By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff reporter
SHANGHAI ― In an exquisite harmony of art and technology, as well as tradition and modernity, the Korean Pavilion has emerged as a star among numerous national exhibition venues at the 2010 Shanghai Expo.
With the upcoming launch of Korea Week, which starts Thursday through the weekend, operators of the pavilion expect its popularity will grow further, putting forward their aim of attracting a total of 6 million people to the place during the world's biggest exhibition event.
Outdoor cultural shows, which feature various traditional performances, will attract visitors each day of the "week." A Korean music festival is scheduled for May 30, where players of Korean folk music and chart-topping pop singers will get together to promote the country's traditional and contemporary culture.
Also during the Expo, another show is planned on August 15 to celebrate the 18th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and China.
Launched May 1, the exhibition has attracted more than 680,000 visitors so far ― a daily average of over 31,000. Almost 10 percent of the total has visited the South Korean Pavilion.
"We have a lot of interactive content, which helps the audience get a firm grip of what we want to express through various activities, and they have been popular from the beginning," Korea Pavilion Director General Park Eun-woo said.
Its multimedia show, Chorus City, also contains the message of mutual friendship between the two countries, drawing a lot of favorable responses from attendees.
Described in diverse forms of entertainment and arts, which range from 3D animation featuring images of Korean pop stars to an on-stage ballet performance, the show is about a story of "Wish Makers," who make wishes of people in an imaginary dream city come true.
"It was very moving. The experience of watching this will make a great memory in me," said Zhang Xi, a 22-year-old visitor from Beijing.
The Korean delegation said the special event week will help further promote the genuine attraction of the country to more local Chinese people.
"At the opening ceremony, I saw the deep-rooted dream of Chinese people to make their country a cultural powerhouse," Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In-chon said at a press conference.
"The world will be closer to each of its members through the Expo, and more people will have a better understanding of China and Korea. Starting with the Korea day, we will promote the country more actively and in more various ways."
But high technology is not all there is. One side wall of the exhibition hall is decorated with pictures of ordinary Korean people with big smiles, giving a warm hearted human touch in the generally technology-dominant space.
In line with the national pavilion, Seoul also operates a joint industrial fair venue with a total of 12 companies joining forces. The venue is the second most popular next to China among the 18 corporate pavilions, drawing nearly 20,000 visitors so far.
They display their state-of-the-art technologies and products under the theme of "Green City, Green Life," in a bid to express the new concept of "green ocean," a new industrial synergy generated through sharing among companies.
Local firms expect the Expo to facilitate industrial cooperation and exchange of the two countries.
Vice Knowledge Economy Minister Kim Young-hak said Korea's exports to China "will rise as much as 4 percent following the Expo."
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