at the right time to capture an image of the KTX “bullet” train at the Expo railway station. Here it is, waiting to zoom its way to Seoul and destinations in between.

KTX Bullet Train

As I walked down the road near the railway station, I couldn’t help notice my Favorite Expo Lady, gazing out to sea with her spyglass.

Lady with spyglass in front of apartments

Spyglass Lady

A shot from near, I believe, the Korea pavilion.

Korea Pavilion Sculpture

And another shot of the Big O.

The Big O and the Theme Pavilion at Expo 2012

Here’s a close up panorama shot of the area around the Big O showing the floating stage and the seating areas. Click on the thumbnail for a larger view. Discerning viewers may be able to make out the seam where I “stitched” a couple of photos together to make this shot. I used the Canon Photo Stitch software to do this and I was quite surprised that the result turned out so well, especially since I didn’t take the two photos with the intention of making a panorama shot. I took the shots from the side of the Jasan Park hill and zeroed in on the area at 200mm with my 55-250 Canon zoom lens.

Big O Panorama

Finally, taken from the same Jasan Park area, an overview of the Expo site, a view that I always try to get when I’m in the area. If you want, you can go back through some of my older posts and check out the differences since construction began.

Expo 2012 March 17 Overview

In my next post, hopefully coming tomorrow, I’ll comment on and try to offer some solutions to The Big Problem associated with the Expo (in my opinion) –accomodations in Yeosu. Stay tuned for that.

Expo 2012 U.S.A. Pavilion

March 17, 2012 / montanaron

Photo From the USA Pavilion Organization

I’ve finally found some information about the United States pavilion at the 2012 Expo. There’s an article on the Korea IT Times that gives some details. Some snippets from the article are:

“The USA Pavilion will use the power of storytelling to bring to life the core values of innovation, partnership and hope that define the American spirit for millions of visitors,” said Andrew Snowhite, chief executive officer of USA Pavilion 2012.

A main attraction of stunning images, music and film will be projected in dazzling clarity across a 70-foot wide screen. Created around the simple yet impactful concept of “This is My Ocean,” individual voices and stories will unfold during the presentation to convey the diverse beauty of the American coastline and the many personal and profound types of connections Americans enjoy with the vast ocean. . .

A large screen composed entirely of water will amaze guests when they enter the USA Pavilion. This fluid and shifting surface is the perfect canvas to begin a unique journey that will take guests from the shorelines of America to the frontiers of deep ocean research . . .

There’s a lot more information on the the USA Pavilion Expo 2012 website, so check it out if you get a chance. I’ll be doing a photo walk tomorrow around the Expo site here in Korea, and I hope to have the latest construction photos up shortly thereafter.

Fire erupts at Yeosu Expo venue; no casualties reported

March 15, 2012 / montanaron

That is the headline from a Yonhap News Agency article.

An exhibition center at the site of the upcoming Yeosu Expo caught fire Wednesday, but no casualties were reported, police said.

The fire destroyed 500 square meters of a vegetation mat covering the roof of the three-story building under construction for completion at the end of this month, the police said.

The article also stated that it was probably caused by welding work, and Expo officials said there should be no disruptions in the Expo preparations.

If you read the article, you’ll see this image.

As you can see from the photo below, which I posted on Dec. 4, 2011, the area that caught fire is part of the International Pavilion, though I didn’t identify it as such. Following the photo is a map of the site, and you can make out the “troughs” in the pavilion roof. (#10 on the map)

International Pavilion Roof

Expo 2012 Map

Let’s hope there are no other mishaps.

Hang in There

March 13, 2012 / montanaron

I’m still quite busy with work. Although the new semester’s class workload seems to have settled down, I was offered a project, which I’ve been working on the last several days. I’ve been proofreading a rather long paper written in English by a couple of Chinese students here at the university, a paper about three early-20th century Chinese and Korean writers. I finally finished that today, though I may have to make a few other revisions to it.

The next few days I’ll be working on meeting the new requirements for English teachers to keep their visas (or in applying for new visas). Before, U.S. citizens used to be able to get a notarized criminal background check (cbc) from our home states. The law was changed a while back, so that now we have to get an FBI national cbc. Even though I’ve not been back to the ‘States since I arrived in Yeosu, I still have to get the FBI check. This involves getting a set of fingerprints, which I can do here, and sending those in with an application form to the FBI. They then send it back, at which time someone (the teacher, friends, or relatives) have to hand carry it to a State Department or Justice Department entity to get it notarized. Quite a process and one which I can’t easily do. Luckily, there are a few businesses that will do all the legwork in the U.S.; I’ll be using one of those.

The whole process takes anywhere from 3 to 4 months, and, since I’ll need the paperwork by the middle of August, I’d better complete my end of the procedure this week. I also need to have my diplomas from the University of Montana notarized. Luckily, the U of M offers this service, so I have to contact them for that stage of the process.

