North Gyeongsang, Gyeongju step up preparations to host 'best APEC summit ever'
Published: 20 Jan. 2025, 16:07
Updated: 20 Jan. 2025, 16:10
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- LIM JEONG-WON
- [email protected]
![Attendees including North Gyeongsang Governor and Gyeongju Mayor Joo Nak-young pose for a photo during the launching ceremony of the promotion committee for the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit at the Gyeongju Hwabaek International Convention Center in Gyeongju on Nov. 11, 2024. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/20/9c521b05-8ec5-4a8e-869b-cd6925440fc0.jpg)
Attendees including North Gyeongsang Governor and Gyeongju Mayor Joo Nak-young pose for a photo during the launching ceremony of the promotion committee for the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit at the Gyeongju Hwabaek International Convention Center in Gyeongju on Nov. 11, 2024. [YONHAP]
With the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit just nine months away, North Gyeongsang and Gyeongju are speeding along preparations to lay the groundwork for a successful event.
The provincial and city governments plan to utilize the APEC summit as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone under the slogans “Sales North Gyeongsang” and “Leaping to a World-renowned City,” benchmarking Los Cabos, Mexico, and Vladivostok, Russia, which both made great strides by hosting past APEC summits.
According to the North Gyeongsang provincial government and others on Monday, detailed designs are underway to construct a summit hall, media center and exhibition hall to establish international-level infrastructure.
With Gyeongju National Museum tentatively designated as the banquet hall after a protracted selection process, more effort will be put into constructing other facilities related to the summit.
Blueprints for each sector, including medical care, transportation and traffic and the exhibition center composition, are almost finalized. More specific implementations will be established through discussions with the central government.
Following the securing of 171.6 billion won ($118 million) in national funds for hosting the summit, the North Gyeongsang provincial government is focusing on securing an additional budget based on the 2025 Gyeongju APEC Summit Support Special Act that was passed with the full support of the National Assembly.
The province and Gyeongju are determined to assuage concerns about the lack of infrastructure for hosting the summit in a small and medium-sized city by establishing basic facilities such as a summit hall, media center, and presidential suites.
Regarding accommodation, Gyeongju is considered to have no issues with the number of rooms and infrastructure for meetings.
In the case of presidential suites where state guests and global CEOs will stay, North Gyeongsang Gov. Lee Cheol-woo will personally serve as the chairman of a presidential suite promotion committee to provide world-class accommodation services.
In addition, the province and city plan to secure 35 top-class accommodations in 12 hotels to provide sleeping accommodations to state guests and global CEOs. Presidential suites have bedrooms, main doors, living rooms, conference rooms and attendant and catering spaces.
Currently, two hotels in Gyeongju are spending roughly 10 billion won each and two resorts are spending 150 billion won and 5 billion won, respectively, to remodel existing rooms.
The summit hall, to be built at the Gyeongju Hwabaek International Convention Center, will be a world-class facility that combines Korean architectural styles and cutting-edge technology to best suit multilateral and bilateral meetings and optimize the movements and meetings of heads of state.
A total of 27.4 billion won will be invested, and the basic plan will be completed by this month, followed by detailed designs by May. Construction will begin in June, with the authorities aiming to complete the work in September.
The international media center, which will be built outdoors at the Gyeongju Hwabaek International Convention Center, will have a main press conference room, press rooms by sector, an interview room and a business lounge, providing an optimal reporting environment for 4,000 domestic and international reporters expected during the summit.
A total of 13.8 billion won will be invested in the media center.
The banquet hall will feature Gyeongju's unique cultural assets, such as the Bell of King Seongdeok and the museum's exhibition of golden crowns. The hall will also showcase traditional performances, K-food and local liquor to demonstrate the charms of North Gyeongsang and Gyeongju.
As the APEC summit is an economic meeting attended by not only world leaders but also global CEOs, the province expects the event to serve as a grand stage to push its “Sales North Gyeongsang” initiative.
The "Sales North Gyeongsang" initiative, put forward by former North Gyeongsang Gov. Lee Ui-geun, calls on the governor and public officials to serve as salespersons promoting the province, carrying out aggressive corporate-style marketing for the region's tangible and intangible assets.
The province and city plan to invite as many global CEOs as possible to Korea by cooperating with the Trade Ministry, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other related organizations to connect domestic and international global CEOs.
Around 260 suites will be prepared to provide a comfortable business environment for businesspeople visiting Gyeongju. An exhibition hall with 120 booths will be set up in the Gyeongju World Culture Expo Park.
An international forum will be held in September, comprising a meeting of key future industries such as semiconductors, energy, quantum computing and AI, on-site inspections of future new industries, a Hallyu Export Expo and an investment environment briefing session.
The strategy is to present "the most Korean" APEC and offer inspiration and hope to the world through the power of culture, according to the North Gyeongsang provincial government and Gyeongju's city authorities.
The driving force behind the Gyeongju APEC summit is the thousand-year history and culture of Silla, an ancient Korean kingdom that ruled from 57 B.C. to 935 A.D. from its capital, Gyeongju. Accordingly, the authorities plan to showcase the city and province's culture to the world, as well as today's Korean pop culture.
Korean cultural experiences including K-pop, musicals and food events, media facades, drone shows and virtual fusion content will be introduced.
Organizers will also develop themed tourism programs, such as tours of heritage and industrial sites, to give visitors to Gyeongju opportunities to experience Korean history and culture.
Gyeongju city will also have residents and citizens actively participate in hosting the summit, with 140 representatives from organizations and civic groups in the region currently comprising an APEC hosting promotion committee and another city-wide citizen support council of 1,000 members planned to be launched on Feb. 7.
“The 2025 APEC summit will open the way to peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia and make Korea a first-class nation,” said North Gyeongsang Gov. Lee Cheol-woo. “All preparations for hosting the best summit ever are progressing without a hitch, so I hope more foreigners and businesspeople will visit Gyeongju this fall.”
BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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