China’s naming dispute over the Taiwan Pavilion at the Gwangju Biennale has spread to the World Island Fair in Yeosu, where Zhoushan canceled its planned promotional exhibition and related programs. A Yeosu official said the Chinese city’s booth team briefly arrived in Korea before leaving. Organizers now face a setback as the fair targets 3 million visitors and 90,000 foreign visitors. The fair opened with fewer visitors than hoped, with 35,668 people over its first two days.
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.
