Expected to Perform Over 4 Times Better Than in 2013
Including Free Zones, It's Countless
On the opening day of the Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo on the 1st, spring visitors from all over the country flocked to Suncheon like a cloud.
According to the Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo Organizing Committee (Chairman Nogwankyu), as of 4 p.m., the number of paid visitors to the expo site (National Garden + Suncheon Bay Wetland) counted through the ticketing system was 90,897.
Including the free admission areas such as Green Island and Ocheon Green Plaza, which have become urban gardens, and the 1 million-pyeong scenic garden area, it is estimated that more than 110,000 people have visited the Garden Expo so far.
Compared to the 31,553 visitors who came to the expo on the first day when Suncheon first hosted the Garden Expo in 2013, it is expected that the current attendance will be more than four times higher.
As this comes right after the long COVID-19 pandemic, citizens seeking rest and healing are all heading to the gardens.
Groups from across the country such as Haenam Ttangkkeut Village, Bonggi Village Women's Association, Sejong Senior Citizens Association, and Dangjin Youth Association seemed to have gathered in Suncheon, as large buses with name tags unloaded spring visitors who had come out for an outing after a long time. Among them were dozens of foreign exchange students studying at Yonsei University and KAIST.
At the East and West gates, visitors waiting to purchase admission tickets formed long lines stretching all the way to the parking lots.
Throughout the Garden Expo site, a frenzy of visitors taking ‘certification shots’ broke out.
In the gardens, even middle-aged fathers became boys again, wiggling their hips to find the best photo angles.
A young couple set up a tripod in front of the Thai Garden to create memories just for the two of them, while parents with children were busy capturing their kids, who were more beautiful than the flowers, on camera.
With President Yoon Suk-yeol attending the opening ceremony the day before, drawing nationwide attention to Suncheon, the Garden Expo is a huge hit from the first day with visitors of all ages, genders, and nationalities.
An organizing committee official stated, “If the current trend continues, we expect about 150,000 visitors in total across both paid and free areas by closing time.”
The final visitor count will be tallied after ticket sales close one hour before closing, at 8 p.m.
Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seonsik hss79@asiae.co.kr
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