Why Busan Is The Excellent Choice for Hosting World Expo 2030?

Busan is South Korea's second most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants as of 2017. It is the economic, cultural and educational centre of southeastern South Korea, with its port being South Korea's busiest and the sixth-busiest in the world.

As a city that embodies the Republic of Korea's history of great transformation, Busan is an optimal host city for a mega-event. Busan offers convenient transportation and superior city infrastructure, and has a rich past experience of safely hosting international events.

Busan is the second-largest city in the Republic of Korea and an international logistics hub with the second largest transshipment port in the world. As an engine of economic growth and inclusion, Busan helped transform the Republic of Korea into the world’s 10th largest economy following the Korean War. It also features a maritime climate, while also boasting a harmonious natural environment.

Busan is a centre for international conventions, hosting a APEC summit in 2005. It is also a centre for sports tournaments in Korea, having hosted the 2002 Asian Games and FIFA World Cup. It is home to the world's largest department store, the Shinsegae Centum City. Moreover, Busan was added to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a "City of Film" in December 2014.

The History of World Expo?

World Expos, officially known as International Registered Exhibitions, are a global gathering of nations dedicated to finding solutions to pressing challenges of our time by offering a journey inside a universal theme through engaging and immersive activities. World Expos welcome tens of millions of visitors, allow countries to build extraordinary pavilions and transform the host city for years to come.

The first World Expo – the Great Exhibition – took place in London in 1851. The concept became popular and was repeated across the globe, demonstrating an unparalleled power of attraction and a record of world-class legacies. Since the BIE was created in 1928 to regulate and oversee these mega-events, World Expos have explicitly been organised around a theme that attempts to improve humankind’s knowledge, takes into account human and social aspirations and highlights scientific, technological, economic and social progress.

In the modern era, World Expos are unrivalled among international events in their size, scale, duration and visitor numbers. They are large-scale platforms for education and progress that serve as a bridge between governments, companies, international organisations, and citizens.

The most recent World Expo took place in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, between 1 October 2021 and 31 March 2022. The next World Expo will take place in Osaka, Kansai, Japan between 13 April and 13 October 2025.

How the election process take place?

The host country of World Expo 2030 will be elected by BIE Member States, gathered in the 173rd General Assembly taking place in November 2023, on the principle of one country, one vote.Three projects will be considered by the General Assembly for the election of the host country of World Expo 2030: the candidatures of the Republic of Korea (for Busan), Italy (for Rome), and Saudi Arabia (for Riyadh).

South Korea’s Bid for Expo 2030?

The Republic of Korea’s bid is for a World Expo in the city of Busan between 1 May and 31 October 2030 under the theme “Transforming Our World, Navigating Toward a Better Future”.

Proposed Theme

Spurred by rapid growth in advanced, yet disruptive technologies, climate change, and the prolonged pandemic, humanity is facing an unprecedented period of change and transformation. The theme - Transforming Our World, Navigating Toward a Better Future - reflects the understanding that in times of change and crisis, humanity must pursue transformation to move toward a better future. World Expo 2030 Busan, Korea would be a special voyage toward a better future.

The three sub-themes of the Expo embody Busan’s determination to surmount the challenges and to serve as an example for people around the world. First, Sustainable Living with Nature means overcoming the global climate change crisis and pursuing sustainable living with nature. Second, Technology for Humanity means resolving various side effects resulting from advanced technological development and promoting human happiness. The third, Platform for Caring and Sharing contains resolving various disparities between social classes and countries.

 Proposed Site

World Expo 2030 Busan, Korea would be held between 1 May and 31 October 2030 for a total of 184 days. It is estimated that the total number of visits to Expo 2030 Busan would be 34.8 million. Expo 2030 Busan would take place in the North Port section of Busan, an area of approximately 3.4 million square metres inclusive of land and water.Busan North Port, the site proposed for Expo 2030, was Korea’s first trading port. After its opening in 1876, it handled most of the country’s export and import shipments.

However, with Busan New Port having now become the primary logistics hub, the space surrounding Busan North Port is being developed into a “global centre for a new marine industry.” The project proposes using the North Port area as the site for Expo 2030 and to return the infrastructure to businesses and citizens after the event.

Why South Korea’s Busan city is a strong candidate for World Expo 2030?

South Korea's scenic port city of Busan has captured world attention as the leading contender to host the World Expo 2030.

Busan’s bid is taking shape months after the successful completion of the World Expo 2020 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates in March 2022.

South Korea actively participated in the World Expo 2020 in Dubai under the theme of the ‘Smart Korea, Moving the World to You.’ The theme enabled the country to showcase its dynamism in leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution and sharing the future vision with mankind.

In the World Expo 2030 event in Busan, South Korea would extend its Dubai Expo’s thematic vision with a new theme “Transforming Our World, Navigating Toward a Better Future.”

Sub-themes have been selected to address the three global challenges: climate change, downsides of the digital transformation, and inequality among and within nations. Each sub-theme correlates with the three pillars of the United Nations’ SDGs – people, planet, and prosperity.

As it seeks to host the World Expo 2030 South Korea is on the verge of making history by becoming the seventh country in the world to have hosted the three mega international events – the Olympics, the World Cup, and the World Expo.

In this group there are already France, the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, and Italy. Korea hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics 30 years apart in 1988 and 2018 respectively, and co-hosted the World Cup2002.

If Busan is selected it will offer South Korea a very generous opportunity to showcase not only the global city that has grown to become a global tourist destination of choice and an international transport and logistics hub.

As the second largest city in the Republic of Korea Busan is a global megacity that is strategically located connected through world-class infrastructure such as airports, high-speed railways and top-edged ports.

