SHANGHAI - The first group of 12 Chinese volunteers for the 2012 World Exposition flew from Shanghai on Thursday morning to offer services at the forthcoming event in the Republic of Korea (ROK), according to local authorities.

Over the next three months, another 24 Chinese volunteers will also be sent to the ROK to perform consulting, reception and guiding duties at the exposition.

The Yeosu Korea World Expo, with the theme of "The Living Ocean and Coast," will be held in Yeosu from May 12, 2012, to August 12, 2013. More than 100 nations and international organizations will attend, and eight million people are expected to visit.

China started to recruit volunteers for the event on December 5, 2011. A total of 36 Chinese people -- ranging in age from 18 to 40, and all fluent in Korean or English -- were selected.

The Yeosu Korea World Expo Organizing Committee authorized the Chinese Communist Youth League Shanghai Municipal Committee and the Young Volunteers Association of Shanghai to recruit Chinese volunteers.