Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon on Oct. 9 sits inside an urban air mobility vehicle and experiences virtual reality at “Fly to Busan,” a promotional event for the port city’s bid for the 2030 World Expo, at Cafe Gustave on the Seine River in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
By Lee Jihae
Photos = Busan Metropolitan City
Promotion of Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo has gone into overdrive in Paris.
Busan Metropolitan City on Oct. 10 said it held the promotional event “Fly to Busan” from Oct. 9-10 at Cafe Gustave on the Seine River in front of Eiffel Tower in Paris to publicize the bidding campaign.
The first and second floors of the cafe offered Busan specialties like eomuk (fish cake), tteokbokki (spicy rice cake), hotteok (bun with sweet filling) and camellia tea. The first basement floor held an exhibition of works related to Busan by artist Choi Hye-ji, Korea’s representative at Art Basel, the world’s largest art fair.
At the ferry dock in front of the cafe, the male trio Sangjaru, a fusion gugak (traditional music) band, gave a performance. Visitors also boarded urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles and used virtual reality devices to experience what Busan could look like in 2030.
“Through the event ‘Fly to Busan,’ we will present in Paris the taste and beauty of Busan, a candidate host city for the 2030 World Expo, and the event’s related values like major and minor themes,” Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon said. “Through this, we will foster an atmosphere of attracting support for the bid from tourists and Parisians.”
Bear-shaped balloons by artist Im Jibin appear at “Fly to Busan,” an event to pray for Busan’s successful bid for the 2030 World Expo, from Oct. 9-10 at the ferry dock of Cafe Gustave on the Seine River in Paris in front of the Eiffel Tower.
jihlee08@korea.kr
