Showcasing Gyeongbuk's history and culture on the global stage through the APEC Summit and South Korea-Japan Summit

Gyeongbuk Province won the Culture and Tourism Management category at the "2026 9th National Empathy Award" ceremony hosted by The Dong-A Ilbo at The Plaza Hotel in Seoul on September 17. This year's National Empathy Award featured 48 companies, institutions, organizations, and brands across 25 categories. Gyeongbuk Province was selected as the sole metropolitan local government, receiving recognition for the achievements of its culture and tourism policies encompassing arts, national heritage, and tourism.

This award is the result of high evaluation for Gyeongbuk's continuous efforts to cultivate its unique competitiveness in culture and tourism—beginning with introducing its history and culture to the world through the 2025 APEC Summit, expanding traditional culture highlighted during this year's South Korea-Japan Summit in Andong into tourism and international exchange, and promoting regional festivals, gourmet food, and overseas tourism marketing.

Last year's APEC Summit served as a crucial platform to promote Gyeongbuk's culture and tourism to the world. By showcasing various arts and culture programs such as the Gyeongju Daereungwon Media Art and the International Gyeongju History and Culture Forum, and by expanding the nightscape and tourism content of the Bomun Tourist Complex, the province widely publicized the charm and tourism potential of its history and culture both domestically and internationally.

Changes were also evident in visitor numbers. In the fourth quarter of 2025, visitors to Gyeongbuk increased by 17% and foreign visitors by 20% compared to the same period of the previous year. During the same period, Gyeongju saw a 19% increase in overall visitors and a 30% increase in foreign visitors. The influx of domestic and foreign tourists visiting Gyeongbuk and Gyeongju visibly surged around the time of the APEC summit.

Gyeongbuk Province extended this heightened interest to overseas local markets. In March of this year, the province signed a business agreement with the Trip.com Group in Shanghai, China, to expand the promotion and sales of Gyeongbuk tourism products. At the "K-Tourism Roadshow" in Shenzhen, it met with the local tourism industry to introduce various travel charms of Gyeongbuk, including world heritage sites, nature, and gourmet food.

Following this, the South Korea-Japan Summit held in Andong in May provided an opportunity to once again showcase Gyeongbuk's traditional culture to the world. The summit banquet utilized Korean cuisine incorporating "Suwun Japbang" (a historical cookbook from an Andong noble clan), Andong traditional liquor, and local ingredients, while the Hahoe Folk Village hosted the Sunyu Julbulnori (fireworks play) and pansori performances. Andong's deeply-rooted history and lifestyle culture—such as world heritage, noble clan culture, traditional food, and performances—drew joint attention on the stage of summit diplomacy.

This interest naturally extended to local tourism marketing and cultural exchange in Japan. At the Gyeongbuk tourism briefing sessions held in Tokyo and Osaka in July, the province introduced historical and cultural contents such as Andong's noble clan food, traditional liquor, and Sunyu Julbulnori, discussing tourism product development with local travel industries. Furthermore, visiting Nara Prefecture, the province discussed ways to expand exchanges in arts, culture, and tourism centered around traditional liquor and noble clan food, broadening the interest generated by the South Korea-Japan Summit into exchanges between local governments.

The appeal of Gyeongbuk tourism is expanding from history and culture to gourmet food and festivals. The Gimcheon Gimbap Festival and Gumi Ramen Festival have established themselves as new tourism content where domestic and foreign tourists can enjoy together by adding performances, experiences, and regional tourism resources to familiar K-food.

In the field of arts and culture, the globalization of Gyeongbuk's traditional culture has become even more prominent. Commemorating the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and France, the special exhibition "HANJIMANIA" held at the National Museum of the National Heritage in Paris, France, presented works reinterpreting traditional Hanji through modern crafts and design, introducing the artistic value and modern potential of Gyeongbuk Hanji to the world. Held as an official program of Paris Design Week, the exhibition also served as an occasion to demonstrate the international value of Gyeongbuk's traditional culture through exchanges with the local French art and cultural community.

The achievements of the "HANJIMANIA" special exhibition are also linked to Gyeongbuk's "5-Han (Korean traditional elements)" culture, which encompasses Hanji, Hansik (food), Hanbok, Hanok, and Hangeul. Gyeongbuk Province has promoted Hangeul and Gyeongbuk culture through the "Gyeongbuk Hangeul Academy" at Delhi University in India and has continued fostering Hanbok talent and industries centered around the Korea Hanbok Promotion Institute. By adding lifestyle cultures preserved across various regions—such as noble clan food, traditional liquor, old houses, and Hanok villages—the province is expanding beyond mere preservation into cultural and tourism resources that domestic and foreign tourists can directly see, taste, stay in, and experience.

The national heritage owned by Gyeongbuk also serves as a solid foundation for this culture and tourism. By allowing visitors to experience world heritage sites like Hahoe Village, Dosan Seowon, and Byeongsan Seowon alongside surrounding lifestyle cultures such as old houses, noble clan culture, traditional food, and performances, the province enables people to encounter the value of national heritage more broadly within tourism.

Gyeongbuk Province plans to sustain the momentum of interest in Gyeongbuk culture and tourism boosted by APEC and the South Korea-Japan Summit. Through the "2026 World Gyeongju Forum" coming up in October, it aims to broaden international cultural exchanges and cultivate tourism content that highlights the distinct charms of each region—including Gyeongju, Andong, and various parts of the province featuring history, culture, festivals, gourmet food, and nature—allowing domestic and foreign tourists to experience Gyeongbuk in more diverse ways.

Park Chan-woo, Director General of the Culture, Tourism, and Sports Bureau of Gyeongbuk Province, stated, "This National Empathy Award is the result of recognizing our continuous efforts to connect the value of Gyeongbuk's history, culture, arts, and national heritage with tourism and promote them domestically and internationally. We will translate the heightened interest in Gyeongbuk from APEC and the South Korea-Japan Summit into actual tourist visits, stays, and regional consumption, and foster Gyeongbuk-exclusive content such as traditional culture, arts, festivals, and gourmet food to build a culture and tourism-oriented Gyeongbuk that people want to revisit."