"Preparation for Guests Finished; Waiting for Good News”

`There is no such thing as two failures. Dreams do come true.’

On April 9, the first day of the on-site evaluation of the Bureau of International Exhibitions (BIE), at Yeosu City Hall square in Yeosu, Jeonnam, a tower 20 meters high was set up in the middle of a traffic circle and covered with twenty thousand sheets of yellow fabric, symbolizing the city`s desire to host the 2012 Yeosu World Exhibition.

The first day of inspections by the delegation started in Seoul and was filled with enthusiasm for hosting the world exhibition in Yeosu. The 12 kilometers of side roads on which the judges traveled along were decorated with the flags of the countries that the delegations were from, and a sea of Korean flags could be seen hung on apartments, stores, and houses.

Preparations to welcome the guests were completed, with roads beautifully decked out with flowers which had been cared for by citizens, and a six meter high Camelia flower tower made out of traditional Korean paper Hanji was placed in the Jungang-dong traffic circle.

In order to present the delegation with an impression of a `clean and beautiful port,` citizens picked up rubbish near the port of Yeosu, Newport, and the port of Myodo for three days.

Park Mi-sun, 48, who lives in Sujeong-dong, said, "I feel like a high school senior student right before the university entrance exam.” She added, "Without being told to do so, residents have gone out to the seaside to do voluntary work on their own accord, and seeing as how citizens have prepared for this together, I believe it will bring a good result.

The City of Yeosu and the Bidding Committee held rehearsals at the Hilton Hotel in Namhae, Gyeongnam Province, where the delegates will be lodged, and aboard the `Turtle Ship` where the banquet will take place. They were also doing last-minute checkups on the public relations building opening ceremony and the Turtle Ship festival program, which the delegation will attend.

shjung@donga.com