An international dinosaur exposition will kick off next month to display rare fossils and vivid models of the extinct animal species using state-of-the-art media technology, organizers said Monday.

The Gyeongnam Goseong Dinosaur World Expo will begin on April 1 for a 73-day run in Goseong, located about 466 kilometers south of Seoul. Goseong is known for its quantity and variety of dinosaur fossils with more than 4,000 dinosaur footprints.

More than 1,900 fossilized footprints of dinosaurs are located on a 6-km stretch of coastal rock bed believed to have been formed approximately 100 million years ago during the early to mid Cretaceous period.

It is recognized as one of the world's three largest fossilized dinosaur footprint sites, along with Colorado in the United States and the west coast of Argentina.

The organizers are giving the final touch to the main venue of the Danghangpo Tourist Site to attract visitors at home and abroad.

This year's event, the fourth of its kind, will take advantage of the latest media technology to revive the vivid image of the extinct animals.

Hologram videos made in 3-D, 4-D and 5-D will be aired on a 360 degree screen to give viewers an in-depth, holistic experience.

A golden tunnel and giant dinosaur lamps will be set up within the event venue to improve the ambiance at the exhibition. 

Organizers said the latest technology and various hands-on experiences will upgrade the quality of the event this year, adding that they expect at least 1.79 million visitors to the exposition.

In the runup to the event, a special exhibition was held in Ilsan, north of Seoul, from Dec. 15-March 1, drawing 120,000 visitors and 1.2 billion won ($990,589) in ticket sales.

Since its inaugural opening in 2006, the World Dinosaur Expo has been a rare success among events organized by South Korean municipalities.

The number of visitors climbed steadily to a record 1.78 million in 2012, with twice as many foreigners, or 90,000, traveling to see the exhibition then as in 2006.

In 2012, the organizing committee posted a net profit of 10.7 billion won, with the economic effect for Goseong estimated at 220 billion won. (Yonhap)