Korean Air Flight 72, with 149 people on board, had taken off from Vancouver International Airport headed for Seoul, South Korea, at 2:30 p.m. PT Tuesday.

The crew turned back off the north coast of B.C. after a bomb threat was made in a telephone call to the airline’s Los Angeles office, a Korean Air spokesman told CBC News.

The flight was diverted to the airbase at Comox, on Vancouver Island, escorted by U.S. air force F-15 fighter jets that had been scrambled from Portland, Ore., according to Victoria’s Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre.

Another threat was phoned in on Monday against Korean Air Flight 72 before it took off, forcing a two-hour delay as RCMP cleared passengers off the aircraft to check for explosive devices, said James Koh, of Korean Air’s Vancouver office.

“Jeju Tourism Authority has the experience in ecotourism related to rivers and this expertise will help us create viable options in Ho Chi Minh City.”

He added: “The study  will be forwarded to HCMC in June and serve as a base for river tourism.”

Developing river tourism is one of the HCMC’s key plans with Can Gio district as a focal point.

The city has opened a short-distance river tour from Bach Dang Wharf in District 1 to Ham Long Artisan Village in District 2 and then the Bach Dang-Can Gio.

It will also consider river routes from HCMC to neighboring provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Duong.

However, the most outstanding route will link Phu My in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province to Can Gio district according to initial findings.

Ho Chi Minh City is located on the banks of the Saigon River, 60 km up river from the South China Sea.

“Expo 2012 Yeosu” aims to attract 11 million local and foreign visitors — especially from China — as it showcases 105 nations during the event running from May to August, and many more afterwards.

As the opening date approaches, the sound of a giant organ with 50-metre-tall pipes echoes through the seafront site, bustling with activity as workers carry out final drilling, cleaning and painting.

Construction workers on a raised platform inspect the ceiling of a 218-metre-long (719-foot) gallery — twice as long as a soccer field — as it displays LED images of whales in the ocean.

Expo 2012 Yeosu is being held between the headline World Expos which are staged every five years. The last, in Shanghai in 2010, was an elaborate affair that raised the profile of the event, and the next will be Milan in 2015.

A total of 105 countries and 10 international organisations as well as dozens of firms will hold exhibitions under the theme of “The Living Ocean and Coast”.

“This used to be a port terminal for cement bulk carriers until three years ago. Now it’s an entirely different place,” said Moon Young-Kuk, a spokesman for the event organising committee, at a media tour before the May 12 opening.

The 250,000-square-metre (2.69 million square feet) site houses pavilions, a giant aquarium, a pair of abandoned cement silos turned into a Sky Tower and a huge circular structure — “The Big-O” — for light shows over the sea.

Yeosu, a city of about 300,000 people, was previously best known for its cargo port and chemical industries.

Tourism in the area, despite a beautiful coastline and islands, was limited due to poor transport links and outdated infrastructure.

Now Yeosu is putting the finishing touches to preparations for the expo after spending nearly $10 billion to build the site and new hotels and to upgrade infrastructure.

“Preparations are 99 percent completed…it has been a long and hard road,” said Kim Keun-Soo, secretary-general of the organising committee.

Organisers are hoping for up to 800,000 foreign visitors, especially newly affluent Chinese. Kim said Chinese had shown keen interest after their own country embraced the Shanghai World Expo.

For the Yeosu event, Chinese visitors have snapped up more than half of the tickets on advance sale and organisers have filled some 1,000 of the 13,000 volunteer helper posts with Chinese living in South Korea to better serve them.

A new ferry terminal capable of handling six cruise ships stands right by the exhibition site to accommodate tourists arriving by ship from China or Japan.

The city’s domestic airport will also handle international flights from the two neighbouring countries during the expo.

The railway line has been upgraded, shortening the trip from Seoul by nearly two hours to about three hours. The exhibition site is five minutes’ walk from a station.

Offshore, some 300 water fountain pipes shot jets high into the air as part preparations for nightly light and laser shows. The 47-metre-tall Big-O is the centrepiece of the site.

