Gyeongju, South Korea: Ancient City to Host 2025 APEC Summit

Gyeongju's Global Spotlight

• 🇰🇷 South Korea's ancient city of Gyeongju is set to host the APEC Summit in October 2025, marking its emergence onto the global stage.
• 🏛️ Known as the former capital of the Shilla Kingdom, Gyeongju is rich with Buddhist relics and UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Mayor's Vision for Tourism

• 🗣️ The Mayor of Gyeongju describes the city as the "Rome or Athens of South Korea," emphasizing its myths and legends.
• 📈 Development of tourism and cultural content infrastructure is seen as key to establishing Gyeongju as a world-class tourist city.

Local Business Perspective

• 🍗 An 80-year-old chicken shop owner views the APEC summit as an opportunity to showcase his city to the world.
• 🌍 Foreign visitors already constitute about 30% of his customer base, indicating growing international interest.

Cultural and Historical Significance

• 🏘️ The city's traditional atmosphere is highlighted, with historical architectural styles like the Silla era roofs influencing even modern buildings.
• 💖 Hosting world leaders is a source of pride for residents, who believe Gyeongju fully reflects South Korea's sentiment and atmosphere.

Tourism Growth

• 📈 Gyeongju experienced significant tourism growth, with over 43 million visitors between January and November 2024, showing a steady increase since the pandemic.