Local Link Dump (Yeosu, Beolgyo, Lotteria, 등)

** Yeosu was awarded the 2012 World Expo a few days ago. In the first round of voting its 68 votes beat out Tangiers' (Morocco) 59 and Wroclaw's (Poland) 13. Because nobody took two-thirds of the votes, a second round was held, in which Yeosu scored 77 of the 140 votes to Tangiers' 63. According to an International Herald Tribune article, the 2012 exposition will be of the three-month variety that focuses on a particular theme. Yeosu's is "The Living Ocean and Coast: Diversity of Resources and Sustainable Activities."

That is both the result of, and the reason for, some massive development in the region. In October the merger of Suncheon, Yeosu, and Gwangyang was announced, and the 2010 union will result in a city of over 720,000 people. In 2011 the KTX high-speed rail will reach Yeosu, making the city a roughly three-hour ride from the capital. I'm no economist, so the potential economic effects of the Expo are over my head, but according to Jeong Hak-geun of the Yeosu Exhibition Bidding Committee:

"The World Expo can bring about 11 billion dollars’ worth of production effects and over 4.3 billion dollars in added value, as well as 90 thousand more jobs. The World Expo can generate just as much economic benefit as the Olympics or the FIFA World Cup. By hosting the World Expo, Korea can take its economy to another level. Also the city of Yeosu can take the opportunity to upgrade the city’s infrastructure and emerge as the coastal city of the future. Not only that, the entire southern coast region could undergo extensive development, which would encourage regional development and revive the local economy."

A guy on Dave's said that Yeosu airport might take some international flights (sort of a little confirmed here), and another guy said that the city will revamp the area around Dolsan Bridge and Jungang-dong, so you can put as much faith in those statements as you would any other thing on Dave's. I'd personally love to see them build a nice boardwalk on the waterfront that arches from the west end of Dolsan Bridge, around Janggun-do island, past the ferry terminal and Jinnamgwan, and nearly to Odong-do island. Now, walking from that side of the bridge to the nice little pedestrian area on Jungang-no in Jungang-dong involves a 30-minute trek past unsightly shipyards, markets, unoccupied buildings, and more markets. The markets add character, and ferries are important, so I'm not in favor of sweeping them under the rug. However, that could be such a pretty, vibrant area, with a view worth making the trip for.

If they do go ahead with the merger, I'd like to see them put in a light-rail that connects the bus terminals and/or the main points in each city. I'm talking out my ass a little, because I have no idea how much intercity travel currently occurs, or how much (if any) demand there is for more efficient transportation. Moreover, given the sprawl that characterizes both Gwangyang and Yeosu, and given that the new city will be larger than Busan and Ulsan combined, I suspect it would be difficult to build a new public transit system to meet everyone's needs. I do know, though, that I've never made the 21.4-mile trip from the Suncheon Intercity Bus Terminal to the Yeosu Express Bus Terminal in under 45 minutes. A light-rail would remind me of a subway, and since I like subways, I'm unilaterally deciding to go ahead with my plan.

They are working, though, on tons of expressways that will increase connectivity between Yeosu and Gwangyang, Suncheon, Jeonju, and Gyeongsangnam-do throughout the next eight years. But since I hate driving, and hate the traffic caused by other people driving, I am not throwing my support behind these projects.

It looks like they will also build a big, distinctive landmark, similar to the Eiffel Tower I guess, in celebration. I'm all for distinctive architecture and for actually having a building taller than the blocks and blocks and blocksandblocksandblocks of apartments.

There's no shortage of hyperbole and melodrama in the papers. From the Chosun Ilbo:

The earnest hopes of the residents of Yeosu, with a population of less than 300,000, ended up moving the world. Overcoming the pain of defeat, Yeosu was chosen as the host of the World Expo 2012.

From the Korea Times:

It was a rare good news at the crack of the dawn. Yeosu's successful bidding for the 2012 World Expo was further encouraging as it, albeit temporarily, outcast the relatively gloomy atmosphere due chiefly to the stagnant presidential campaigns replete with seemingly less qualified candidates. Signs of an economic slowdown originating from the mortgage crisis in the United States have been depressing the nation and its stock market. We believe it was a result of ``total diplomacy'' with the government, businesses and the Yeosu citizens having combined forces over the past 500 days. They deserve acclaim.

I like to roll my eyes at slogans and Konglishy public relations, and part of me does find it kind of silly that little ol' Yeosu aspires to be an international city. Good for Yeosu, though, and I don't want to piss on their parade. I really don't expect to be here in 2012, but when I read about the exposition in the papers it will be a nice reminder of my time here. I expect, if I do stay a little while, to see a lot of exciting changes and developments. (I'm really just pulling for a light rail, a boardwalk, and a Burger King, though).

** If Lee Myung-bak is elected, the Chungcheong provinces will become a hub of science and business. (Korea Times)

** Wonderful headline: "Wow, lots of guys had sex with a 15-year-old" (Sports Hankook Ilbo, translated by Korea Beat)

** While trying to find stuff about the Yosu-Suncheon Incident (여순사건), I came across this page (some unpleasant photographs) and found a picture of the area around Beolgyo's Rainbow Bridge, presumably taken in 1948. The old thatched-roof cottages really stand out against the hillside. The bridge today is, for some reason, divided into two sections: the older stone arch and the newer flat part. Apparently it was divided in the past, too, and in the picture below the "newer" section looks pretty ricketty.



Contrast that with a photo taken in October, a short distance away from the above.


** After carefully weighing all the evidence, Professor Emiritus at Yonsei University and Korea Times columnist Park Kyu-tae boldly proclaims "I think that the pros of the Internet far outweigh the cons." (Korea Times)

** In Suncheon, Lotteria restaurants outnumber McDonald's by about seven to one, and in Jeollanam-do it's 19 to 4. Many foreigners are staunchly anti-Lotteria, and I avoided the place my first two years. But, for the sake of variety, it is nice to go there once in a while, and some of the things there are pretty good. My favorite is the Hanwoo Bulgogi Burger, which is a very tasty sammich. It only has 644 calories (more than a Big Mac), so you can eat four and still be under your daily recommended dosage.

Does anyone else have such a hard time formatting their blogspot entries? I've edited this thing about five times, and the spacing and placement of pictures still isn't correct.