Firms like Samsung, Hyundai and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering have set up displays. DSME, the world’s third biggest shipbuilder, is showing off dozens of futuristic robots used for deep-sea drilling.

Kim, citing government data, said the event will help create some 80,000 jobs and bring economic benefits worth 19 trillion won ($16.7 billion). Improved transport networks would cut shipping costs for businesses.

“But these numbers mean little… compared to the much-deserved reputation Yeosu will finally gain by holding such a global event and having so many visitors get to see the city,” Kim said.

Kim expressed regret that North Korea will apparently not take part in what he called a non-political cultural event.

Pyongyang in 2007 voted in favour of Yeosu’s bid for the expo but did not respond to an invitation made last November to take part.

“We are not giving up hope yet… but I’m afraid time is running out with each passing day,” he said.

“They somehow found a way to the clinic… and nearly all of them said they want the face of Lee Young-Ae,” Joo said, referring to a top South Korean actress who starred in the pan-Asian hit drama “Jewel in the Palace”.

The trickle has now turned into a flood of Chinese packing Joo’s JK Plastic Surgery Center – one of the country’s largest – and many other clinics, lured by the looks of South Korean entertainers who have taken Asia by storm.

A Hallyu (Korean wave) of pop culture over the past decade has won a devoted fan base in China, Southeast Asia and Japan. The South’s TV dramas dominate prime-time airwaves and K-pop bands sell out concerts and top the charts.

Legendary TV hits like “Winter Sonata” and “Autumn Fairy Tale” help draw tens of thousands of foreign fans to filming locations in South Korea every year, boosting the tourism industry.

Now skilled plastic surgeons in the looks-obsessed South – who often helped beautify Korean stars in the first place – are enjoying an unexpected boom as they do the same for their foreign fans.

According to government data, overall medical spending by foreign visitors hit a record $116 million last year. Fourteen percent sought plastic surgery or skin treatments such as botox.

Almost a half of all foreigners seeking a nose job, a facelift, a jawbone reduction or a tummy tuck were from China. Their number nearly tripled from 1,657 in 2009 to 4,400 in 2010.

“The Hallyu boom has definitely played a key role in drawing new patients from abroad,” said Hong Jeong-Geun, spokesman for the Korea Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons.

Hong said many star-struck foreigners visit clinics with photos of celebrities like Kim Hee-Sun, a popular actress in Asia, and ask surgeons to emulate her nose angle or eyes.

“They understand that some stars, rather than born beautiful, were made beautiful with a little bit of help from plastic surgeons,” Hong told AFP.

The interview was made on the sidelines of the opening of the Sands Cotai Central in the world’s casino business hub.

He added he prefers Seoul to Incheon because of the capital’s sound infrastructure and vibrant business activities.

“I want the integrated resort to be successful. To be successful we need tourism infrastructure that includes many other hotels, restaurants, transport and accessibility to the location. Incheon is not bad but not an ideal location,” he said.

Regarding the new Macau facility, the world’s 11th richest man stressed that it would serve as an ‘integrated resort’ and not just a gambling place, “The whole idea is to create a Disneyland for adults, there’s no such place for Asian people,” he said.

“Unlike other places where the sole focus is on casinos, we are offering entertainment elements and conventions that could attract millions of travelers and business people.”

Meanwhile, Las Vegas Sands is currently in talks with Spain’s two biggest cities, Madrid and Barcelona, to invest $22 billion to start up the “Eurovegas” project, the company said.

Authorities from the cash-strapped cities are welcoming the massive investment. But some critics and citizen groups expressed doubt about the company’s promise to create over 260,000 jobs. They argue that the project will cause serious social problems such as gambling addiction, prostitution and other crimes.

The aim is to mainly target foreigners who spend between US$3,000 and $4,000 per visit and raise the annual number of international tourists to 50 million people by 2020, the mayor added.

To achieve this, the city is looking to invest an annual sum of $200,000 to $250,000 for each location, tourism officials said.

