Transforming the world with Busan in 2030

It's an all-out effort that Busan, South Korea's second largest city, is putting in its bid to host the World Expo 2030.

Known as the International Registered Exhibitions, the World Expo is a multifaceted global gathering of nations dedicated to providing a platform of solutions to global challenges. It is held every five years.

The Great Exhibition, the first World Expo, took place in London in 1851. The most recent was held in Dubai from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. The next World Expo will take place in Osaka, Japan between 13 April and 13 October 2025.

Aside from Busan, the countries vying to host the World Expo 2030 are Italy, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.

With the theme "Transforming Our World, Navigating Toward a Better Future," Busan aims to address climate change, downsides of digital transformation; and inequality among and within nations.

The thriving city has an extensive experience of hosting large-scale international events such as the Asian Games in 2022, APEC Summit in 2005, Busan World Development Institute General Assembly in 2011, ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in 2014, ASEAN-ROK Summit in 2014 and 2019, IDB Annual Meeting in 2015 and International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations World Congress in 2022.

Whether or not it wins the bid, Busan is steadfast in transforming its industrial sites, the port, into a waterfront area.

"We are currently developing that area into a cultural complex," Lee Seung-woo, director of the Overseas Expo Outreach Division said in an interview with the Philippine media.

The Busan North Port, its expo site, has a total land area of 3.44 million sqm, large enough for the national pavilions and other expo facilities. A floating city will also be built. This is on top of the endorsement of the K-pop group BTS.

A 10 billion won fund plus investments from private sectors are funding Busan's hosting for the World Expo 2030.