South Korea is ready to make the 2030 World Expo the best of all time if it succeeds in bringing the event to the southeastern city of Busan, President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday, highlighting the country’s plans to “give back” to the international community.
Yoon made the promise during South Korea’s presentation at the 172nd general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the international body in charge of overseeing the World Expo, where delegates from all 179 BIE member states gathered to review the competing bids before casting their votes in November.
“The World Expo Busan will be a solutions platform addressing humanity’s complex and urgent challenges,” Yoon said in English as he addressed the assembly on the outskirts of Paris. He listed war and conflict, the digital divide, and climate change among the urgent challenges facing humanity.
“The war 70 years ago once turned Korea to ruin,” he said of the 1950-53 Korean War. “But thanks to the help of the international community, Korea transformed itself into an economic powerhouse full of high-tech industries and innovative technologies. Korea wishes to give back to the international community what it has received thus far.”
Busan competes against Rome, Italy, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after the BIE eliminated Odesa, Ukraine, citing the ongoing war against Russia.
Yoon described Busan as a gateway to the Eurasian continent, a city of adventure and a city of the future, where the World Expo will create new business opportunities and South Korea’s state-of-the-art digital technology will provide a “fantastic stage” for exchange.
Yoon also said South Korea is carrying out 1,258 official development assistance projects with BIE member states and is committed to providing the largest-ever assistance package for more than 110 member states.
“Korea will lead in tackling humanity’s challenges,” he said, noting the World Expo Busan will also be a culture expo where cultural diversity is respected and everyone is treated equally.
“It will be an expo where every nation can freely express its unique culture, tradition and skill,” he said.
Yoon asserted that South Korea has gained plenty of experience by hosting two Specialized Expos — the 1993 Daejeon Expo and the 2012 Yeosu Expo — as well as the 1988 Summer Olympics, the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2018 Winter Olympics.
“Korea is a qualified candidate,” he said. “Korea has been fully investing in preparing for the Busan Expo. We will make it the best World Expo of all time.”
Recalling that past Expos each served a purpose, with the 1851 London Expo spreading the British industrial revolution and the 1962 Seattle Expo becoming a catalyst for opening a new space era, Yoon said South Korea’s central and local governments, companies and citizens, all political parties, and more than 7.5 million overseas Koreans are united in their wish to bring the World Expo to Busan.
“The 2030 Busan Expo will be remembered as one shifting our priority from competition to solidarity,” Yoon said. “Busan is ready. We are united. Let’s transform our world and navigate toward a better future. See you in Busan in 2030.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency