Singaporeans in South Korea celebrate National Day

SEOUL: As Singapore prepares for its National Day parade, it is far from being alone. The event is also being celebrated in other parts of the world.

This year, Singaporeans in South Korea held a special event to commemorate at the Singapore Pavilion in the southern port city of Yeosu.

The Singapore Pavilion is one of the most popular pavilions at Yeosu Expo, attracting more than 700,000 visitors since it opened on May 12.

One magazine, Exhibitor Online, gave the Singapore Pavilion an award for having the best interactive and activity exhibition here at Yeosu.

Visitors to the pavilion agreed.

Shim Yu Mun, who was visiting with a friend, said: "It’s pretty how you can see images on the white blocks. And I like the way you can write down your wishes."

And Woo Hye Ji, who had a temporary tattoo of the Singapore flag on her hand, said: "It was very interesting and fun. I think it’s very well done compared to the others. The part where it showed us the outside scenes and the bicycle riding was lots of fun."

It was here at Yeosu that Singaporeans celebrated their National Day this year, with newly—appointed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Grace Fu joining in.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark National Day here at Yeosu, Ms Fu said Singapore’s pavilion is titled "Paradox—ity: City of Contrasts", because Singapore is a small country that thinks big.

With hundreds of guests at the event including Singapore’s ambassador to South Korea Peter Tan and South Korea’s ambassador to Singapore Joon Oh, visitors enjoyed a 30—minute show specially commissioned for this day.

Having flown in all the way from Singapore, the team from Cake Theatrical Production displayed their talent by staging the "Stories of Singapore".

Adding to the bilateral nature of the celebration, the organizers of Yeosu Expo also had a special event prepared to celebrate the bilateral ties between Singapore and South Korea.

Later, Minister Grace Fu and other guests were given a tour of the Singapore pavilion, guided by Singaporean volunteers.

She said the Singapore pavilion was set up to make it easily accessible to visitors.

"We wanted to make it a very interactive and enjoyable experience for the visitor. And so we paid a lot of attention to making it accessible, very close that they can touch and feel it," Ms fu said.

"I think it’s one of the reasons why they have found it interesting and accessible to them."

With less than one week to go before the Yeosu Expo comes to a close on August 12, celebrating Singapore’s National Day at the pavilion here was a special event not just for the Singaporeans, but for all visitors to Yeosu.

— CNA/wm