Hundreds of foreigners rally for Busan bid in Expo Friends campaign [EXPO BID 2030]

Industry

Published: 26 Nov. 2023, 18:04 Updated: 27 Nov. 2023, 13:03

Hundreds of foreigners rally for Busan bid in Expo Friends campaign [EXPO BID 2030]

Khan Muhammad Waqas, a member of the Expo Friends campaign promoting Busan’s 2030 World Expo Bid, poses for a photo during a promotional campaign held at Seomyeon Crossroads in downtown Busan on Nov. 21, a week before the final vote for the Expo's host city. [KHAN MUHAMMAD WAQAS]

Khan Muhammad Waqas, a member of the Expo Friends campaign promoting Busan’s 2030 World Expo Bid, is confident in what Busan can offer the world as the mega-event's host.

“This city has something for everyone,” Wakas told the Korea JoongAng Daily in a telephone interview on Friday, citing Busan’s beaches, mountains, vibrant life and rich history as the country’s biggest port city.

“But more than anything, Busan could really accommodate foreigners,” stressed Waqas, saying that he, an outdoor person who has lived in various parts of the world before, “fell in love with the city” when he moved to Busan last year.

Waqas is a Pakistani graduate student, studying marketing at Pusan National University, who joined the Expo Friends campaign last year.

The Expo Friends campaign, organized by Busan Global City Foundation, is staffed by 215 foreigners from 46 countries. The group has taken part in various promotional activities since last March including 26 offline events and more than 1,800 online posts promoting Busan’s Expo bid as of early November.

Recently, the Expo Friends team joined a promotional campaign held at Seomyeon Crossroads in downtown Busan on Nov. 21, wearing Korea’s traditional hanboks.

Member of Expo Friends wear Korea's traditional hanboks to promote Busan’s 2030 World Expo bid during a street campaign held on Nov. 21 in Busan [YONHAP]

One of the most memorable experiences Waqas has had while working with Expo Friends was greeting a delegation from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in April.

“We the Expo Friends, the foreigners, and Koreans alike, welcomed [the delegation] at the Busan station — and it was a such a big welcome,” said Wagas.

“They[the BIE delegation] were like, ‘Wow, this is crazy,’ because everybody was so excited about the Expo. That’s one of my memorable moments, seeing their reaction in real time.”

Members of the Expo Friends campaign, consisting of foreigners from 46 countries across the world, greet the Bureau International des Expositions delegation in April at Busan Station [KHAN MUHAMMAD WAQAS]

As the final voting for the host city approaches, Waqas emphasized that the Korean public’s genuine enthusiasm to host the world’s fair is what sets the country apart from its rivals.

His brother lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a city currently contending with Busan in the bidding race. Waqas feels that the World Expo doesn't seem to be generating as much excitement there, particularly among the general public, as it does in Korea.

“It’s the people’s love for the Expo, which I think is the main point why Busan should be selected [to host World Expo 2030],” Waqas said.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]