I also have to prepare my IRS tax form and send that in soon. Whew! I’m still fairly busy. Although rain is in the forecast for this coming weekend, I’m going to try to get down to the Expo site and shoot some photos of the ongoing progress.

The upshot is “Hang in there” while waiting for more posts on the blog. I’ll get ’em going sooner or later.

Expo 2012–How Many Visitors?

February 26, 2012 / montanaron

Here’s an article entitled “Yeosu Expo struggles with signage in other languages” from the Korea JoonAng Daily newspaper. The main premise of the article is that there are not enough directional signs in Chinese and Japanese to help visitors from those countries to find their way around Yeosu during the Expo. OK, valid supposition–I’ve seen no signs in those languages in Yeosu, but I haven’t really been looking for them either, so there may be some. However, the main point of this article to me is that it states:

About 250,000 Chinese and 150,000 Japanese are expected to attend the Yeosu expo. Organizers estimate they will make up approximately 73 percent of all foreign participants in the event.

Excuse me? This seems to be so typical of the misinformation going around about the Expo. Let’s see, 250,000 Chinese visitors and 150,000 Japanese? According to most of the other information I’ve read, there will be an estimated 8 million visitors to the Expo during its three-month run. That works out to about 85,000 visitors a day, something I find incredibly difficult to believe. I sincerely cannot imagine that there will be that many people coming into Yeosu every day, on average. Where the heck will every one stay? The weekends will be horrible. I just don’t believe the “official” estimates. I’ll find out this summer, and if I’m wrong, I’ll let you know. However, if there are going to be that many visitors, why is it that, according to the article, there will be such a small amount of Japanese and Chinese attendees, countries that are just a hop, skip, and a jump from Yeosu? Hmmmm. Another piece of info about which I am skeptical. Out of a supposed 8 million visitors, there will only be 400,000 from China and Japan? I’d say the reporting about the attendance in that article is completely wrong.

Beautiful Evening Sky

February 26, 2012 / montanaron

If you have clear skies this evening (Feb. 26th), look towards the west after the sun sets, when the sky is just starting to darken. You’ll see a beautiful formation of Jupiter, Venus and the crescent Moon. Here’s what it looked like from Yeosu just a short while ago. Definitely click on the photo a couple of times to get the large view. Not one of my better shots, but I hope you enjoy anyway.

Moon, Venus and Jupiter

World’s Most Dangerous Golf Course

February 24, 2012 / montanaron

So, you say you want to play golf in Korea and you’d like a challenging course? Well, the course across from the university, the Yeosu City Park Golf Course, is located on the side of a steep hill.

Yeosu City Park Golf Course

According to one of my students who often golfs there, it costs 90,000 won for 18 holes, but you also have to pay for a mandatory caddy, which costs another 90,000 won; however you can split the caddy fee between the other three people if you’re playing in a foursome. So, you’d pay about 112,000 won, $100 at the current exchange rate. That’s way too steep for me.

It also looks a little tame. If I were going to play, I’d want something more edgy, something with a little danger involved, like alligators or piranhas in the water hazards. Well, here’s a course for me and for you, if you’re up to it. The Golf website describes it thus:

Nestled amid a triangle of live mines, an 18-foot-high security fence topped with concertina wire, a six-foot deep trench, an empty machine-gun nest, a ginseng field, an army bunker, tigers, a vampire deer and something called a man-bear-pig lies a 192-yard par-3.

It’s a 192-yard, par-3 hole located on the DMZ between North and South Korea. On this course, if you shank a shot out of bounds, definitely don’t go looking for your ball! The website doesn’t indicate if life insurance is included with the green fee.

Expo 2012: The Official Blog in English

February 9, 2012 / montanaron

If you’re looking for more information about the Expo, and about Yeosu and South Korea, I just discovered an English-language website calling itself The Official Blog in English. It’s very informative, with topics like Are the Beaches of Yeosu so Beautiful? and Experiencing the Taste of Various Foods in Yeosu, a couple of articles written by students at one of the local high schools. Take a look at it when you get a chance.

Two Expo Articles from the Korea Herald

February 7, 2012 / montanaron

As a follow up to the previous post, here are two articles from the English language daily Korea Herald, one titled “Yeosu aims for visitor-friendly Expo” and the other headlined “Yeosu Expo to highlight marine development.”

The first article begins “The southern coastal town famous for its seascape and bountiful seafood is in the final stages of preparation for the World Expo,” and goes on to talk about the construction, preparations and events leading into the Expo.

