아름다운 Yeosu (beautiful Yeosu): Seward's Sister City in South Korea

I just had the pleasure of spending two days in Yeosu, Seward’s sister city in South Korea. Yeosu is located on the south coast of Korea, about 45 mins flight south of Seoul - see http://www.yeosu.go.kr/en/. My visit coincided with a field trip by the evaluation committee of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World Club (http://www.world-bays.com/) who were evaluating the nomination by Yeosu to join the club.

Yeosu has 900 km of shoreline, 317 islands and is bordered on three sides by the sea so clearly has all the attributes to be Korea’s first designated beautiful bay!

I was joined for the final day of my visit by Dr Clarence Pautzke, Executive Director of the North Pacific Research Board. I was traveling with Dr Pautzke to Jeju for the annual North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) Conference and so it was convenient to stop by Yeosu en route.

Yeosu was founded in the 6th century and has some magnificent historical sites, including the ancient Hyangiram Buddhist temple and the famed Jinnamgwan Hall (the HQ for a famous naval battle in the 16th century). The natural heritage of Yeosu is equally remarkable – the city covers some 500km2 of which 62% is still under forest (and contains beautiful azalea and camellia forests).

Of special note are the various dinosaur fossil sites such as Sado Island which have now been nominated for World Heritage status.

The city’s economy is dominated by manufacturing – Yeosu is rapidly emerging as an important regional petrochemical center, with some $14b of exports in 2008. Fisheries and agriculture are the other major employers.

Yeosu city international relations and expo staff were gracious and very welcoming hosts. Yeosu became a sister city with Seward in 1996 and they hold that relationship in high regard. My visit followed a visit by Seward Mayor Willard Dunham in May this year. The Mayor of Yeosu, Mr. Oh Hyun-sup has encouraged us to expand cooperation – during my meeting with him on Friday evening, he again reiterated his desire to build stronger links with Alaska generally and with Seward in particular.

The BIG news for Yeosu is that it has been selected by the Bureau of International Expositions to host the 2012 World Expo from May 12th – August 12th. The Expo will be the third largest international event hosted by Korea (after the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 2002 World Cup) and construction is proceeding around the clock to get the site ready – some 8 million visitors are expected! Massive infrastructure works such as a new high speed rail line connecting Yeosu and Seoul are underway. Of particular note is that the Expo has a theme of “Living Ocean and Coast”. The site will feature a range of ambitious marine technologies and projects, including South Korea’s largest aquarium.

I have undertaken to make a presentation to the ASLC staff and the Seward City Council and public on my return and to work with the City and State of Alaska to evaluate options for City and SeaLife Center engagement in the 2012 Expo – please stay tuned as we work through the details and I welcome ideas and inputs on how we can help our Sister City… this could be a very exciting partnership, but… Han-gung-mal yŏn-sŭ-p'ae-ya dwoe-yo!!! (= I will have to practice my Korean)