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Islands of Korea, Islands of the World Connecting Islands, Yeosu City is preparing to make another Seo Young-ran has been spearheading the ISLAND Scene
preparation of the Expo since the launch of Yeosu
leap forward through the 2026 Yeosu World
Oceans, and the Future
City’s dedicated Island Expo Planning Team
Island Expo. With the theme “Connecting
in January 2023. Her team is responsible for
Islands, Oceans, and the Future,” this unique
everything from developing the master plan and
international exposition will spotlight the
supporting the establishment of the organizing
A Preview of the 2026
value and vision of islands and share the
committee to discovering collaborative projects
beauty of Korea’s islands with the world.
Yeosu World Island
We spoke with Seo Young-ran, Head of the and creating exhibition content.
Expo Island Expo Planning Team at Yeosu City, who
Rediscovering the Value of Islands
is leading the charge in making this global
Scheduled to take place from September 5 to
event a success.
November 4, 2026, the Expo will unfold across
the Jinmo District of Dolsan-eup, various nearby
islands, and the Yeosu World Expo grounds. With
a total budget of 24.8 billion KRW (approximately
USD 18 million), the event is co-hosted by
Jeollanam-do Province and Yeosu City and is
expected to attract over 30 countries and more
Head of the Island Expo
Planning Team than 3 million visitors.
Island Expo Planning Division,
Yeosu City
The Expo is projected to generate over 6,000
02 Interview with new jobs and 4 trillion KRW (approximately
Vol. Seo Young-ran USD 3 billion) in economic ripple effects.

“Although this Expo is smaller in scale
than the 2012 Yeosu World Expo, the
aspirations of Yeosu citizens are just as
big. Having already hosted one successful
global exposition, we are determined
to make this one just as impactful and
reaffirm Yeosu’s place as the leading city
of the southern coast,” says Seo.

A Unique and Distinctive Expo
Experience

In June 2023, Yeosu finalized its compre-
hensive plan under the motto “Rediscovering
the Value of Islands.” The city aims to repre-
sent all 365 islands of Yeosu, with the main
venue in Jinmo District and satellite venues
in Geumodo Island, Geobuk Island, and the
30 Lim Jae-woo, Yeosu City Yeosu World Expo site. 31