Being an Expo Friends

 I knew a little bit about Busan when my teacher shared the Expo Friends pamphlet through the group chat. My curiosity led me to read through the information, and I found so many words that I didn't know. Expo? World Expo? In Busan? Biggest Exposition? 2030? Will be participated by over 200 countries around the world??!

I couldn't hold my breath; this was a MEGA BIG event. Being part of it would be so fantastic but impossible for an international student like me, who seems to have just arrived in Busan yesterday. Additionally, I don't have a high ability to participate and contribute. However, my other side pushed me to go beyond my limit. Just like the Coldplay lyric "If you never try you never know~" or just like the Korean proverb that I learned in class recently "시작이 반이다" means starting is half the task and "구더기 무서워 장 못 담그랴" it's literal meaning "maggots cannot be an excuse for not making soybean paste" which means "you can't succeed if you're afraid of failure". From that point, I decided to fill out the Google Expo Friends registration form. A few days later, I got an announcement email that I had made it!! I couldn't describe how happy I was. Indeed, it was the beginning of many exciting things that I got in Busan!!

    1. The Start

    That day (2022.03.30) was the Expo Friends orientation day which was opened by Secretary General Chung, Jongpil and attended by more than 100 selected Expo friends people from various countries! He greeted us all kindly, then explained several things about the Expo. The orientation ends with a group photo. Ps, I was the one who made the heart shape, haha

    2. Get to know more about Busan

    Becoming Expo friends made me learn new things, including interesting facts about Busan; from the start, Busan is the second largest city in Korea, Busan has the largest mall in the world (Shinsegae Centum City Department Store), Busan is the city with the fifth busiest port in the world, Korea's largest seafood market is in Busan! (Jagalchi), also, BIFF (Busan International Film Festival), one of the most significant film festivals in Asia, is held in Busan every year!! I swear I wouldn't realize about these if I wasn't Expo Friends:")

    3. Develop skills

    I've always loved photography, editing and sometimes writing. Becoming expo friends allowed me to practice skills that were forgotten over time. I'm starting to learn to edit again! I learned how to write and summarize information, make news cards, and edit photos to create monthly content. That helps me in everyday life, such as making and editing presentations on campus. I also got more competent at creating social-media content which led me to be chosen as one of the influencers to promote a tour service. It is so worth it!

    4. Networking + advancing my Korean

    When I became Expo Friends, I had the opportunity to take part in making a promotional video for the Busan World Expo, which was held at Gwangalli Beach. I met around 50 expo friends from various countries and 50 Korean expo friends. There, I met some Korean friends and learned to use the Korean language I had learned in class. I was very hesitant and shy to practice directly with Korean people, but through this opportunity, I got used to and dared to communicate in Korean. It was a sweltering day but cooled down by the Ice Americano prepared by the committee, the sound of the waves, the breeze and our laughter when the producers said, "let's do it one more time" for the 4th time. Hahaha

 

    Time flies. It's already December, which means my time on the Expo Friends team will end. Special thanks to 이은정 선생님 for always support and not being tired of answering all of our questions. Thank you, BFIC, Busan, and Busan World Expo 2030 committee, for trusting and letting me grow and develop through all Expo friends' activities. All in all, being part of Expo friends is one of the life choices that I will forever be grateful for. If the opportunity arises in the future, I would love to participate again!

And Busan will always have a special place in my heart. 

#2030부산월드엑스포, #부산, #엑스포프렌즈 #부산국제교류재단 #2030BusanWorldExpo #Busan #ExpoFriends #BFIC