China-Taiwan dispute at Gwangju Biennale spills into Yeosu island fair

China’s Zhoushan pulled out of the World Island Fair Yeosu after a naming dispute over the Taiwan Pavilion at the Gwangju Biennale spilled into Yeosu on Tuesday. A Yeosu official said the Chinese city had planned a promotional booth and Island Friends Day program, both of which were canceled. The fair’s organizers said the absence of Zhoushan, the only Chinese participant, is a setback as they target 3 million visitors.

The World Island Fair Yeosu opened last week and runs through Nov. 4.

Zhoushan had planned to operate a promotional booth and join Island Friends Day before canceling both plans.

The fair aims to attract 3 million visitors overall, including 90,000 foreign visitors.

Organizers said the event was backed by more than 70 billion won in combined national, provincial and municipal funding and aims to generate 12 billion won in revenue.

More than 25,000 people visited on opening day, and attendance fell to 10,251 the next day.

Published Sep 8, 2026 4:41 pm KST

Zhoushan booth scrapped as officials seek to fill exhibition space

A woman walks through the international exhibition area at the 2026 World Island Fair Yeosu in Yeosu, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, Saturday. Yonhap

A naming dispute over the “Taiwan Pavilion” at this year’s Gwangju Biennale has spilled over into the World Island Fair Yeosu, with the Chinese city of Zhoushan pulling out of a planned two-month promotional exhibition and its international programs.

Zhoushan, a coastal island city in China's Zhejiang province, had planned to run a promotional booth at the fair, which opened last week and runs through Nov. 4. The city had also planned to take part in “Island Friends Day,” a program designed to introduce participating overseas island regions. That plan has now been completely canceled, according to a Yeosu official at its international relations division.

“Two members of the Chinese city’s booth operations team arrived at Gimhae International Airport for the fair, but they left Korea within just a day or two,” the official told The Korea Times on Tuesday. “Given the situation, we are now planning to redesign what was planned to be a Chinese booth and use it for other events.”

The withdrawal follows China’s protest against the “Taiwan Pavilion” for an exhibition event linked to the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts at the Gwangju Biennale, which opened Saturday. Beijing has long opposed language or arrangements deemed to imply Taiwan is a separate sovereign state, maintaining that the self-governed island is part of China.

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The Yeosu official said she understood that Zhoushan had cited the pavilion name dispute when it notified the organizing committee of its decision not to participate.

Asked why a dispute in Gwangju had affected an event in Yeosu, the official said Chinese authorities appeared not to distinguish between the two cities, which are now part of Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, a single local government recently formed through the merger of Gwangju and South Jeolla Province.

“Since Gwangju and Yeosu are now part of one administrative jurisdiction, China does not appear to see them as separate,” she said.

For the Yeosu fair organizers, the absence of Zhoushan, the only Chinese participant, is a big setback, given that China was expected to be a major source of overseas visitors. They have set a target of attracting 3 million visitors overall, including 90,000 foreign visitors.

“When the Chinese city agreed to participate, city officials said they expected a substantial number of visitors. But that has become less certain, and we now expect that fewer Chinese visitors may come than originally anticipated,” the Yeosu official said.

Officials at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul did not respond to The Korea Times’ request for comment.

Visitors view a media-art display on the pyramid-shaped “Theme Island” structure at the 2026 World Island Fair, Yeosu’s main venue in Yeosu, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, Aug. 29. Newsis

Under the theme “Connecting Islands, Oceans and the Future,” the fair features exhibitions and programs on island ecology, culture, tourism and future development. Its organizers have said the event was supported by a combined national, provincial and municipal budget of more than 70 billion won ($52 million) and aims to generate 12 billion won in revenue.

But the fair has drawn fewer visitors than organizers had hoped during its opening weekend. According to the organizing committee, slightly more than 25,000 people visited the fair on its opening day, when an opening ceremony and celebratory performances by popular singers were held. Attendance fell to 10,251 the following day, bringing the two-day total to 35,668.

To meet its goal of 3 million visitors during the 61-day run through Nov. 4, the fair would need to draw an average of 49,180 visitors a day. The opening weekend’s daily average of 17,834 was about 36 percent of that required pace.