More than 260,000 South Koreans visited the U.S. in the January-April period last year, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“If I win, it will not only give hope but also practical help to the defectors going through difficult times … and most significantly, it will have great influence on the elite in the North,” he said in a phone interview.

Cho, a one-time member of that elite who grew disillusioned with the regime, seems almost certain to be elected after being ranked fourth in the NFP’s list of proportional representation candidates.

Electors vote directly for 246 legislators, while 54 seats are awarded on a proportional representation basis depending on the level of support for each party. The aim is to diversify the background of legislators.

“The NFP recognised the need to implement policies for defectors, and carried it into action by putting a defector on the list of proportional representation candidates,” said Cho.

More than 23,500 North Koreans have fled their impoverished communist homeland and come to South Korea since the 1950-1953 war, the vast majority in recent years.

Despite government cash support and a mandatory three-month stay in a resettlement centre after they arrive, many struggle to adapt to a bewildering competitive capitalist nation.

Cho, 53, formerly the head of the state-run Education Centre for Unification, said he was prompted to stand by recent events including the controversy over China’s policy of repatriating fugitives from the North.

The Pyongyang regime, he said, viewed defectors as social outcasts because South Koreans were unwilling to share their economic pie. “But my case will prove them wrong and it will be a hard blow to them.”

Mohammad Harfouch, Executive Director of Made In Korea 2012, told Emirates 24l7 that a host of “big names from Korea have already confirmed their participation in MIK 2012, including Kepco, KNOC, Kogas, Samsung, Hyundai, Doosan and Kumho.”

He said: “MIK 2012 will gather at least 300 high-profile Korean exhibitors from a wide range of industries including automotive, engineering, metal, hospitality, textile, electrical, chemicals, rubber & plastics, power, healthcare, ICT, media, construction, furniture, fashion and even sport. We also expect over 25,000 visitors during the three-day exhibition.”

“We didn’t know what F1 was exactly when we first held the event and had many problems. Last year, we undertook a major overhaul of our organization, so there were some difficulties in preparations,” South Jeolla Province Gov. Park Joon-yung admitted during the launching ceremony for ticket distribution on Wednesday at the InterContinental Hotel in Seoul.

However, Park, who is also the head of the F1 Korean Grand Prix Organizing Committee, added, “We believe this year’s race will be much improved from the last one.”

According to the local organizer, one of the biggest changes from last year’s race is the reduced ticket prices.

The average ticket price is now down to 320,000 won ($280) from 350,000 won ($307), and a three-day package for the main grandstand is priced at 890,000 won.

The local organizer has also changed the ticket types, offering just three types, to attract more visitors.

The tickets for practice day on Oct. 12 are priced from 10,000 won to 20,000 won, and tickets for qualifying day on Oct. 13 are available from 80,000 won to 340,000 won depending on the location of the stand.

The grand stand tickets for the Oct.14 race start at 120,000 won, while the most expensive main grand stand ticket is priced at 720,000 won.

There are also discounts for early birds, offering up to 50 percent savings on regular-priced tickets, according to the local organizing committee. Fans who purchase tickets through Friday will get a 50 percent discount, for example.

“We’re also offering a 50 percent discount for people under 15, as we hope to see more young people follow the F1 race,” Park added.

So far, it appears that the Korean F1 GP will proceed more smoothly this year than in the past.

The South Jeolla Provincial Government, which has been under fire over the mounting deficit since its first race, announced earlier this month that it had reached a major deal with the sport’s governing body to cut down on costs this year.

Last year, the local organizer paid Formula One Management, F1’s commercial rights holder, nearly $40 million to stage the F1 race. But this year the FOM has agreed to cut its fees by more than 23 billion won ($20.5 million).

However, the local organizer said the F1 race is still in its early stage in Korea.

“We are still at this early stage, but we’re working to establish a motor sports base around the Yeongam circuit. We believe the F1 race will be a cornerstone of the development of our motor sports industry,” Park added.