What with robots taking up a huge pavilion at Korea’s Yeosu Expo 2012 (which opened this weekend, see a preview here), what better time to appreciate another Korean expo from two decades ago?

The Taejon (now spelled Daejon) Expo ’93 was only a three month affair, but it was one of the largest ever held.  Some 108 countries participated, and several futuristic pavilions were erected that can be visited today for a small fee.  The expo’s theme was “The Challenge of a New Road of Development”, so robots were a natural fit.  While most of the robot attractions fell into the category of silly animatronics, there were some real ones that drew portraits and balanced wine glasses.

Video:

Head past the break to view a selection of our favorite photos from the event.

[source: Expo '93 official site (KR)]

Kumdori the space elf, the expo’s mascot

Above: conceptual rendering, below: completed pavilion

Samsung’s “Star Quest” pavilion

CAD rendering of a pavilion

The fall of the Berlin Wall at the German Pavilion

A Lego statue outside the Danish Pavilion

The earth has a bad case of the humans

Portrait-drawing robot arm

Robot dog (the Aibo would debut six years later)

Japanese robots also appeared

Hitachi’s centaur-like Japanese inspection Robot

Robots appeared in many of the children’s drawings

How time flies!  If these antiquated automatons have got you feeling nostalgic check out our coverage of the Tsukuba Expo ’85!

Image credit:
Expo ’93 official site (KR) | Expo ’93 @ Foundation Expo ’88