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🇰🇷 South Korea /Culture & Society

Yeosu World Islands Expo to Open on Oct. 5 With 30 Countries Taking Part

From Hankyoreh · () 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 will open on Oct. 5, with organizers saying preparations at the main site and eight exhibition halls are complete.
  • The international event, co-hosted by South Jeolla Province and Yeosu, expects 3 million visitors and participation from 30 countries and three international organizations.
  • The expo will include island-based exhibitions, boat trips and 133 cultural performances, after earlier criticism over unfinished preparations drew nationwide attention.

The 2026 Yeosu World Islands Expo will open on Oct. 5, with organizers aiming to attract 3 million visitors from South Korea and abroad.

At a press-day briefing on the first, Kim Jong-ki, secretary-general of the organizing committee, said preparations at the main venue had been completed. The eight exhibition halls and other major facilities are finished, while staff are conducting final inspections and rehearsing program content ahead of the opening.

The expo, running through Nov. 4, carries the theme “Islands Connect the Sea and the Future.” South Jeolla Province and Yeosu are co-hosting the event, with the organizing committee in charge. It has a budget of 71.3 billion won, funded by the integrated South Jeolla-Gwangju special city, Yeosu, the national government and event revenue.

Preparations for the expo, including the main venue, are all complete.

— Kim Jong-kiThe organizing committee secretary-general described the event’s readiness four days before opening.

Local governments and representatives from 30 countries, including Greece, Japan, Ecuador and Tanzania, will attend. The World Health Organization, UNICEF and one other international organization are also participating. The main site in Yeosu’s Dolsan district will feature themed areas including an ecological island, future island, culture island, treasure island and international exchange island. Auxiliary venues will operate on Gaedo, Geumodo and at the Yeosu Expo site.

Organizers are presenting the event as an expo that extends beyond exhibition halls. Visitors will be able to travel by boat to actual islands and experience Yeosu’s islands and coastline. Open-air stages will host 133 performances, including K-pop shows.

The expo’s preparations became a national issue after YouTuber Kim Seon-tae, known as “Chungju Man,” posted a promotional video in April showing unfinished construction at the main venue and abandoned fishing gear at an auxiliary site. Online comments compared the event to a “second Jamboree.” Asked whether President Lee Jae Myung would visit, Kim Jong-ki said no plan had been confirmed, although organizers were continuing to request a presidential visit.

Another feature of this expo is that the stage does not remain inside the exhibition halls.

— Kim Jong-kiHe explained that visitors would travel by boat to real islands and experience Yeosu’s islands and sea.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh 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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