The event, which opened Friday and will run for 73 days, will take visitors back to the days of the dinosaurs using revolutionary technology.
This is the fourth time the event has been held in Goseong, about 460 kilometers south of Seoul. The county, known as the land of the dinosaurs, also hosted the expo in 2006, 2009 and 2012.
The exposition is not only for kids as it will also bring nostalgia to the grown-ups.
“The former expos took place with themes largely for children. This year, however, we have prepared many things for not only kids but for young adults and the elderly to enjoy,” Choi Pyeong-ho, head of Goseong County, told Yonhap News Agency.
With the theme “Dinosaur Opens the Future with a Beam of Hope,” the opening ceremony attended by more than 200 dignitaries and guests was held at the Gate of the Dinosaur, the entrance to the main venue.
Visitors will enjoy hologram videos made on 3D, 4D and 5D that will be aired on a 360-degree screen inside the digital museum. There is also the DinoAquarium that will house dinosaur-like giant birds, a mermaid-like manatee, shoebills and an albino crocodile.
“We are doing our best to prepare more things for visitors to see and enjoy,” said Bin Yeong-ho, secretary-general of the organizing body.
“We also hope it will help older visitors remember their childhoods, and as nearly 2 million people are expected to visit this year’s expo, we are also making sure thorough security and safety measures will be in place.”
South Gyeongsang Province (Gyeongnam) Governor Hong Joon-pyo said South Korea’s first dinosaur footprint fossil was found in Goseong.
“I hope visitors will have an impression deep in their hearts, just like those weighty footprints that dinosaurs left,” Hong said in the Yonhap report.
Fossilized footprints of dinosaurs in Goseong were believed to have been formed during the Cretaceous period 100 million years ago. Along with Argentina and Colorado in the United States, Goseong has been known as one of the world’s top dinosaur sites.
The organizers expect this year’s expo will attract more visitors than the 2012 event, which drew 1.78 million people, including 90,000 foreigners.
