One of the first things visitors will notice when they get closer to South Korea Pavilion is its striking walls decorated with numerous letters from the Korean alphabet, Hangul.
“Hangul is the biggest and also the best invention of Korea,” said Park Eun-woo (pictured), director general of the pavilion.
“With a combination of consonants and vowels, Hangul is a good way to communicate, and communication is also the key message the Korean Pavilion wants to convey.”
South Korea Pavilion presents a blueprint of future cities, combining the country’s most advanced technology with traditional culture, Park said.
The three-story pavilion, one of the largest pavilions, has a big open area on its ground floor. Here, a 3-D map of a Korean city depicts the convergence of nature and urbanism. Most notably, a 79-meter-long artificial river, modeled after the Han River that cuts through Seoul, flows from one corner to the other.
The remaining levels above not only provide shade below but also act as a natural ventilation system for the pavilion. Park called the ground floor the “most special part” of the pavilion. “Visitors can come in and enjoy Korean traditional and modern performances here,” he said.
The main exhibition area on the second floor of the ROK Pavilion is divided into four sections ―culture, technology, humanity and nature ― that display the current and future urban life in the country through dazzling multi-media displays.
“Although I am not an expert in architecture, I think the most primary thing for building a sustainable city is to respect its people and culture,” Park said. “If we can follow this idea we will create a better city.”
South Korea Pavilion will hold 12 cultural performances daily until the end of the Expo. A Korean Music Festival with artists from China and South Korea will be held on May 30.
Other cultural events will also be arranged, including one in August to celebrate 18 years of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea and another in September that will be hosted jointly with China and Japan.
raskol@ajnews.co.kr
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