周二，由于光州双年展台湾馆的命名争议蔓延至丽水，中国舟山市宣布退出丽水世界岛屿博览会。丽水市一位官员表示，舟山原计划设立宣传展位并举办“岛屿之友日”活动，但这两个项目均已被取消。博览会主办方表示，舟山作为唯一的中国参展城市，其缺席对他们吸引300万游客的目标造成了打击。

世界岛屿博览会丽水站上周开幕，将持续至11月4日。

舟山原计划设立宣传展位并参加岛屿之友日，但后来取消了这两个计划。

此次博览会的目标是吸引300万游客，其中包括9万外国游客。

主办方表示，该活动获得了国家、省、市三级政府超过700亿韩元的联合资助，目标是创造120亿韩元的收入。

开幕当天有超过 25,000 人参观，第二天参观人数下降到 10,251 人。

发布于2026年9月8日下午4:41（韩国标准时间）

舟山展位被取消，官方正寻求填补展位空缺

周六，一名女子走过位于全南光州特别广域市丽水市的2026年世界岛屿博览会丽水国际展区。（韩联社）

今年光州双年展“台湾馆”的命名争议蔓延至丽水世界岛屿博览会，中国舟山市退出了原计划为期两个月的宣传展览及其国际项目。

浙江省沿海岛屿城市舟山原计划在上周开幕、持续至11月4日的博览会上设立宣传展位。舟山还计划参加“岛屿之友日”活动，该活动旨在向海外岛屿地区推介。但据丽水市国际关系部门一位官员透露，舟山的这项计划现已全部取消。

“中国展位运营团队的两名成员抵达金海国际机场参加展会，但他们只待了一两天就离开了韩国，”一位官员周二告诉《韩国时报》。“鉴于这种情况，我们现在计划重新设计原定的中国展位，并将其用于其他活动。”

此次撤展是在中国抗议光州双年展上设立“台湾馆”举办与国立台湾美术馆相关的展览活动之后发生的。光州双年展于周六开幕。北京长期以来反对任何被认为暗示台湾是一个独立主权国家的措辞或安排，并坚持认为这个实行自治的岛屿是中国的一部分。

中国抗议光州双年展使用“台湾馆”，并退出展览。

【封面故事】中国官员：台湾馆问题或将演变成又一场“萨德”风波

丽水市官员表示，她了解到舟山市在通知组委会其不参赛的决定时，提到了展馆名称争议。

当被问及光州的争端为何会影响到丽水的事件时，这位官员表示，中国当局似乎没有区分这两个城市，它们现在都是全南光州特别广域市的一部分，该市是由光州和全罗南道合并而成的一个地方政府。

“由于光州和丽水现在属于同一个行政管辖区，中国似乎并不认为它们是两个独立的城市，”她说。

对于丽水博览会的组织者来说，舟山作为唯一的中国参展商的缺席是一大挫折，因为中国原本被寄予厚望，有望成为海外游客的主要来源地。他们的目标是吸引300万游客，其中包括9万外国游客。

“中国方面同意参加时，市政府官员表示预计会有大量游客。但现在情况变得不太确定，我们预计中国游客的数量可能会比最初预期的要少，”丽水市官员说。

中国驻首尔大使馆官员没有回应《韩国时报》的置评请求。

8月29日，在全南光州特别广域市丽水市举行的2026年世界岛屿博览会上，参观者正在金字塔形“主题岛”结构上欣赏多媒体艺术展览。丽思卡尔顿新闻社

以“连接岛屿、海洋与未来”为主题，本次博览会将举办有关岛屿生态、文化、旅游和未来发展的展览和活动。主办方表示，此次活动获得了国家、省、市三级政府超过700亿韩元（约合5200万美元）的联合预算支持，目标是创造120亿韩元的收入。

但博览会开幕周末的参观人数低于组织者的预期。据组委会统计，开幕当天（当天举行了开幕式并有流行歌手献唱）共有2.5万余人参观。第二天参观人数降至10251人，两天的总参观人数为35668人。

为了在11月4日结束的61天展期内实现吸引300万游客的目标，博览会需要平均每天吸引49180名游客。开幕周末的日均游客量为17834人，约为所需速度的36%。