KTO Mission: Yeosu Expo 2012 K-Pop Concert & Odong-do Island

Making friends with the Yeosu Expo Mascots!

Yeosu was basically my life last weekend. Even with the 5+ hour journey there from Gyeongju, I was really excited to arrive Saturday afternoon at the Yeosu Expo 2012 with the KTO and my fellow K-Supporters, including my K-Supporter partner, Ruth! The Expo was full of a variety of activities, including an aquarium, international pavilions, themed pavilions, international food (!!!) and, on the weekend that we went, the Yeosu Korean Music Wave Concert, which featured top k-pop acts Jay Park, BtoB, 4Minute and B2ST!

Environment preservation has always been an important part of my life. Ever since I wrote a letter to President Clinton in grade school about pollution and litter in my community (true story and his reply is somewhere in my closet back home), I've always recognized how important it is that we protect our marine sector, so I am particularly thankful to the KTO for giving me this opportunity to learn what other countries are doing to protect our oceans.

With KTO CEO, Lee Charm

My partner and I with our KTO coordinator, Harim

 Yeosu Korean Music Wave Concert - I'd say that the highlight of my Expo adventure was definitely the k-pop concert. Not only were we ushered in (like the VIP that we are), but they saved us seats in the front rows! That's right, even in front of the press. Get it, girl. Hosted by the KTO and the Arirang crew, the concert opened with Jay Park and he killed it. I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical of the Seattle-born star, but he proved me wrong. I'm a newly converted fan and I'm not afraid to admit it. Plus, he's clearly easy on the eyes. 

Jay Park

There were four acts total, with BtoB (a fairly new boy group) and 4Minute (a girl group who, oddly enough, was missing one of their members), but the group that really got the crowd going was B2ST. It was clear that they were the crowd favorite, especially among their Beauties, the B2ST fan group. They were also the only group to do an encore. Seeing them with so much energy and enthusiasm has made me want to go to more k-pop events!

B2ST

Interesting facts that I learned about k-pop concerts: 

• Each act only performs 2-4 songs. This basically means that they're actually singing instead of lip syncing their hearts out, which is actually an oddity in the states.
• The crowd doesn't stand up. As excited as those teenagers were to see these fantastic groups, everyone stayed in their seats for the entire concert. Out of politeness maybe?

Accommodation - We booked our room about two weeks before our Yeosu trip via BnB Hero, a really convenient website if you're looking for a room to stay in throughout Korea. Positive - IT'S IN ENGLISH! While KTO allocated a specific lodging to us, it was a really nice place that was actually pretty close to the Expo (2,300 won taxi ride)...as long as you don't get lost...ahem. Side note: My partner and I ended up walking around for 45 minutes because we thought that we could be badasses and just walk home. Hmmm no. My advice? Walk a few minutes out of the Expo and then grab a taxi. Remember to bring your address in both Korean and English, as well as the host's phone number! Needless to say, we ended up getting back pretty late, so we didn't actually try out any of the amenities, but our room was quite large and the view from the balcony was gorgeous (both photos below)! Plus, at a price of 48,000 won per room, it was convenient to have a place to crash for the night. From talking with other K-Supporters, it sounds like the room prices ranged from 25,000 - 55,000 won, so keep that in mind while you're looking!

Odong-do Island - We concluded our Yeosu trip by taking a tour on Odong-do Island, which is right outside of the Expo. There's a tram that goes from the mainland to the island, but it's only a 15 minute walk and it was nice to breathe in the sea air. Our tour was about 30 minutes, where we were able to check out the Seashore Rocks, the Penis Tree, the Lighthouse and the Windy Area. As you can see from the signs below, we missed a few things because of other time commitments (hello, Cave of Dragon?!), but Odong-do Island is a pleasant place to relax. Next time I'm in Yeosu, I'm definitely making my way here again to spend more time in nature.

Gorgeous view

Penis Tree (and yes, it is labeled like that)

 The island trail also had the coolest walking path that I've ever seen! The path is on the right side of the main path and is supposed to be walked on with bare feet, as it made with various materials to massage the foot. It felt good with boots, so I can only imagine how good your feet would feel after walking on this trail with no shoes!

So if you end up making it out to the Yeosu Expo, and I definitely recommend doing so, be sure to check out as many pavilions as you can! And if you can, let me know how the themed pavilions are as well! I'd save the island for another visit down to Yeosu in order to get as much time in at the expo as possible because I was there for two days and couldn't pack as much as I wanted to into that time! Keep a look out for my additional Yeosu Expo posts as well!


xo