- The '2026 World Gyeongju Forum' Held in Gyeongju, Drawing Around 2,500 Participants from 28 Countries Over Two Days on October 8–9

A path has opened for Gyeongsangbuk-do’s historical and humanistic assets to combine with artificial intelligence (AI) technology, evolving into content intellectual properties (IPs) such as films, dramas, webtoons, and games.

Gyeongsangbuk-do, alongside the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Gyeongju City, and the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE), hosted the '2026 World Gyeongju Forum' at the Gyeongju Hwabaek Convention Center (HICO) on October 8–9, following a vision declaration ceremony on October 7. The forum focused on AI-based utilization of cultural heritage and the industrialization of content as its core agenda. Around 2,500 participants from 28 countries attended over the two-day event, including approximately 1,400 pre-registrants.

Held under the theme "Global Transition: Common Prosperity and Common Growth Led by Culture," the forum discussed ways to reinterpret Gyeongsangbuk-do’s millennium of Silla history, Buddhist culture, and historical figures and stories using AI and digital technologies to transform them into industrial resources.

In the special sessions on "Region & Artificial Intelligence" and "Region & Cultural Assets," participants discussed methods for utilizing cultural heritage through AI and digital technology, as well as data rights issues. Attendees presented tasks for developing Gyeongsangbuk-do’s historical and humanities assets into content IPs.

Across four breakout sessions—Cultural Creative Industry & Youth, Digital & AI, Region & World, and History & Culture—discussions centered on developing Gyeongsangbuk-do’s historical and humanities assets, as well as Korean cultural assets like Hangeul, Hanbok, and Hansik, into global content and brands.

The cultural creative industry tasks raised at last year’s Gyeongju APEC Summit and the High-Level Dialogue on Culture and Industry were materialized into international cooperation agendas during this forum.

Some 600 domestic and international college students and youths proposed ideas centered on region, culture, and international cooperation. At "Impacton@Gyeongju," participants explored ways to connect Gyeongju's cultural, commercial, and climate challenges with business and cultural content.

The ASEAN-Korea cooperation program and the Northeast Asian Local Governments Forum (NEAR) Youth Policy Forum were also held concurrently, allowing future generations to step forward as key drivers of international cooperation.

Gyeongsangbuk-do plans to establish a circular structure by holding the World Gyeongju Forum every autumn in Gyeongju to accumulate cultural cooperation agendas, conduct implementation checks, and expand them into tasks for the following editions.

The province also decided to establish a permanent forum secretariat to build domestic and international governance, while securing a professional operational system featuring year-round planning and the research and publication of the Gyeongju Agenda.

"The true value of the forum lies in accumulating and developing agendas and achievements year after year," said Gyeongsangbuk-do Governor Lee Cheol-woo. "We will establish the forum as an international cultural cooperation platform where the knowledge and experience of the global cultural community gather in Gyeongju every year, and new collaborations begin."

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