As a top Asian tourist destination Busan receives 40 million travellers from around the globe annually. This is due to its captivating natural environment emanating from the harmony among the sea including the seven beaches, rivers and mountains.

As a well-developed city Busan is playing a leading role in the transformation process amidst the Fourth Industrial Revolution. On July 23, 2019, Busan was designated as a regulation-free zone for Blockchain technologies to test innovative technologies and foster related businesses.

A center for Korea’s future industries, Busan Eco Delta Smart City, is becoming a logistics hub of Northeast Asia. This thriving city now serves as a center for marine science and R&D, and a home to relevant institutions, such as the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) and the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST).

And when Busan is selected to host the World Expo 2030 it will not start from scratch as the city has a wealth of experience in holding high caliber international events, including the Asian Games in 2002 and the APEC Summit in 2005.

The Expo in Busan will take place on double tracks. While the new North Port and other tourism hotspots across the city will draw visitors in person, the event's metaverse will simultaneously guide visitors through the port online. This is the first time a World Expo will be jointly centered in cyberspace as well as a physical space in the BIE's history.

It means anyone anywhere in the world can join the Expo online. All the exhibitions and pavilions erected by participating countries throughout the port will be exactly replicated in the virtual space. The initiative purports to prove how this breakthrough can bring the world together without physical limitations.

The city will also promote all the latest eco-friendly technologies before participating guests, showing how mankind can spar with the imminent climate crisis by committing to the sector. It's the city government's goal to host a carbon-neutral Expo. Hydrogen and electric vehicles will run throughout the Expo venues and power generated from renewable energy-based resources will keep the pavilions bright and cozy. The Expo will showcase the "Net-Zero Marine Garden," a project venue that pushes itself as another possible solution to keep carbon emissions low and with a more creative outcome.

The Expo will also provide for visitors' convenience in ways never attempted before. Artificial intelligent (AI) avatars for guests will queue in lineups instead of them, drones will deliver packages and parcels, and personal AI-planners will help to schedule which Expo venues to visit in order. The Expo will show that tech-savvy experiences are not restricted to during the event, but are for everyday life in all parts of the world in the near future.

Egalitarian campaign

What the country's Expo preparation committee and Busan Metropolitan City agreed on was not to make World Expo 2030 a self-indulgent celebration for just a few advanced countries. What they instead decided to do was to unveil an Expo that reaches out to all parts of the world, including developing countries.

To encourage struggling countries, the city will subsidize them to reduce the financial burden in joining the Expo or build on-site pavilions. Participating countries can also get technological takeaways from advanced countries and discover opportunities for business entrepreneurships at the Startup Village inside the new North Port.

"There will be a record number of developing countries participating in our Expo if we get to host it," an official from Prime Minister's Office under Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said. "Ahead of the event's opening (in May 2030), we will be checking critical needs for each developing country to join the Expo and provide these to them. It's Busan's bid to encourage vulnerable states to rise together with the hosting city."

The Expo wouldn't be complete without visitors and dignitaries watching K-pop concerts and other hip Korean cultural content right where they originated. K-Culture World Cruise Tour that departs North Port and other gigs or exhibitions happening at local venues in the city will be arranged so that foreign participants can feel the vibe that disregards ethnicity and national borders.

"K-content is another strategy we have in store to bring all the guests together," the official from Prime Minister's Office said. "A broad range of cultural exchanges will be happening here."

To commemorate the BIE's centennial, the city will reserve one of the port's old venues to transform it into a new BIE asset to preserve the organization's history. The North Port Silo, a large-scale storage facility for local agricultural crops inside the port, will be renovated into the Expo Big Data Silo. An archive for the Expo's metaverse will also be preserved at the same site. Unlike previous World Expos that tried to reach closer to the future as if nothing else mattered, the World Expo 2030 in Busan will create time and space to keep the past alive and inspire the present.

"It's going to be a platform where people from all over the world will reckon with the most imminent problems humanity faces right now, especially during this time of great transformation for civilization," Mayor Park told The Korea Times. "It's also going to be a platform where we will all gather and come up with ways to prosper altogether. Hosting World Expo 2030 successfully will establish Korea as a globally pivotal state that will lead the way for a great transformation and co-prosperity for mankind. Busan is ready."

Steely determination

The South Korean people have shown much determination and the bidding committee is very adequately prepared to conduct a competitive bidding process for hosting the World Expo 2030.

A high-powered delegation led by South Korea’s Prime Minister Duck-soo Han and the Mayor of the Metropolitan City of Busan, presented the project to organise World Expo 2030 in Busan at the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris recently claiming that Busan is an excellent choice for hosting the World Expo 2030.

President Suk-yeol Yoon also made an appeal to BIE Delegates via a video message. South Korea’s world famous boy band BTS was appointed as the honorary ambassadors for the 2030 Busan World Expo.

South Korea’s neighbouring country Japan is hosting the World EXPO 2025 in Osaka-Kansai.

Busan's diplomatic efforts

While the presidential office has been orchestrating the country's national bid for World Expo 2030, Busan has also been playing its part, with its mayor busily working toward the goal.

Mayor Park Heong-joon has been at the forefront of efforts, visiting countries to meet local governors and mayors and hosting numerous state guests and international events to promote Busan. It resulted in Busan forming 16 friendly ties and 28 sisterhood partnerships with international cities as of June 8.

Park met the heads of 14 Pacific Island countries on May 30 in Busan where he introduced the Korea-Ocean Economy Initiative. Together with the Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Busan wants to use the initiative to develop the port city and help the island states counter climate change, develop maritime businesses and nurture experts.

The initiative is part of the city government's broader goal of embracing developing countries in Asia, Africa, Central America and the Pacific through Korean official development assistance (ODA) projects. The representatives from those regions account for 106 out of the total BIE member states.