The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (Minister HWANG Hee, MCST) supported and Gyeongsangbuk-do (Mayor JOO Nak-young) organized the opening ceremony of the “2022 Culture City of East Asia” on March 25 (Fri) in the area of Woljeong bridge, Gyeongju.

The East Asia City of Culture program was first proposed by the cultural ministers from South Korea, China, and Japan. Since 2014, the three countries have selected a city representing each country's cultural traditions as East Asian cultural cities every year to promote cultural exchange. South Korea’s Gyeongju, China’s Wenzhou and Jinan, and Japan’s Oita prefecture were given the official title as the “2022 Culture Cities of East Asia”. The opening ceremony of the Culture City of East Asia served as an opportunity to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and provided environment for mature cultural partners through active cultural exchanges and cooperative projects among three nations.

At the opening ceremony this year, various performances were held to introduce Gyeongju,  a city where tradition and modernity coexist harmoniously. With key figures, people from the three countries met online to solidify and deepen the friendship among the three cities with the title of “Culture Cities of East Asia”.  

In particular, the opening performance held under the theme of “Leading to the Brilliant Shilla Culture Silk Road” shows the future of Gyeongju, a historical and cultural city that contributes to the common prosperity and harmony of East Asia beyond the history of peace and prosperity from the beginning of the dynasty. Shilla was a Korean kingdom along with Baekje and Goguryeo and its capital city was Gyeongju.

Gyeongju will also deliver a range of cultural activities and deeply engage in cultural cooperation with other East Asia countries, stimulating urban vitality and expanding the city global reputation. Starting with the opening ceremony on March 25^th, Gyeongju under the slogan “Gyeongju that opens culture, peace that connects East Asia”, a series of cultural exchange programs are prepared this year: East Asian Youth Culture and Arts Festival (July), East Asian Lantern Event (July), East Asian Culture Academic Debate (September), and 2022 Hanok Culture Expo (November).

To prevent COVID-19, events will be conducted in a hybrid manner  both by face-to-face and non-face-to-face methods while thoroughly observing quarantine rules. In the future, MCST will continue to provide environment where people will be able to actively experience and enjoy the East Asian Cultural City projects.