ON SEPTEMBER 7, South Korea submitted its official bid for the 2030 World Expo to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), an intergovernmental association that organizes World Expos[1]. Though the Expo’s venue will be announced in November, 2023, it would be a historic moment for South Korea if Busan—its second-largest city—got selected as the host city for the 2030 World Expo. Even though South Korea has held the 1993 Daejeon Expo and the 2012 Yeosu Expo, they were specialized expos open only for three months. Hence, the 2030 Busan World Expo would be the first of its kind, having a positive impact on South Korea’s economy.

The 2030 World Expo in Busan

   World Expos are global events held by the BIE that aim to find “solutions to fundamental challenges facing humanity,” with the host city choosing a specific theme for the expo[2]. Busan is hoping to host the 2030 World Expo, an event held for six months in a city voted for by 170 BIE member countries. The Busan Expo’s theme would be “Transforming Our World, Navigating Toward a Better Future,” specifically highlighting global challenges like climate change, digital transformation, and inequality among and within nations[3]. Kim Young-ju, a member of the Bid Committee for the 2030 Busan World Expo, stated that Busan would be the perfect host to address the aforementioned theme as it “played a pivotal role in the progress of Korea transforming [since the Korean War] from a country that received aid to a country now giving out aid[4].” 

Bid promotion

   To promote Busan’s bid for the 2030 World Expo, the South Korean government split the Bid Committee into two parties: a Governmental Committee and a Civilian Committee. The Civilian Committee is composed of top executives from 11 conglomerates in South Korea, including the Samsung Group and SK Telecom Co., Ltd.[5]. The Civilian Committee's strategy for the Expo bid is for conglomerates to leverage their business networks, expanding their global partnerships in the process. Kia Co. CEO Seong Ho-sung visited Africa on September 18 as a special envoy for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to raise support for hosting the 2030 World Expo in Busan. During his six-day trip, he visited South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe[6]. Seong chose Africa as his destination because it is home to 45 BIE member countries that can vote for the Expo’s host city, only falling behind Europe’s voting bloc of 48 members. Furthermore, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Vice Chairman Lee Jae-young visited Mexico to promote Busan’s bid and went to Britain to meet British Prime Minister Liz Truss[7]. Additionally, following his visit to Paris to attend the 170th General Assembly of the BIE, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to ask for Tokyo's support[8]. 

   The Governmental Committee is utilizing its economic engagements with regional blocs to request their support for the Expo bid. During the 2022 Korea-Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Future Cooperation Forum with the Busan Metropolitan Government in July, the Korean government promised LAC countries supply chain resilience in exchange for their support of the 2030 Busan Expo bid[9]. Similarly, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) promoted Busan's bid to Pacific Island countries during its participation at the Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) in August[9]. 

   Lastly, the Bid Committee hopes to promote Busan as the Expo’s venue by leveraging South Korea’s pop culture status. One of the committee’s major moves was to appoint world-renowned superstar BTS as the honorary ambassador for the 2030 Busan Expo. In October, BTS held a free concert in Busan, and Lee Seung-woo, Director of the Overseas Expo Outreach Division, said it was “a perfect opportunity to promote the city and Busan’s bid for the Expo[10].” 

The benefits of hosting the Expo

   Hosting the 2030 World Expo in Busan will entail significant economic benefits for Busan. A recent study by the Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade estimated that the Expo will “generate ₩43 trillion of production inducement effects, ₩18 trillion in value-added inducement effects, and 500,000 jobs” in the span of six months[4]. In an interview, Seung-woo emphasized how the Expo will draw many tourists from around the world to Korea, and that the inflow of approximately 50 million visitors to Busan will be crucial in invigorating the local economy[4]. With visitors utilizing new infrastructure developments in Busan, the success of major civic projects like the redevelopment of the North Port and the construction of the Gadeokdo New Airport will depend on Busan being selected to host the Expo[11]. Additionally, the Busan Expo will be an opportunity for Korean conglomerates like the Samsung Group to expand their businesses, as the Expo will allow Korean companies to hold investment presentations with international government and private sector officials. As Kim states, “a business pavilion will be set up within the Expo so companies will be able to promote their brands and hold forums[5].”

The probability of Busan as the host city

   South Korea is currently competing with Saudi Arabia and Italy for the status of the 2030 World Expo’s host city. Busan is at a relative disadvantage in terms of recognition since it is neither a national capital nor a famous tourist location. Moreover, there is strong unity among regional nations around Saudi Arabia and Italy. While European and African nations strongly support Italy, Saudi Arabia has the support of Middle Eastern and Islamic countries[12]. Most importantly, South Korea is in regional proximity with Japan and China, who hosted the 2025 Osaka Expo and the 2022 Beijing Olympics, respectively. It is doubtful whether the BIE will allow South Korea to host the 2030 World Expo as doing so would make three East Asian countries host major global events in close proximity timewise[12].  

   Yet, despite these drawbacks, Busan has proven capable of hosting major global events—Busan hosted the 2002 Asian Games, the 2006 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and the 2011 Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness[7]. Furthermore, Busan is the South Korean hub of transportation. Not only is the city the world’s second largest transshipment hub, but it also has an airport and efficient high-speed rail lines that would facilitate tourists’ travels within Busan[7]. The city also carries strong soft power, with annual tourist numbers exceeding 40 million. Aside from tourism, Busan is a significant part of the Korean cultural phenomenon known as the “K-wave.” The city has hosted the Busan International Film Festival annually since 1993 and K-Pop concerts like the Busan One Asia Festival, proving itself an experienced player in hosting international cultural events. 

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   Even though the prospect of Busan hosting the 2030 World Expo is uncertain, Busan is on par with Saudi Arabia and Italy in its bid competition. There is ample time until the election for the host country in 2023, meaning that Korea can continue to actively promote its bid for another year. Busan currently has limited diplomatic connections compared to Italy and Saudi Arabia, but Korea’s current promotion tactics are gaining attention. With South Korea submitting its official bid quite recently, the way it continues to maintain its current momentum will be critical to winning votes from other BIE members. 

[1] The Korea Herald

[2]  Bureau International des Expositions

[3] World Expo Busan 2030

[4] Korea JoongAng Daily

[5] Korea JoongAng Daily

[6] The Korea Times

[7] Korea JoongAng Daily

[8] The Korea Herald

[9] The Korea Times

[10] The Manila Times

[11] Korea Economic Institute

[12] The Korea Times