Few foreign visitors have been spotted at the event billed as an international exposition.
The 2026 Yeosu World Island Expo, which opened with a target of drawing about 3 million visitors — 2.91 million domestic and 90,000 foreign — is falling well short of expectations, leaving the organizing committee scrambling for solutions.
The organizing committee said attendance should recover once pre-sold tickets, corporate and group bookings, and school field-trip reservations are redeemed, but officials acknowledge that early visitor reviews have been lukewarm.
According to the organizing committee, the expo drew 35,668 visitors over its first weekend — 25,417 on Saturday, the opening day, and 1,251 on Sunday.
Even those figures include crowds drawn by the opening ceremony and group fan delegations who came to see trot music singers, suggesting actual interest in the expo itself is limited.
Among the roughly 35,000 visitors, virtually no foreign nationals were seen aside from representatives of participating countries — raising questions about whether the event truly merits the label of an international exposition.
The low turnout has had one unintended effect: traffic is flowing smoothly across Dolsandaegyo and Geobukseon Bridge, the main routes connecting the Jinmo district in Dolsan-eup, the expo's primary venue.
The Dolsando area is normally prone to congestion given its concentration of upscale resorts and guesthouses, so the unusually light traffic only underscores how few visitors have shown up.
The expo has struggled to shake off concerns that surfaced earlier — including signs of poor preparation exposed in a promotional video by "Chungju Man" Kim Seon-tae and the scrutiny that followed after President Lee Jae Myung ordered a government-level inspection of the event.
The expo's total budget is 70.3 billion won ($51.9 million), comprising 6.4 billion won in national government funds, 15.4 billion won in provincial funds, 36.5 billion won in city funds and 12 billion won in projected project revenue. The event is classified as a locally organized "fair" rather than a nationally led recognized exposition.
The Yeosu International Island Expo runs through Nov. 4 — a two-month run — with participation from 30 countries including Greece, Ecuador, Tanzania and Palau, as well as three international organizations including WHO and UNICEF.
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