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Exhibits by Day, Drone Shows by Night: Yeosu World Islands Expo Opens on the 5th

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • The 2026 Yeosu World Islands Expo opens on the 5th and will run through November 4 under the theme “Islands, Connecting the Sea and the Future.”
  • The event, billed as the world’s first international expo focused on islands, will bring together 30 countries and organizations including WHO and UNICEF.
  • The program includes media façades, island-themed exhibits, performances, a mermaid-inspired musical and a lighting drone show depicting Yeosu’s 365 islands.

By day, visitors will watch videos projected onto the walls of the expo’s landmark Theme Island. After sunset, the same site will become a nightscape of changing lights and colors. At the Yeosu World Islands Expo, the program is designed to shift with the hours.

The 2026 expo opens on the 5th and runs for 61 days, until November 4. Its main venue is in the Jinmo district of Dolsan in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, with additional events at the Yeosu World Expo site and on Gaedo and Geumodo islands. The theme is “Islands, Connecting the Sea and the Future.”

Organizers describe the event as the world’s first international expo centered on islands. Delegations from 30 countries will participate, along with three international organizations, including the World Health Organization and UNICEF. The Island Theme Zone will feature landscapes reflecting island nations around the world, including Moai statues. An open-air stage facing the sea will host performances against the backdrop of Yeosu’s waters and islands.

We carefully inspected and improved the site until just before the opening.

· Yeosu World Islands Expo organizing committee co-chairsThe organizers described preparations made before the expo opened.

The opening ceremony is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on the 5th. It will unfold in four sections, titled “The Flow of Islands,” “The Openness of Islands,” “The Narrative of Islands” and “The Expansion of Islands.” The program will include the original musical “Shinjikki: The Last Mermaid,” inspired by a Yeosu mermaid legend, followed by a lighting drone performance shaped around the city’s 365 islands. Singers Park Ji-hyun, Kiki and Jeon Yu-jin are also scheduled to perform.

Organizers held a rehearsal for invited residents on August 29 and made improvements to shade shelters, parking entrances, lawns, drainage areas and the entrance step at an accessible restroom. They also updated signs in major exhibition areas and free Wi-Fi. Eleven free shuttle routes will operate on opening day, while 22 temporary parking lots will provide 9,951 spaces. Traffic controls and detours will follow a three-stage system if congestion becomes severe. “We carefully inspected and improved the site until just before the opening,” the organizing committee’s co-chairs said. “We hope you will experience the diverse charms of the islands unfolding before your eyes.”

We hope you will experience the diverse charms of the islands unfolding before your eyes.

· Yeosu World Islands Expo organizing committee co-chairsThe co-chairs invited visitors to attend the event.
About this summary

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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