The Korea Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 has had its 1 millionth visitor.

The pavilion announced on July 22 that it has offered two return tickets from Italy to Korea as a gift to Clelia Sepe who was the 1 millionth visitor to the pavilion.

Sepe, a teacher in Rome, said, “I came to the Korea Pavilion as I learned it was one of the most beautiful pavilions at the expo. I am very happy to win such an unexpected gift.”

“When I visit Korea, the first thing I want to do is to experience Korean cuisine, which I learned about for the first time here at the pavilion,” she added.

More than 1 million people have visited the Korea Pavilion in the 82 days since it opened on May 1. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of daily visitors to the Korea Pavilion is around 12,000, accounting for about 15 percent of the total daily visitors to Expo Milano 2015. Among the pavilions of participating Asian countries, 10,000 people visit the China Pavilion per day while 8,000 people go to the Japan Pavilion each day. Korea, Brazil, Qatar and Russia have each had more than 1 million visitors out of the 145 participating countries.



The key to the popularity of the Korea Pavilion is that the theme of the expo, food in the future, matches well with the theme of Korea Pavilion: Hansik, or Korean cuisine.

Sergio Arzeni, director of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, Small and Local Development, said on June 24 that, among OECD members, Korea is a model for best practices in terms of economic development. He also added that Korea will be able to increase its global recognition through its "slow food" strategy.

Bruno Pasquino, commissioner general for Expo Milano 2015, speaking on the expo's Korea Day, June 23, praised the Korea Pavilion by saying that it is one of the most successful pavilions that has attracted the most expo visitors.

Favorable responses have also come from the Italian press. Many people who visited the Korea Pavilion have shared their experiences and the pleasure of tasting the Korean food that they sampled at the pavilion.



By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Korea Tourism Organization, Yonhap News
arete@korea.kr