The Organizing Committee is quoted as saying that 93% of the construction is finished and that all facilities will be completed by the end of February. They also state that after the Expo has run its 93-day course, most of the exhibition halls will be dismantled. A Yeosu University architecture professor in one of my classes told me this a few weeks ago, and I was kind of dumbfounded to hear that many of the buildings will be up for only three months. One of the themes of the Expo is sustainability for the future, so this demolition seems to run counter to that theme. “What a shameful waste,” I thought. But, apparently, most Expos tear down a majority of the buildings after their exhibition is finished. Plus, I suppose you have to throw in the cost of maintenance for these large structures, and you have to wonder just how much and what kind of use they would get to justify the cost of keeping them open. The prof told me that the aquarium, the hotel and a few other buildings would remain open. Hopefully, Yeosu will get enough of a tourist uptick from the aquarium alone to keep the remaining structures (whatever they are) open. The area itself, even without the buildings, will still be a beautiful addition to the Yeous harborscape (as long as it’s maintained and kept clean).

The second article gives an overview of the Korean government’s future economic hopes for the south coast of the country and relates how the Expo can boost regional growth and development.

It [the Korean government] also believes the Yeosu Expo will speed up not only regional economic growth but also boost balanced domestic development.

The event is projected to generate about 12.2 trillion won ($10.8 billion) worth of production and create about 5.7 trillion won in added value, as well as 80,000 jobs.

That’s a lot of money and jobs! Both articles also state that over 8 million visitors are expected over the three-month period. Let’s see, 8 million divided by 93 is, ummmm, about 86 thousand visitors a day, on average. I expect the weekend totals will be much higher, so I’ll stay away, mostly, on Saturdays and Sundays. Hope it all works out. More later.

Yeosu Expo 2012–January Update

February 6, 2012 / montanaron

OK, here’s the update I promised. There really hasn’t been a lot of progress in exterior construction, except for a few notable exceptions, because much of it has been finished or nearly so. I think most of the work is taking place inside the buildings, and a lot of landscaping is being done. The most striking new progress, however, is that the Big O, the centerpiece of the Expo, has finally gone up. In the photo below, you can see the framework is mostly completed, so installation of the outside paneling should be starting soon.

The Big O, Jan 28th, 2012

Elsewhere, down by the Sky Tower and next to the railway station, new construction has begun on the Corporate Pavilion and Energy Park.

Corporate Pavilion and Energy Park Construction, Yeosu 2012 Expo, Jan 28, 2012

The Sky Tower itself has had some new additions, seen in this view from near what will be the main entrance.

New Sky Tower additions

So, what is that reddish-orange contraption on the right hand side of the structure? From a brochure I have, here’s a description of the Sky Tower.

The Sky Tower is a monumental piece of art, recycled and redesigned from a pair of abandoned 55-meter cement silos on the Expo site. The harp-shaped exterior is an embodiment of the giant waves of the coastal waters of Yeosu. Moreover, the tower is a fully-functional pipe organ that will play the tunes related to the sea for the enjoyment of visitors.

If it works as intended, it should be pretty impressive. Next, a shot of the Expo City apartments, which are quite colorful.

2012 Expo Apartments

The hotel hasn’t shown much change, but the land around it is being landscaped and smoothed over to make way for walking and (perhaps) parking areas.

Expo 2012 Landscaping

Here’s an enlarged shot of the construction taking place around the Big O. (As usual, click on the image for larger versions.)

Closeup of Big O Area Construction

Here’s what the brochure says about the Big O.

The Expo is jam-packed with cultural programs, with 40 performances and events taking place every day for the entire period of 93 days; that is, 3,700 in total! It features large-scale events, such as the state-of-the-art Night Multi-media Show taking place at the Big-O, world-class performances, and concerts of popular singers from Korea and around the world.

The brochure goes on to mention The Fountain Show (“. . . on a stage constructed on the sea. It will be shown through the world’s first Living Screen at night, creating an awe-inspiring, dreamlike atmosphere.”), The Big Ocean Show (“. . . a performance utilizing the seas, the beach and ships . . . staged on a weekly basis”) and The World Ocean Performance (“featuring performances of artists from Korea and beyond, will take place on the floating stage and utilize the sea as a platform for cultural activities.”), all of which take place on or near the Big O.

Here are a couple of overview shots taken from different vantage points.

Overview of Expo 2012

Expo Jan2012 Overview from Jasan Park

Also in preparation for the Expo, Yeosu has been installing quite a few bicycle stations, from where you can rent one of these “hot” blue bikes to get around. I’m not sure if they’re coin-operated or bank/credit card. Probably both.

Bicycle Station

Finally, not more than 10 seconds after I pulled my camera from my bag, one of the guys working on the Expo came over and pointed to himself and said “Picture, me.” I was only too happy to oblige.

Expo Worker

So, that’s about it for the Expo photos for now. I’ll probably get back down there in March or perhaps late this month to shoot some more. Stay tuned.

Category: Yeosu (Page 8 of 21)

March 2012 Yeosu Expo Photos

Expo 2012 U.S.A. Pavilion

Fire erupts at Yeosu Expo venue; no casualties reported

Hang in There

Expo 2012–How Many Visitors?

Beautiful Evening Sky

World’s Most Dangerous Golf Course

Expo 2012: The Official Blog in English

Two Expo Articles from the Korea Herald

Yeosu Expo 2012–January Update

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