After four years of work and 10 billion dollars of investment, Yeosu Expo 2012 in South Korea opened last 12th May with a high-tech show.

Yeousu is a city of 300 thousand inhabitants located on the southern coast of South Korea. The city is located partly on the coast and partly on an archipelago composed by 365 islands of which only 49 are populated. The other islands are preserved in their natural state and are part of Hallyeohaesang Marine National Park.

So it was the ideal location for an expo focused on Oceans and their delicate balance. The theme of the expo is “The Living Ocean and Coast”. Yeosu Expo is an international exposition: a second tier exposition in respect to world expositions such as Shangai 2010 or Milano 2015. The emblem of Yeousu Expo represents the harmony between earth, ocean and ecology. The exhibition site is located in Sujeongdong district in front of Odong do Island.

104 countries and 10 international organizations are participating in this expo with 10 million visitors are expected.

Covering the largest area the International Pavilion is comprised of exhibitions by countries in individual and joint national pavilions. The large screen installed on the ceiling of the passageway of the International Pavilion- 218 meters wide and 30 meters long which is 6,324 units of 60 inches TVs combined altogether - is the Expo Digital Gallery.

The One Ocean Pavilion with the exhibition “Coesistence of the Ocean and Humanity” is designed by Austrian architecture firm Soma. This architecture is extremely innovative from a technological point of view, resembling a kind of living organism. The building has two different faces. One vast side of the building is covered with reinforced fiberglass “gills” that can be opened and closed to either provide shade or ventilation. There are solar panels on the roof and a seawater heat exchange system that will provide additional cooling and lead to 80% of the building’s energy originating from renewable sources. Towards the sea the conglomeration of solid vertical cones defines a new meandering coast line, a soft edge that is in constant negotiation between water and land. On the opposite side the pavilion develops out of the ground into an artificial roof–landscape with gardens and scenic paths.

We can’t forget the Korea Pavilion by architecture firm Samoo Architects & Engineers. Designed to resemble the Korean ‘Taegeuk’ - the yin and yang symbol of balance- it combines the latest in hydrogen fuel cell technology, photovoltaic solar panels and geo-thermal energy to provide power, cooling and heating, making it carbon negative, taking more CO2 from the atmosphere than it produces.

Between the attractions of expo a central feature is The Big-O, set to be the landmark of Expo it’s a gigantic structure - 48 meters high and 120 meters wide - producing special effects and presenting a mix of laser shows, holograms and a water fountain spectacle.

Then there’s the Sky Tower, a symbolic construction made by transforming a pair of industrialization-period abandoned silos. On the outside of the Sky Tower a pipe organ is installed named ‘Vox Maris’ (meaning ‘the sound of the sea’ in Latin) which makes probably the greatest sound in the world. It delivers its sound as far as 6 kilometers away. The tower also provides the highest observation point of the entire Expo.

There are also several sub thematic pavilions such as the Climate&Environment Pavilion, Marine Industry&Technology Pavilion, Marine Civilization Pavilion, Marine City Pavilion, and the Marine Life Pavilion with the largest Acquarium in Korea.