Choi Tae-won: "If Knocked Hundreds of Times, 'Busan World Expo Hosting' Will Hit the Jackpot"

'2030 Busan World Expo Bid Committee' 1st Meeting
"Bid Activities Must Be Differentiated Through Metaverse"

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (right), is delivering a greeting at the 1st meeting of the '2030 Busan World Expo Bid Committee' held on the 8th at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry International Conference Hall.

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that in order to attract the "2030 Busan World Expo," "it is important to understand what countries want from a long-term perspective and what we can do together, building trust through mutual support."

At the first meeting of the "2030 Busan World Expo Attraction Committee" held on the 8th at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's international conference hall, Chairman Choi said, "After visiting Paris and meeting with several ambassadors, I felt that we should not approach this from a short-term perspective."

Chairman Choi emphasized, "For example, underdeveloped countries such as Yemen, Nepal, and Laos especially want to learn about our country's development know-how, which is something we can directly assist with. If we start supporting what we can do regardless of whether they support the Expo or not, trust from these countries as well as neighboring countries will naturally follow."

He added, "To understand what each country wants, there is a need for study. The private committee plans to form study groups including anchor companies and experts to find areas where cooperation with counterpart countries is possible."

Referring to his trip to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) General Assembly, Chairman Choi said, "We held a 'breaking the gourd' event to pray for the Expo attraction with local Korean residents in France, but no matter how many beanbags were thrown, the gourd did not break easily." He continued, "I realized once again how difficult it is to attract the Expo. However, as the saying goes, 'If you knock, it will open,' I believe that if we knock dozens or hundreds of times with the committee members here, the jackpot of 'attracting the Expo' will happen."

In particular, Chairman Choi proposed utilizing the metaverse (extended virtual world) to differentiate Expo attraction activities.

He said, "We are working with the government to find ways to use the metaverse to gain support from people around the world. Through the metaverse, we will discuss various topics related to the Expo, such as climate change, with different countries and people to convey the message that 'the Busan Expo has already begun.'"

On the 8th, the government held the 1st meeting of the 2030 Busan World Expo Bid Committee at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry International Conference Hall, co-chaired by Chey Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Han Duck-soo, Prime Minister. Participants are taking a commemorative photo.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.