Yeosu Expo 2012

The World Fair was held in Yeosu, Korea this year, which is the city down south where Bob's company plant is located.  So, taking advantage of Bob's need to meet with his plant managers, we planned a visit to the Expo.  We drove down to Geoge to spend a couple of nights at Stephanie's home.  Saturday night we enjoyed dinner at the Turkish restaurant, and Sunday we went to church where we boosted the attendance by about one third.  As some friends have commented, that's not a branch, but a "twig"!  That evening we walked along the harbor in front of Ben's office building.

Ben had to leave on business for the week, so we took Stephanie and Emma with us to Yeosu, about a ninety-minute drive from Okpo.  The theme of the Expo was “The Living Ocean and Coast” with sub themes of “Preservation and Sustainable Development of the Ocean and Coast,” “New Resources Technology,” and “Creative Marine Activities.” There was participation from more than 100 countries and international organizations, and an expected 8 million visitors.  Little did we know that those visitors would all show up this day - or so it seemed!  Apparently, it was the first day of summer break in many areas throughout Korea, and this was the place to be.  Thankfully, the fare was reduced from 33,000 to 3,000 won for foreigners that week, because that's about all it was worth that day.  The sun and humidity were unforgiving and the 45-minute to 3 hour ques to get into the various exhibits was pure torture.  Too bad we didn't come earlier in the summer, because there really were some wonderful presentations that we just could not see.

Here's a few of Emma's favorite activities, including exploring a sunken ship:

 And there were lots of colorful sights to see:

The international exhibitions were interesting, including the giant "Lego" wave in the Denmark pavilion and a photo opportunity while "wearing" traditional Russian apparel.

Just for Michael, we visited the Peru exhibit and saw this gigantic squid encased in a table top at the bar.  On display was what they called the invention of the first surf board -

 too bad Elder Goodman won't be able to try that one out!

There was some amazing architecture at the fair, including an abandoned silo on the beach which was turned into a huge harp-shaped pipe organ.  On the ceiling of one building was a digital gallery which created images of the ocean from thousands of photographs of expo visitors.  They created a "Big O" structure in the bay, which would be the focal point of an amazing culminating performance each night.  The building behind the "Big O" was designed to look like a whale and was integrated into the nightly show.

That evening we managed to secure a place to sit with a partial view of the "Big O", among the thousands of visitors who gathered to witness the grand finale.  It was a spectacular display of lights, lasers, music, water fountains and sprayers, fog, and fire.  I think it told the story of a whale's quest to save the ocean from destructive pollutants from above.

 Yes, we got our three dollars' worth of fun!

The next day, Bob went to work at the plant and the rest of us enjoyed the beautiful new waterpark at our resort.

Aaaahhh, lazy rivers, slides, wave pools, water massages, hot tubs, and amazingly - no crowds!