Expo D-30, Exhibition Hall Construction Progress Over 90%
Ticket Sales Revenue Reaches 4.5 Billion Won, Promotion Going Smoothly
The Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo Organizing Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Organizing Committee) announced that on March 2, it held the ‘2023 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo D-30 Press Day’ at the Suncheon Bay International Wetland Center with local journalists to share the preparation status of the expo.
This Press Day was arranged to share the overall event preparation status at the current point, 30 days before the opening ceremony, using the expo site inspection led by Chairman Noh Gwan-gyu of the Organizing Committee on the 26th as a starting point, and to enhance citizens’ understanding of the expo.
The Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo Organizing Committee held the '2023 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo D-30 Press Day' on the 2nd at the Suncheon Bay International Wetland Center, sharing the expo preparation status with local journalists. Photo by Suncheon City
During the Press Day, Baek Woon-seok, Head of Operations at the Organizing Committee, personally briefed on the progress of major facilities at the expo site, preparations for the opening ceremony and various cultural events, ticket sales, and visitor attraction performance, and addressed key questions from journalists regarding the expo.
According to the Organizing Committee, the overall progress rate of the Garden Expo currently exceeds 90%, with only some floral decorations and the opening ceremony stage production remaining.
Looking at the progress by major content, the ‘Garden Dream’ boat, which operates along the National Garden waterway to transport tourists, has completed production and begun safety inspections. The world’s first ‘Garden Stay,’ where visitors can spend a sweet night in the 600,000-pyeong garden, has also completed preparations to accommodate guests and is expected to open advance reservations starting March 10.
The ‘Secret Garden,’ featuring solar lighting technology that allows visitors to experience a futuristic garden at a glance, has passed the civil engineering phase and entered the final stages of fire safety and interior work.
Additionally, the ‘National Garden Botanical Garden,’ representing Suncheon’s Samsan Isu, completed facility construction last week and has begun creating indoor gardens, with pilot operations scheduled to start by mid-March.
The ‘Green Island’ and ‘Ocheon Green Plaza,’ which serve as the urban expo site and opening ceremony venues, have also reached their final stages of construction.
Ocheon Green Plaza has completed the nightscape that will captivate visitors at night, the ground fountains, and playground, and will soon begin trial operations.
Green Island, a green sanctuary for citizens, will start preparations for the opening ceremony as soon as the barrier-free paths are completed.
The large-scale 355-hectare landscape garden that will transform the entire Suncheon city center into a ‘city immersed in forests and flowers’ has completed foundational construction and seed sowing.
Once spring flower planting is completed around mid-March, three zones?excluding the Hongnaedeul area where non-art installations will be created?are expected to bloom into splendid flower fields in time for the opening.
The 12 km-long earth path connecting Suncheon Bay Wetland, the National Garden, and the city center has also been completed, with only environmental improvements such as photo zones and bench installations remaining. The Organizing Committee plans to finish most construction by March 10 and enhance completeness through continuous rehearsals.
Excitement is also rising for the opening ceremony on March 31, which will brilliantly mark the seven-month-long expo journey.
The opening ceremony, held around the largest water stage in Korea and the Dongcheon, Green Island, and Ocheon Green Plaza areas, will accommodate approximately 30,000 attendees.
Key attendees include Dr. Ko Jeong-hee, who hinted at the garden expo 10 years ago, installation artist Kang Ik-jung, who designed the Dream Bridge, as well as about 1,500 specially invited guests such as experts in ecology and ESG fields, COVID-19 medical staff, and approximately 500 overseas guests including the AIPH executive board, Ramsar Wetland City officials, and ambassadors from 30 countries residing in Korea.
Currently, the recruitment of performers for pre-events is in its final stages, and in March, focus will be on preparing the large-scale media facade art to be featured as the main performance and assembling the K-pop congratulatory performance lineup.
Moreover, the Organizing Committee plans to provide citizens and visitors with top-tier cultural and artistic content throughout the year by holding permanent theme performances, parades, street performances, issue-type festivals, and performances by famous domestic and international artists during the expo period.
This expo, the only international-scale event held domestically in 2023, is continuing comprehensive promotional activities to secure 8 million visitors.
As a result of about 400 promotional activities including briefing sessions and fam tours, advance ticket sales revenue has reached 4.5 billion KRW, and 410,000 people have expressed their intention to visit through advance reservations.
In particular, donation revenue has exceeded 1 billion KRW through participation from more than 120 individuals and organizations, achieving 150% of the original target amount.
The Organizing Committee has completed briefing sessions for 17 education offices and 176 education support offices, and has signed official agreements with five organizations including the Korea Association of Travel Agents, the National Council of Provincial and City Superintendents of Education, and Korail, while preparing invitation events for some institutions.
To secure overseas visitors that will demonstrate the status of the event as an international expo, targeted attraction activities have been conducted for domestic universities, international students, and various foreign institutions (including foreign embassies in Korea), achieving about 150,000 visitors, close to 50% of the overseas visitor target of 320,000.
In addition to offline visits, nationwide attention is being focused on the expo through various media including press, broadcasting, and new media.
The D-50 Press Day held in Seoul was covered not only by daily newspapers but also by foreign media.
Noh Gwan-gyu, Mayor of Suncheon and Chairman of the Organizing Committee, is actively promoting the expo nationwide through various interviews and broadcasts.
The Organizing Committee has secured appearances on popular entertainment programs such as ‘Running Man’ and ‘Begin Again’ filmed at the expo site, and plans collaborations with travel influencers who share connections with Suncheon and the expo concept.
The enthusiasm of Suncheon citizens for the successful hosting of the expo is also high.
About 2,000 volunteers, 116 SNS supporters, and 34 citizen PR group members called ‘Ilryu Planner’ are voluntarily promoting and communicating about the expo.
The Organizing Committee and Suncheon City are responding to this citizen support by devising multifaceted strategies to attract visitors to the city center so that all citizens can fully enjoy the benefits of the expo.
Baek Woon-seok, Head of Operations who oversaw the briefing, stated, “Most of the major facility construction and floral decoration work have been completed. We will prepare to welcome 8 million visitors without any setbacks by supplementing deficiencies found during trial operations and rehearsals before the opening.”
He also mentioned recent accidents that occurred during the expo preparations, saying, “We are taking the series of accidents that occurred during recent work processes very seriously.”
Meanwhile, Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu, during the site inspection on the 26th, said, “The life of an expo held once every 10 years lies in flawless completeness. While Mannheim City in Germany decided to hold the expo 8 years ago and prepared for 6 years, we have less than 2 years. I hope we will work with thorough inspections and feedback to enhance completeness until the end, always prioritizing safety.”
The 2023 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo, held anew after 10 years under the theme ‘Living in the Garden,’ will run for seven months from April 1 to October 31. The 193-hectare expo, expanded into the city center, is equipped with completely different content from 2013 and is expected to become a festival showcasing the standard model of future cities to the world.
Reporter Heo Seon-sik, Honam Coverage Headquarters, Asia Economy hss79@asiae.co.kr
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