“Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea” took place in Yeosu, a port city on the southern coast of the Republic of Korea, from May 12 to August 12, 2012. Organized by the Organizing Committee for the International Exhibition Yeosu Korea 2012, it was a recognized Expo (International Recognized Exhibition) under the International Exhibitions Bureau (Bureau International des Expositions, BIE), with the theme “The Living Ocean and Coast.” On a 25-hectare waterfront site, it welcomed 105 countries and recorded 8,203,956 visits.

Yeosu won the right to host at the 142nd General Assembly of the BIE in Paris on November 26, 2007. Wrocław, Poland, was eliminated in the first round with 13 votes, and Yeosu then defeated Tangier, Morocco, by 77 votes to 63. The victory came after Yeosu had lost the race for the 2010 Expo to Shanghai. As part of its bid, the Korean government pledged funding for the Yeosu Project, an international cooperation program to help developing countries address ocean and climate challenges through training, research and the dispatch of experts.

The theme called attention to the decline of the oceans under global warming and pollution. It was developed through three subthemes: Coastal Development and Preservation, New Resources Technology and Creative Maritime Activities. Pavilions on climate and environment, ocean civilization, maritime industry and technology, and shipping and ports joined the International, Korean and corporate pavilions; the Korean and Theme Pavilions were based on winning designs from an international competition. Some 100,000 volunteers helped run the Expo.

The Expo Digital Gallery, a vast LED screen on the ceiling of the International Pavilion area, displayed images of sea creatures and became a symbol of the Expo. The Big-O show, a multimedia spectacle of fire and holograms set to music, was its centerpiece, and the Sky Tower turned two disused cement silos into an observation deck. The Expo also included a large aquarium, which remains open as Hanwha Aqua Planet Yeosu.

At the close, participants adopted the Yeosu Declaration on the Living Ocean and Coast, which set out concerns and priorities for the management of oceans and coasts and the research needed to inform policy. The Expo 2012 Yeosu Foundation was established to carry its legacy forward.

After the Expo, a high-speed KTX rail line that had terminated at Yeosu Expo Station since 2011 continued to bring visitors from Seoul, supporting tourism in the city. The Big-O show still runs in warmer months, the former International Pavilion houses shops and attractions, and the former United States Pavilion became a hotel, while the Theme Pavilion has stood closed. As The Korea Times observed, “Yeosu sought to create a more sustainable Expo, with attention paid to the future use of all structures.” Expo 2012 Yeosu brought the health of the oceans to the center of the Expo program and helped transform a declining port city.