2012 Yeosu Expo: France lays the foundation for its "fun" pavilion

SEOUL, April 8 (Yonhap) - A year after the opening of the 2012 International Exposition Yeosu, participants detailed their preparations at a meeting on 5 and 7 April, with the organizing committee. France has thus presented the theme of the flag which it hopes will attract 1 million visitors expected on 8 million, according to José Frèches, the Commissioner General of the flag of France for the exhibition, which made the trip to the occasion. The International Exposition Yeosu will be held from May 12 to August 12, 2012 on "For The Living Ocean and Coast: Diversity of Resources and Sustainable Activities." In agreement with this subject, France has chosen to focus on desalination of sea water in the hexagonal pavilion, that is "magical, luxurious and refined", visitors will be invited to discover the process of desalination following the adventures of the mascot Sogeumi (salt in Korean), a salt crystal. Through "The Wonderful Adventures of Sogeumi, crystal salt", viewers will discover the coast and the specificities of the French landscape. José Frèches said during an interview with Yonhap yesterday afternoon, the goal was to present France as a "land of technology," but also to show "the diversity and beauty of the French coast, because the France is not only metropolitan France, but there is also the France overseas, that's things that Koreans do not know. " The COFRES (French Company for the World Expo in Shanghai and Yeosu) setting a maximum budget of € 7 million and the support of French companies established in the country to renew the success of the Shanghai World Expo 2010. The flag was then France's most visited, drawing 10 million visitors. Participants will present plans for installation of the exhibition on October 12 and the exhibition space will be made available on November 1. Development work will be completed in April 2012 for an opening to the public the following month. At the end of the exhibition, the various facilities will be dismantled. As many as 92 countries and six international organizations have already expressed their intention to participate in the International Exposition in Yeosu, the second international exhibition held in South Korea after that of Daejeon in 1993.