By Lee Kap-soo

Hyundai Motor Group announced its campaign to promote the South Korean city of Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo on Oct. 6 by displaying specially designed art cars in Paris, France, where the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) is headquartered.

The campaign continues the group’s global support for Busan’s bid, this time for the Busan Expo Symposium and K–Pop concert in Paris from October 9–15. To emphasize Busan’s commitment to hosting a carbon–neutral World Expo, the group is providing the Korean delegation with 10 art cars, including two all–electric models, Hyundai Motor’s IONIQ 5 and the Kia EV6.

The art cars are wrapped with a colorful graffiti design featuring iconic Busan imagery, such as seagulls, ocean waves and the Gwangan Bridge, as well as the slogan ‘Busan is Ready.’ They were created in collaboration with leading Korean graffiti artist ‘JAY FLOW.’

During the campaign in Paris, the art cars will be exhibited around the famous locations in Paris, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum. The campaign will help strengthen Busan’s appeal as a candidate city for the 2030 World Expo to key officials from BIE member countries and tourists from around the world.

The symposium will showcase the city’s diverse strengths and capabilities as well as the proposed themes to BIE member countries before the vote to decide the host city for the 2030 World Expo at the end of November.

While the Korean delegation presents its case for the Busan Expo, which promotes a sustainable future under the main theme of ‘Transforming Our World, Navigating toward a Better Future,’ the art cars will promote Busan’s vision and competitiveness outside the symposium venue.

The group previously supported Busan’s bid by wrapping vehicles with the Busan World Expo logo and promotional phrases during the 172nd General Assembly of the BIE in Paris last June and the Davos Forum in Switzerland last January. The art cars have also promoted Busan’s determination to host the World Expo at landmarks in key global cities, such as New York, New Delhi and Jakarta.

It has also published more than 80 pieces of innovational content, including short–form videos and infographics for social media, promoting Busan as the ideal host city. In particular, two series of promotional videos created in collaboration with Busan citizens and foreigners in Korea, achieved more than 100 million global views within three months of their release in June, significantly boosting worldwide support for Busan’s bid.