I recently made my first visit to Yeosu to attend the grand opening of the 2012 Yeosu Expo and to officially open the U.S.A. Pavilion. It was an exciting and fun trip. This is Korea’s first Expo since the Daejeon Expo in 1993, and as soon as I arrived, I was impressed by the Expo site’s beautiful facilities. I was also immediately struck by Yeosu’s beautiful scenery.
Expo Digital Gallery
The trip started perfectly with the three-hour KTX ride from Seoul ending just steps away from the Expo site. The excitement in the air was palpable as visiting dignitaries from around the world were just arriving and groups of performers were rehearsing for the opening ceremony. On the way to the opening ceremony a huge “Digital Gallery” displaying whales and fish highlighted the Expo’s theme of “The Living Ocean and Coast.” The opening ceremony was equally impressive, with fun K-pop performances and an incredible light and water show centered on a giant ring constructed in the middle of the bay, all with the beautiful Yeosu night sea as the background.
Opening Ceremony
The next morning I returned to the Expo to perform my duties as Commissioner of the U.S.A. Pavilion. I officially opened our pavilion by thanking our sponsors and welcoming the first 100 guests. It was my first time to tour the pavilion and I don’t want to spoil it for those haven’t seen it yet, but I think visitors of the U.S.A. Pavilion will be as impressed as I was by the beautiful water screen and video, which highlights America’s diverse ocean environments and the colorful mosaic of American life.
President Obama welcomes visitors to the U.S.A. Pavilion
But I think the most exciting part of our pavilion is that it allows visitors to learn about the U.S. in the best possible way -- by meeting Americans. When I first arrived at the pavilion I was greeted by 40 young, smiling Americans who energetically yelled out, “An-nyeong-ha-sae-yo!” These “Student Ambassadors” came from different parts of the U.S. to serve as guides in our pavilion. I expected that they would be very bright and enthusiastic because they had passed a rigorous screening process but I was pleasantly surprised by how fluently they spoke Korean. While I loved the high-tech parts of our pavilion, for me the most memorable part of the pavilion was talking to these friendly American college students. As the U.S. Ambassador to Korea I am always looking for new ways to expand our people-to-people ties and I can’t think of a better way than to have these young Americans represent the U.S. to the millions of Expo visitors. I hope everyone who visits the Expo makes sure to visit the U.S.A. Pavilion and meets these wonderful “Student Ambassadors.” And for non-English speakers, don’t worry. 다들 한국말 정말 잘해요!
With our terrific Student Ambassadors
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