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| Park Jae-yul, second from left in the front row, chairman of the civil society division of the Citizens Committee World Expo 2030, poses with Busan residents after welcoming events for the Bureau International des Expositions' delegation at Busan Station, April 4. Courtesy of Park Jae-yul |
By Jung Min-ho
If citizens' enthusiasm was the most decisive factor in the race to host World Expo 2030, Busan would simply be unrivaled.
The passion demonstrated in every corner of the Korean city during the on-site inspection earlier this month by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the event's governing body, left its delegation in no doubt that the people of Busan genuinely want the opportunity.
"They want it because it is their project. The people ― not the central government or politicians ― started the campaign in 2014 by collecting signatures, which eventually became a national project. So they understand deeply what it means to host the World Expo where they live and how important it is for them," Park Jae-yul, chairman of the civil society division of the Citizens Committee World Expo 2030, said in a recent interview.
Park was among those who organized the welcoming events at Busan Station for the BIE delegates, who were surprised upon their arrival on April 4 to meet a huge crowd gathered there.
"I was worried that this could seem artificial. But all my worries disappeared when I saw the genuine faces of the people," he said. "They were sincere. I'm sure that the delegates felt it. I felt it. It was impossible not to feel it."
From that day forward, the residents of Busan welcomed the delegation wholeheartedly. They were warmly greeted, smiled at and sometimes given high fives from those who recognized them during their visit.
In a sense, Park felt his committee has already achieved something important regardless of the outcome of the Expo bid.
"In the whole process, I felt that citizens can play a key role, perhaps the chief role, in leading a project like this. From the very beginning, citizens have led the campaign and, in doing so, I saw what their healthy partnership with the government should look like in a democracy. In that sense, it has been a meaningful and rewarding experience for me as a social activist," he said. "Now I'm more optimistic about Busan's Expo prospects than ever before."
Park, a longtime advocate of political and economic decentralization, said he began campaigning for the Expo after realizing the potential impact the event could have for that cause. He said the world exhibition would unleash the potential of Korea's biggest city in its southern area, which he believes is important for the country's balanced development.
Many countries share the concern about unbalanced development, which has created many issues such as overdevelopment across the world. With the Expo, Park hopes that Busan will help ease the Seoul-concentration problem as a city that plays a bigger, more important role. This is important not only for Korea but also for many other countries searching for examples to learn from over their similar concerns, he said.
For the hosting rights, Busan is currently competing against Saudi Arabia's Riyadh, Ukraine's Odesa and Italy's Rome. Openly supported by China, Belarus and Cuba among several others, the Saudi capital has been considered as the strongest contender.
The results of their inspections are going to be compiled in official reports, which the BIE member states will review when deciding which bidder to support. The candidate cities will give their fourth round of presentations in June and their final ones in November in Paris at the BIE General Assembly, during which the winner will be decided by secret ballot.
