The 2026 Yeosu World Islands Expo is off to a rocky start. Despite an attendance target of 3 million visitors, the event drew only about 35,000 people over its opening weekend. This has revived attention to a YouTube video Kim Seon-tae, known online as "Chungju Man," posted five months earlier, criticizing the event's shoddy preparations at the time.
According to the Yeosu World Islands Expo organizing committee, opening-weekend attendance totaled 35,668 — 25,417 on Saturday and 10,251 on Sunday. Only 5,778 people visited on Monday.
The organizing committee had aimed for a daily average of more than 49,000 visitors. The average over the first three days came to only about 13,800 — less than a third of the target. Given that the opening ceremony included a celebratory performance by a popular singer, observers say the turnout fell far short of expectations.
The disappointing turnout has been attributed to a lack of exhibition content.
According to Yonhap, one Yeosu resident who toured the venue and had a meal there said it "did not even take an hour," adding, "I have no plans to come back, and I would not recommend it to others." Another visitor said, "I came with my family to visit my hometown of Yeosu, but I could not shake the feeling that the admission fee was a waste."
Another Yeosu resident said, "Even before the event opened, it had already earned the unflattering nickname 'the second Jamboree,' which hurt our pride as citizens, and it looks hard to recover from that now." The resident added, "At the very least, they should build up the atmosphere of the 'night sea festival' to raise visitor satisfaction."
On social media, criticism of the facilities and content has continued, with some mockingly describing the reinforced tent-style exhibition halls at the main venue as "fancy greenhouses."
Venue still under construction five months ago: 'Why bring me here?'
Amid the criticism, an old video by Kim Seon-tae — known online as "Chungju Man" — that blasted the event's pre-opening preparations is drawing renewed attention.
Kim, who rose to fame promoting Chungju, posted a six-minute video on his personal YouTube channel in April to help promote the Yeosu expo.
But in the footage, the venue — with the opening still about five months away — was in the middle of groundwork. Touring the site, Kim asked, "Why did you bring me here?" A South Jeolla Province official replied, "The event opens in September. Isn't it meaningful to see how it looks before and after?"
The official noted that public opinion toward the expo was poor at the time and suggested, in effect, that they were "in the same boat." Kim drew a line, saying, "I don't want to get dragged into the islands expo. I have a brand image too, and I am someone who looks after his own image."
However, Kim also offered some advice, saying, "You can only see the philosophy of an event when there are lots of people. The expo becomes fun when lots of young people come. The weather is nice now, so they should make sure people can have fun while it is cool."
Although the video was made for promotional purposes, commenters raised concerns even when it was first posted. Some wrote, "This is not promotion, it is an exposé," "Where did all the budget go?" and "This looks like it needs an inspection."
After the expo opened and critical reviews began piling up in practice, Kim's video has been flooded with comments. One comment read, "It became a controversy over poor preparation and still flopped — what would have happened without this video?" Another said, "Calling itself a tourist attraction, taking tax money and still failing to draw tourists — this looks like it needs an investigation." A third read, "If local administration is at this level and tax money is being 'skimmed,' then what is the problem with Seoul-centralization or calling it a 'Seoul republic'?" Another wrote, "I came back after hearing about the second Jamboree."
Meanwhile, the islands expo, themed "Islands, Connecting the Sea and the Future," runs for 61 days through Nov. 4. It is being held at the main venue in Jinmo District, Dolsan-eup, as well as at the Yeosu World Expo grounds and on the islands of Gaedo and Geumodo. The government will provide up to 100,000 won (about $75) in travel support to tourists who stay overnight or longer on the islands from Oct. 1 to Nov. 4.
betterj@heraldcorp.com
