"Jungfrau Ramen Tastes the Best"... Yeosu Island Expo Trip Reports Spark Outrage: "Where Did the 70 Billion Go?"

[Financial News] The 2026 World Island Exhibition Yeosu Korea, which has been embroiled in controversy over inadequate preparations, has once again come under fire. This time, overseas business trip reports by Yeosu officials containing comments about Jungfrau ramen and forest bathing have spread online, drawing widespread criticism.

The controversial reports began spreading through various online communities and social media on the 16th. The reports, compiled from overseas trips taken by Yeosu officials, have prompted criticism over the number and content of the trips.
One notable example was a report on a trip to Switzerland. After visiting Jungfrau, the report stated, "The ramen I ate at the summit of Woongfrau (Jungfrau) was, as expected, the best." Online users condemned it as a "shambolic report" that had been submitted despite errors in both its content and spelling.
A report on a trip to Pattaya, Thailand, described a yacht fishing and snorkeling itinerary before stating, "The experience of dipping it in chojang and tasting it was highly sophisticated." Another report on a visit to the Redwood Arboretum in New Zealand included the comment, "Forest bathing at the Redwood Arboretum was the best, the best~~"
Netizens continued to criticize and mock the reports, saying, "This is barely credible as a trip report; even an elementary school student wouldn't write a diary like this," "Is this a trip report or a field-trip reflection?" and "If this is what a report looks like, I could write 100 of them. Take me instead of a civil servant." Many also questioned how the reports had actually helped prepare for the exhibition.

A search for "island exhibition" on the Overseas Business Trip and Training Information System brings up 107 overseas business trip result reports by Yeosu officials since 2022. Yeosu, however, explained that "not all 107 can be considered trips for the island exhibition."
According to Yeosu, 21 overseas trips over the three years beginning in 2023 were undertaken directly for purposes such as benchmarking for the island exhibition. The remaining 86 were general overseas trips involving international affairs officials, employees recognized for outstanding municipal performance, and outstanding teams from policy research groups. Yeosu said that the trip reports circulating online were among those 86 reports.

[email protected] Kim Hee-sun Reporter