Expectant Busan braces for historic World Expo bid decision 윤 대통령 “부산항에서 한강

[정승남세기영어교육연구회장]

Expectant Busan braces for historic World Expo bid decision [EXPO BID 2030]

윤 대통령 “부산항에서 한강의 기적 출발” 엑스포 유치 막판 총력전

Sunday

November 26, 2023 The JoongAng Daily / 중앙일보

A hot air balloon to promote Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo floats at Haeundae beach in Busan on Saturday. [YONHAP]

BUSAN — As streetlights along the Haeundae coastline lit up on Saturday evening, a massive hot air balloon began to swell in the middle of the sandy beach.

A slogan, “World Expo 2030, Busan, Korea,” soon became visible as the balloon inflated, with another message on the other side saying “Imagine your Korea.”

Jeong Hee-ja, a Busan citizen living in the Jin District with her family, stood near the waterfront with her fingers crossed as the hot air balloon buoyed amid the darkened night sky.

“I really do wish Busan would win the World Expo bid,” Jeong said with sincerity in her tone. “My husband and son also have their hopes up.”

She expects that the World Expo, if Busan is to win the bid to host the event, will bring in more jobs and rejuvenate the local economy.

A wish card saying ″I hope Busan will host the 2030 World Expo″ written by a resident in Dong District, where the proposed venue for the 2030 World Expo is located, is installed in southeastern Busan on Friday. [SHIN HA-NEE]

Manju Jeganathan, who has been visiting Busan on a 12-day trip to meet her friend working in Korea, could not help but notice signs and slogans hyping up the 2030 Busan Expo everywhere across the city.

“It’s an awesome city — I never expected it, [but] it’s like heaven,” said Jeganathan, adding that “[the Expo] will be a very good opportunity [for visitors] to explore Busan.”

With only a handful of days left until the host city of the 2030 World Expo is decided, Busan is revving up last-minute efforts to rally support for its bid to bring the mega-event to home turf.

A World Expo-themed photo zone set up at the crowded Haeundae beach is one of them.

A photo zone is set up to promote Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo at Haeundae beach in Busan on Saturday. [SHIN HA-NEE]

Pedestrians visiting the famous beach were welcomed by a mock-up Eiffel Tower, one of the most prominent symbols of the World Expo, and a giant Boogi, Busan’s seagull mascot. A message board standing alongside an inflatable Boogi was filled with warm support for the city’s Expo bid left by Busan citizens and tourists.

The outdoor event will run for four days through Tuesday, Nov. 28, a day before the final decision for the hosting city of the 2030 World Expo is made. The winner will be decided through a secret ballot by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) member countries during the organization’s general assembly in Paris.

Through the final weekend leading up to the big day, the whole city of Busan was adorned with banners and posters supporting the expo bid. Digital signage of Busan Bank near the city's downtown displayed a D-day countdown for the BIE assembly.

Dong District, located on the southeastern coastline of Busan, is perhaps where people’s hopes are the highest as the North Port, which is the proposed venue of the World Expo, is located there.

A lighting ceremony for winter season street decorations is held in Dong District, Busan, with its mayor Kim Jin-hong on stage, ahead of the final decision for the hosting city of the 2030 World Expo to be decided. Dong District residents who attended the event wave flags supporting Busan's bid. [SHIN HA-NEE]

“Dong District is where Busan’s whole industry bloomed, but the regional economy here has been shrinking recently,” Dong District Mayor Kim Jin-hong told the Korea JoongAng Daily on Friday, as the Dong District office hosted a lighting ceremony that day for street decorations installed at the region’s downtown for the winter season.

The annual event is aimed to breathe life back into the region’s economy, and also boost morale among the town’s residents ahead of Tuesday’s final decision for the World Expo venue.

“With four days to go before the decision is made, we want to bring together the aspirations of our citizens to strengthen our resolve to win the 2030 World Expo,” said the mayor.

Jeong Jae-yong, who spearheaded the Dong District residents’ task force to support the World Expo bid, stressed that “Busan has a great environment and location compared to Riyadh and Rome.”

The team was first set up last year, and since then has tirelessly run events and campaigns to rally support for Busan and the North Port, including performances and welcome events arranged to greet the BIE delegation visiting Busan in April.

