Performers reenact fishermen at work during a performance of the Geomun Island boating song at the 2026 World Island Fair Yeosu Korea on Sept. 15, using a truck draped in fabric and fitted with a sail to resemble a boat.SCREEN CAPTURE
The 2026 World Island Fair Yeosu Korea, a 70 billion won ($51 million) international event, has come under fire over the quality of its performances after videos showed that the centerpiece of a boat performance had turned out to be a truck draped in fabric and fitted with a sail.
Videos of the Geomun Island boating song performance, held at the fair venue Tuesday, were widely shared on online communities and social media on Wednesday. The Geomun Island boating song is a traditional work song sung by fishermen on Geomun Island, part of Yeosu, South Jeolla, while fishing.
The performance features a local arts group reenacting Geomun Island’s traditional boating song, an intangible cultural heritage of Yeosu, according to the fair’s official website.
The controversy centered on how the performance was staged.
Videos posted online showed fabric wrapped around a truck's bed to make it look like a boat, with a sail mounted on top as performers reenact scenes of fishing.
Some online users said the production fell short of what they expected from an international event with a budget of around 70 billion won.
“It looks like they put no effort into it,” one online user wrote. Others questioned why organizers had not at least done more to disguise the truck and asked where the event’s budget had gone.
The opening ceremony of the 2026 World Island Fair Yeosu Korea takes place at the main venue in Yeosu, South Jeolla, on Sept. 5.YONHAP
Some also compared the controversy to the 2023 World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, a reclaimed tidal flatland in Buan County, North Jeolla. The event faced criticism over inadequate preparations.
The World Island Fair Yeosu Korea had already faced questions over its preparations before it opened.
In April, YouTuber Kim Seon-tae — widely known as “Chungju Man,” the former face of the Chungju city government’s official YouTube channel — posted a promotional video for the fair on his personal YouTube channel, showing him checking on preparations by officials involved in the event. Kim resigned from the Chungju city government in March and launched his own YouTube channel under his name.
The video sparked criticism that preparations for the fair appeared inadequate.
Following the "boat" controversy, overseas trips by Yeosu city officials have also come under renewed scrutiny.
Officials made several overseas trips and training visits purportedly to study foreign examples in preparation for the island fair. A report from one such trip, which included visits to major tourist attractions in Austria, a landlocked European country, spread on social media and drew criticism that the trip may have been more for sightseeing than official purposes.
The 2026 World Island Fair Yeosu Korea opened on Sept. 5 under the theme “Island, Connecting the Ocean and the Future.” It runs through Nov. 4 at venues across Yeosu.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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