Busan City Hosts Press Tour Inviting Foreign Correspondents in Korea … Prime Minister Han Duck-soo Participates

Promotion of 2030 Busan World Expo Bid Plan and Preparation Status

Briefing, Q&A, Gamcheon Culture Village, Yacht, LCT Tour

On the 7th at 2 p.m., Busan City invited 14 foreign correspondents based in Korea to Busan and held a 'Press Tour for Foreign Correspondents in Korea' to share the plans and preparation status for hosting the 2030 Busan World Expo.

Busan City invited 14 foreign correspondents stationed in Korea to Busan and held a press tour.

This press tour was organized ahead of the on-site inspection by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) scheduled for early April, to directly explain to foreign correspondents the strengths and attractions Busan possesses as a candidate city for the 2030 World Expo, and to emphasize the city's distinctiveness and hosting capabilities compared to competing countries through site visits.

To this end, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon, government officials, the Expo organizing committee, and key executives from Busan City all participated in the press tour.

The press tour was attended by prominent foreign journalists from various international media outlets including the Washington Times (USA), The Daily Telegraph (UK), NHK (Japan), Xinhua News Agency (China), EFE (Spain), CNA (Singapore), and Politiken (Denmark).

Upon arrival in Busan, the foreign correspondents first boarded the '2030 Busan World Expo promotional eco-friendly hydrogen electric bus' prepared by the city, which was wrapped with promotional slogans, and moved to the Bukhang Exhibition Hall where they could view the planned site for the 2030 Busan World Expo.

At the Bukhang Exhibition Hall, after listening to a comprehensive briefing by Mayor Park Hyung-joon on Busan's hosting capabilities and attractions related to the 2030 Busan World Expo, the correspondents had a Q&A session, followed by a guided tour of the planned site led by Jo Yoo-jang, head of the city's 2030 Expo Promotion Headquarters.

Next, the foreign correspondents visited Gamcheon Culture Village, a site that was originally a settlement of Korean War refugees on a hillside and has been reborn as a creative cultural village attracting global attention.

In particular, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Mayor Park Hyung-joon personally accompanied the correspondents to explain Busan's strengths, attractions, and the rationale for hosting the Expo, which received enthusiastic responses from the foreign press.

While explaining the BTS murals in Gamcheon Culture Village, Prime Minister Han said, "Among the BTS members who are serving as promotional ambassadors for the 2030 Busan World Expo, Jungkook and Jimin are from Busan, and their activities to promote the Expo bid are especially active."

Mayor Park emphasized, "Since BTS was appointed as promotional ambassadors for the 2030 Busan World Expo in July last year, they held a free BTS concert in October to support the Expo bid," highlighting the active involvement of the popular culture sector in promotional activities.

The BTS concert supporting the 2030 Busan World Expo bid was watched by people from 229 countries worldwide, with about 60,000 attendees on-site including live viewers, and a total of 63.25 million views of the online live streaming.

While describing the panorama of Gamcheon Culture Village, Prime Minister Han stated, "Busan, a port city that received refugees during the Korean War, has overcome that pain and grown into the second largest transshipment port. Through the 2030 Busan World Expo, we will share our experience of rapid growth with the world."

Mayor Park explained Busan's appeal and the justification for hosting by saying, "Recently, National Geographic Traveler selected Busan as one of the 25 breathtaking travel destinations and experience spots in 2023, and Busan is the only city in Asia to be selected as a city-level destination."

The foreign correspondents then moved to Haeundae and visited the LCT Observatory 'Busan X the Sky,' where they enjoyed a panoramic view of Busan's outstanding nightscape illuminated by landmarks such as Gwangan Bridge, experiencing the city's charm at night as vibrant as during the day. Afterwards, they attended a dinner reception held at the Signiel Hotel, where they engaged in a Q&A session about the day's tour and confirmed the government's and Busan's enthusiasm and determination for the 2030 Busan World Expo bid.

Press tour invited by the foreign press corps in Korea.

For the final schedule, the foreign correspondents boarded a yacht in the evening to travel from Yongho Bay to Busan Station. They took this opportunity to revisit the Bukhang redevelopment area, the planned site for the 2030 Busan World Expo, and the city of Busan, reflecting on the significance and content of the press tour.

Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon said, "Busan was the first place on the Korean Peninsula where United Nations allied forces, including the United States, British, and French troops, landed during the Korean War, and after the war, it was a port where relief supplies arrived. Now, this place is preparing to be reborn as the host city of the 2030 World Expo, presenting universal values of civilization to the world. We ask for high interest and support for Busan's bold challenge of hosting the 2030 Busan World Expo."

He added, "Busan's proposal, and Korea's proposal, is to solve global issues such as water, food, climate, and healthcare through the 2030 Busan World Expo by 'working together and using new technologies.' We ask foreign correspondents for their attention and cooperation so that Busan can contribute to the 'great global transformation toward a better future' through hosting the 2030 World Expo."

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