Back to Full List

Switzerland Pavilion

The Swiss pavilion’s theme “The Source. It’s in your hands” expresses the importance of water for Switzerland, its universal value, and everyone’s responsibility to protect it. The use, purification, and protection of the precious resource of water lies in our hands. Consequently, the primary message of the Swiss Pavilion is "It’s in Your Hands!"

Switzerland's mountains, glaciers, and springs are an inexhaustible source of clean water: the Rhine, Rhone, Ticino and Inn feed the North Sea, the Mediterranean, the Adriatic, and the Black Sea. Despite the small size of the country (0.4 percent of Europe), Switzerland has 6 percent of Europe’s fresh-water resource, which means that it provides, in proportion, 15 times more water than its size. As a water source for Europe (“Europe’s watershed”), Switzerland exports water and is aware of its responsibility and also its competence when it comes to using water sustainably, researching it, protecting it and, where necessary, purifying it.

Glaciers play a prominent role in Switzerland’s water reserves. They have contained primal water for thousands of years — water that was not yet polluted by human activities. This primal water from the glaciers of the Swiss Alps is a benchmark that sets the standard for the purification of polluted water. The ice core in the pavilion is a genuine and authentic piece of Switzerland, and a “piece” of primal water at the same time. It is as old as Korea.

People also relish the sensuous aspect of water in Switzerland. The joy of spending time in and on the water and the good fortune to be able to drink water straight from the tap that is cleaner than bottled mineral water.

The world-famous Jungfrau massif adorns the facade of the Swiss Pavilion. Closer up, we see hands from which water is being drunk.

In the waiting area, information is presented to encourage visitors to talk with each other about the theme of the pavilion. What is shown here will later blossom in the pavilion. Visitors are invited to enter into a dialogue with one another and speak about subjects such as "the beauty of Swiss water-worlds," the threat posed to water by nano-pollution and wasteful use, and "virtual water." The Swiss Pavilion also provides information about Switzerland's long tradition of water protection and research (Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology) and about Swiss companies' skills in exporting water expertise.

The platform for more in-depth content, quizzes, and contact information is the app that was specially created for the pavilion and its accompanying mobile website (m.swisspavilion.or.kr).

The Tunnel Gallery is a dark passageway representing a tunnel through the mountain. On the walls at the tunnel’s entrance, facts and figures point to the universal importance of water, as well as its significance for Switzerland. For example, phrases such as “60% of the human body is water,” “1,000,000,000 people worldwide do not have access to safe drinking water,” and “Switzerland has 6% of Europe’s freshwater resources, but is only 0.4% of its size” are displayed on the walls. Further along inside the tunnel, questions on the wall let visitors enter into a dialogue with the water, with the water talking back via answers printed on the wall. For example, one question asks, “Water, who are you?” The question is answered in a variety of responses on the wall, including: I am the source of life. I am the one who washes your hands. I am a pristine lake. I am a tear. I am the greater part of you. Another question asks, “Water, who owns you?”

Moving images in short video clips, which are loosely related to the text on the walls, are projected into visitor’s hands, contributing to the playful and poetic experience in this space. The lighting mood is friendly and subdued: a pulsating echo and a slight artificial haze are reminiscent of a cave. A bright light at the end of the gallery points the way to the next room.

Entering into the Glacier Panorama, a spectacular view opens up. There, visitors stand on an uneven, slightly rising floor, as if they were on a glacier. In front of them, a room projection shows the breathtaking majestic beauty of Switzerland's glaciers and natural treasures: the snow-capped Eiger, the Jungfraujoch, and the Aletsch Glacier, with its crevasses, turquoise-colored ice, and glistening cover of snow. Mirrors on the side of the screen create a panoramic effect.

Blue light creates a cool atmosphere in the Ice Core Antechamber. The main light comes from a glass cylinder housing an ice core from Switzerland’s second-largest glacier. Through a horizontal crack, we have a view of the world of science and the work of the radio chemists from the Swiss Paul Scherrer Institute, who are studying the glacier to find clues about the Earth's atmosphere in the past. Film loops on four monitors show an ice core being drilled from the eternal ice and transported to the laboratory of the Paul Scherrer Institute, where the age of the ice is ascertained. The ice core also provides facts about global warming and periods of pollution of the environment.

An attendant opens the door and ushers visitors into this cold, walk-in chamber, which is kept at around -5° C and thus provides an immediate physical experience. The ice core is the climax and the heart of the pavilion. The permanent glacier ice is exhibited like an icon here. The drill core has a blue and mysterious glow and is incredibly old and valuable. It is primal water which turned into ice during a period when water may have been used but was not yet polluted. Figures on the walls of the protective glass cylinder indicate the age of the ice, which ranges from 1,400 to almost 15,000 years. At eye level, the ice core is 4,345 years old, as old as Korea, according to the myth of the legendary founding of the first empire by King Dangun in 2,333 B.C.

The Source room is dominated by an imposing round basin of real water, which serves as a projection area for a cascade of images of water. Here too, water speaks to us. Moving images emerge from the depths of the source — emotional, colorful images, informative but also disturbing. The breathtaking projections are not confined to the water basin, but flood the entire space with its mirror walls. The effect of this overpowering visual immersion is reinforced by the sound and music levels that harmonize with the sequence of images. The cascade of images refers to the specific sources. These sources represent the diversity and depth of Swiss water know-how and of Swiss innovation in terms of purity, purification, and cleanness of water. Swiss water is a source of joy, a source of knowledge, a source of clear water, and a source of social responsibility. Switzerland shares its water knowledge with the world. The source is a room in its own right, but it also concentrates the insights and emotions from the previous rooms and leads to the happy end of the pavilion, the sip of Switzerland.

The design of the next room is reminiscent of an ice crystal. Visitors are received by pavilion staffers, who hand them a sip of water in a drinking bowl. This is a special moment between the visitors and Switzerland, a moment of encounter and offering. Visitors are provided the daily experience in Switzerland, namely being able to drink refreshing water of high quality directly from the tap. At the same time, they experience the value of the water on again another level, by absorbing it with their bodies.

Visitors may take the bowls home as a souvenir of the pavilion. The inscription on the bowls appears like a watermark: “The Source. It’s in your hands.” By using the pavilion app, elements of the drinking bowl's inscription, along with additional information about Switzerland, can be brought to life in an entertaining and humorous way.

The Learning Zone rounds off the visit to the pavilion and provides text, images, and exhibits presenting various aspects of Switzerland in connection with water that have been mentioned throughout the visit, such as facts around Switzerland as Europe’s watershed, projects of Switzerland’s development assistance program, etc. This zone offers in-depth information for interested visitors and illustrative material for talks, guided tours, and school visits.

Concerts and alternating exhibitions take place in the event zone off the Swiss Pavilion. In addition, there is also a photo station in the event zone. Here, imposing Swiss water landscapes form the backdrop for a souvenir photo in the Swiss Pavilion.

Finally, the gift shop offers souvenirs specially created for the Swiss Pavilion, focusing on the pavilion's title theme of "The Source. It’s in your hands," alongside many typical Swiss products.