"Met Everyone Except North Korea"... Yoon Administration's 563-Day Expo Full-Scale Effort

Travel Distance Equivalent to 409 Earth Orbits
Meeting Leaders from Over 180 Countries and Around 2,700 People

"Met everyone except North Korea."

A government official summarized South Korea's efforts to host the 2030 World Expo in one sentence. Since the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, all diplomatic resources available to South Korea have been mobilized over 563 days. The previous practice, where the working-level staff moved only when instructed by higher-ups to attract international events, has been broken.

According to the Prime Minister's Office on the 24th, the total distance traveled by President Yoon, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, cabinet members, presidential special envoys, CEOs and executives from 13 companies for the Busan Expo bid reached 16,408,822 km as of the end of September, equivalent to 409 laps around the Earth. The government accounted for 8,506,407 km (212 Earth laps), and companies 7,902,415 km (197 Earth laps).

President Yoon, who pledged to host the 2030 Busan Expo during the last presidential election, held over 150 bilateral meetings with representatives from more than 110 countries during his first year and a half in office since May last year. In September alone, during the ASEAN Summit, G20 Summit, and the UN General Assembly, President Yoon met with leaders from 61 countries to request support for hosting the Busan Expo.

President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers a welcome speech at the official reception for the 2030 Busan World Expo held at a sports center in Issy-les-Moulineaux, Paris, France, on June 21 (local time). [Image source=Yonhap News]

Following his visit in June, President Yoon will again meet with representatives from member countries of the International Bureau of Expositions (BIE) during his visit to Paris, France, to conduct last-minute vote-gathering activities.

Prime Minister Han, co-chairman of the Busan Expo joint bid committee, is leading a "wide-net vote campaign." Last month, Han chose Paris, France, as the first stop on his European tour. During that visit, Han and his delegation met directly with foreign journalists at a caf? near the Eiffel Tower to explain why Busan should be selected. On the 12th of this month, he returned to France to meet with representatives of BIE member countries. Although the trip lasted only four days and two nights, Han conducted meetings and bilateral talks with 61 representatives from 50 countries up until just before departure to promote the bid.

Busan Mayor Park Hyung-jun is dedicating himself fully to realizing the dream of "Expo City Busan." Ahead of the final vote, Mayor Park moved early to Paris to engage in last-minute negotiations. So far, he has met with 393 representatives from 135 member countries domestically and conducted bid negotiations with 104 representatives from 51 countries abroad. The total number of foreign officials Mayor Park has personally met to appeal for support reaches 497 from 143 countries. Mayor Park has especially targeted remote and challenging countries such as those in Africa, the Caribbean coast, and Latin America, where travel distances are long and exchanges with Korea are weak, areas even high-ranking government officials hesitate to visit.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon (right), and Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Private Committee for Busan Expo Attraction (left), attended a press briefing wearing T-shirts with the slogan "Busan is ready" at the Korean Cultural Center in France on October 8 (local time).

Visits to Africa by key government ministers have continued. Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Jeong Hwang-geun has visited Africa three times since taking office. In 10 African countries, the government is promoting the "K-Rice Belt" project to increase rice production and has promised to share agricultural development experience and know-how. Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Visit Byung-gyu visited the African island nation of Cabo Verde around the last Chuseok holiday, and Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination Bang Ki-seon visited Benin and Guinea-Bissau from the 13th to 19th of this month as a presidential special envoy.

On the 21st, one week before the vote, Prime Minister Han said, "The government and the private sector are united in a final all-out effort to win the Busan Expo bid," adding, "The president, government officials, and business leaders have traveled more than 400 laps around the Earth and met with over 2,700 leaders from about 180 countries to secure support."

Through the Expo bid activities, South Korea's diplomatic and business horizons have expanded. The process of extending diplomacy, which had been concentrated on major countries in the US, Europe, and Asia, to Third World countries has increased cooperation possibilities. President Yoon held first-ever summit meetings with countries unfamiliar to Korea such as Burundi, the Cook Islands, San Marino, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, building diplomatic friendships.

Notably, this year South Korea held the Korea-Thailand-Dominica summit, and next year plans to hold the Korea-Africa summit, creating momentum for cooperation with developing countries. A government official said, "This journey is not simply about winning the Expo bid," adding, "Expanding contact with various countries will strengthen our economic and diplomatic soft power."

A promotional video for the Busan World Expo, supported by Samsung Electronics, is being screened at France's Charles de Gaulle International Airport.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

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