The Beginning of Korea-China-Japan Cultural Journey!... Opening of '2022 East Asia Cultural City Gyeongju'

On the 25th at Woljeonggyo Bridge in Gyeongju, Cultural Exchange, Prosperity, and Harmony Hoped for with Representative Cultural Cities of China and Japan

East Asian Cultural City Gyeongju.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Gyeongbuk Province held the opening ceremony of the ‘2022 East Asia Cultural City’ on the evening of the 25th at Woljeonggyo Bridge in Gyeongju.

On this day, Kang Seong-jo, Deputy Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, Park Jeong-ryeol, Director of the Culture and Arts Policy Office at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Joo Nak-young, Mayor of Gyeongju, Kim Seok-ki, Member of the National Assembly, Maruyama Kohei, Consul General of Japan in Busan, Sakata Natsuko, Deputy Secretary-General of the Korea-China-Japan Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat, and heads of related organizations and officials from previous host cities attended.

At the opening ceremony, congratulatory videos from the host cities of China and Japan were screened for 30 minutes on behalf of the delegations who could not attend due to the spread of Omicron.

Through the opening theme performance titled ‘Brilliant Silla Culture Continues on the Silk Road,’ the ‘historical and cultural city of Gyeongju’ was re-examined as a key city in the era of East Asia’s centrality.

The opening ceremony of the 2022 East Asian Cultural City Gyeongju was held on the 25th at the special stage of Woljeonggyo Bridge in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk, featuring a fireworks show.

Korea, China, and Japan began the cultural journey of the ‘2022 East Asia Cultural City,’ the largest cultural exchange platform in East Asia, in Gyeongju, the ancient capital of Silla for a thousand years, wishing for Asian harmony and peace.

This year, Gyeongju will promote various cultural exchange events including ▲Support for exchanges of private cultural and artistic groups (April) ▲East Asia Mainstream Culture Festival (June) ▲East Asia Lanterns Conveying Abundance (June) ▲East Asia Youth Culture and Arts Festival (July) ▲East Asia Cultural Symposium (September) ▲Nan-jang! Enjoy East Asia! (September) ▲Hanok Culture Expo (November), strengthening friendly relations with representative cultural cities of China and Japan.

The ‘East Asia Cultural City,’ first launched in 2014, began from an agreement at the 4th Korea-China-Japan Culture Ministers’ Meeting held in Shanghai, China, in May 2012, under the premise of respecting cultural diversity, where the three countries agreed to practice the spirit of ‘East Asian consciousness, cultural exchange and fusion, and appreciation of each other’s cultures.’

Korea, China, and Japan select a city representing each country’s cultural traditions as the ‘East Asia Cultural City’ annually and hold cultural exchange events throughout the year. This year’s East Asia Cultural Cities are ▲Gyeongju City in Korea ▲Yuanjiang Wuxi and Jinan City in China ▲Oita Prefecture in Japan.

Kang Seong-jo, Deputy Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, said, “This event is a very valuable occasion to share common values and spirit of East Asia and to lead cultural co-growth. The province plans to build a metaverse platform, a new public service that will lead innovative changes across the socio-economic spectrum, aiming for a leap forward. In particular, we will enhance competitiveness by leveraging Gyeongbuk’s characteristics and strengths in the culture and tourism sectors.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.