On Monday, there will be a rally to drum up support for the Busan Expo in front of the Busan Station as well, according to Jeong.

Boogi, Busan's mascot seagull, holds up a D-day countdown at Busan Station on Friday, four days before the hosting city of the 2030 World Expo will be decided. [SHIN HA-NEE]

“I think Busan has everything — a river, sea, and a mountain all converging in one city, along with strong aspiration from its citizens,” said Jeong.

Lee Sang-gil, who runs a gym in Dong District, was wearing a scarf promoting the Busan Expo bid during the lighting ceremony on Friday.

“The World Expo is among the three biggest events along with the World Cup and the Olympics,” Lee said. “[As the BIE member] countries will see how enthusiastic Korean people are for hosting the event, we will do our best to show how ready we are.”

“On Nov. 21, we held a departure ceremony for the successful bid for the 2030 Busan World Expo... during which some 1,000 people gathered to show their support with the city’s enthusiasm rising higher than ever,” said Busan Metropolitan City official Dong Se-jin, who has been leading promotional campaigns for the Expo bid.

“Together with many people who supported Busan’s bid, we will do our best until the end,” Dong said.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]

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윤 대통령 “부산항에서 한강의 기적 출발” 엑스포 유치 막판 총력전

중앙선데이 입력 2023.11.25 07:00 권호 기자 정수경 PD

‘2030 부산 엑스포’ 유치를 위해 프랑스 파리를 방문한 윤석열 대통령이 24일(현지시간) 국제박람회기구(BIE) 대표단 초청 오찬에서 환영사를 하고 있다. [뉴시스]

‘2030 세계박람회(엑스포)’ 부산 유치를 위해 프랑스 파리를 방문 중인 윤석열 대통령이 24일(현지시간) 국제박람회기구(BIE) 회원국 대표들을 대상으로 오찬과 리셉션을 잇따라 개최하며 막판 유치 총력전을 벌였다.

윤 대통령은 파리 방문 이틀째인 이날 마지막 공식 일정으로 브롱냐드궁에서 열린 국경일 리셉션에 참석했다. 2030 부산 엑스포 주제인 ‘세계의 대전환, 더 나은 미래를 향한 항해’를 테마로 마련된 이날 리셉션 축사에서 윤 대통령은 “단군이 기원전 2333년 한반도에 처음 나라를 세운 이래 일제 강점과 전쟁을 포함한 많은 역경이 있었지만 이를 슬기롭게 극복했다”며 “이런 소중한 경험을 바탕으로 대한민국은 글로벌 중추국가로서 세계의 평화와 번영에 기여하는 글로벌 책임 국가의 역할을 적극 수행할 것”이라고 밝혔다. 그러면서 “2030 부산 세계박람회를 통해 인류의 연대에 앞장서겠다”며 유치 의지와 비전을 강조했다.

https://youtu.be/fFJEOAR56iE

윤 대통령은 전날 BIE 대표단 초청 만찬에서는 “여러분도 아시는 ‘한강의 기적’의 출발도 바로 부산항이었다”며 “대한민국은 유라시아 대륙과 태평양을 연결하는 국제 항구도시 부산에서 2030년 부산 엑스포를 개최하고자 한다”고 강조했다. 김은혜 홍보수석은 “윤 대통령의 유치 활동은 단지 우리의 위상을 뽐내는 경쟁의 무대가 아니라 모든 참가자가 마음껏 고유의 문화와 전통을 선보이는 소통의 엑스포이자 미래 세대를 하나로 연결하는 만남의 장으로 부산을 알리는 총력전”이라고 설명했다.

https://youtu.be/0i6A0Es-jCE

윤 대통령은 이날 오전엔 엘리제궁에서 에마뉘엘 마크롱 프랑스 대통령과 한·프랑스 정상회담을 했다. 지난해 6월과 지난 6월에 이어 세 번째 마주 앉은 두 정상은 이날 북한 문제 등 안보 현안을 비롯해 과학기술과 경제 이슈 등 다양한 분야에서의 협력 방안을 논의했다. 두 정상은 에너지·배터리·반도체·인공지능·원전 등에서도 협력을 강화해 나가기로 했다.

파리=권호 기자 kwon.ho@joongang.co.kr

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