North Gyeongsang Province to develop its cultural industry into a platform connecting it with the world

【Financial News, Andong = Kim Jang-wook】 North Gyeongsang Province is stepping up efforts to develop its cultural industry into a platform connecting it with the world.
To that end, the province will host the “2026 World Gyeongju Forum” at the Hwabaek International Convention Center (HICO) in Gyeongju from the 8th to the 9th. As of the 5th, participants from 25 countries, including member countries of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APECAPEC), and around 30 universities in Korea and abroad had applied to take part.
Under the theme “Global Transition: Shared Prosperity and Growth Led by Culture,” the World Gyeongju Forum, being held for the first time this year, will build on the outcomes of the 2025 Gyeongju Summit and the high-level meeting on cultural industries. It will explore ways to foster international cooperation across countries, regions, generations and industries, with a focus on the cultural and creative industries.
In particular, the province plans to promote “a global North Gyeongsang Province centered on cultural industries” by connecting Gyeongju’s historical and cultural value as a thousand-year-old historic capital with the world.
Governor Lee Cheol-woo stressed, “We must carry the World Gyeongju Forum forward as part of APEC’s legacy and make it a platform connecting North Gyeongsang Province’s cultural industries with the world,” adding, “The province will take the lead in helping Gyeongju become a world-class cultural city and ensuring that its strength spreads beyond North Gyeongsang Province to the rest of the world.”
At the opening ceremony, Professor Pier Luigi Sacco of Italy’s G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara and Andy Pratt, an honorary professor at City St George’s, University of London, in the UK, will deliver keynote speeches. Kim Yun-ji, president of the Korea Creative Content Agency, and Jo Ji-eun, head of the Korean Studies Center at the University of Oxford in the UK, will take part in a special discussion.
On the 9th, discussions will continue in four sessions covering key fields. In the morning, the “Cultural and Creative Industries and Youth” session will address talent exchange and ways to achieve mutual growth, with contributions from Jason Bevan, former head of development at Warner Bros. Pictures, among others. In the “Regions and the World” session, Korean history instructor Choi Tae-seong and others will present and discuss ways to build international brands around local historical and cultural assets.
In the afternoon, the “Digital and Artificial Intelligence” (AI) session will examine ways for creators, industries and institutions to coexist, with contributions from Seoul National University Professor Lee Kyo-gu and others. In the “History and Culture” session, Professor Andy Pratt and others will exchange views on the theme of a sustainable future.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Gyeongju City will also co-host the “Third Meeting of the Cultural Cities Network of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC).” The “APEC First Anniversary Seminar” and the “Korea-ASEAN Sustainable Innovation Program” will also take place.
Meanwhile, the province will use the forum to showcase Gyeongju’s historical and cultural assets and North Gyeongsang Province’s cultural content on the international stage. It also plans to expand the foundation for international cooperation that links the cultural and creative industries to the local economy and youth employment.

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