Leaders' wives attend Hanbok fashion show in Gyeongju

First lady Kim Hea Kyung and Diana Fox Carney, the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, attended a fashion show featuring hanbok on Wednesday, according to the presidential office. The hanbok fashion show took place at Woljeonggyo, a historic structure from the Silla Kingdom (57 BC–AD 935), in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, on the sidelines of the APEC summit. The show blended the “Five Han” elements of Korean culture, including hanbok, hansik (Korean cuisine), hanok (Korean tradit

Kakao Navi scopes out APEC traffic

As the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit turns Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, into a global hub, navigation has become crucial for residents and visitors alike. With delegates, executives and tourists converging on the historic city, Kakao Navi — operated by Kakao Mobility, the official mobility sponsor of APEC 2025 — is emerging as an indispensable travel companion. With real-time precision, Kakao Navi provides live traffic updates, congestion alerts and rerouting options based on

Genesis G90 escorts VIPs with panache in Gyeongju

Hyundai Motor Group is bringing the G90, a luxury sedan from the Korean auto giant’s premium brand Genesis, into the spotlight this week, offering top-class transportation to high-ranking government officials attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju. According to Hyundai Motor, a total of 113 G90s were dispatched for this week’s event, making Korea one of the few countries that can provide domestically produced vehicles with adequate features to escort high-profile fore

Korea Zinc joins Korea-US talks on strategic mineral cooperation

Korea Zinc, South Korea’s sole producer of strategic minerals, is drawing attention at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit this week as Seoul and Washington work to strengthen cooperation on mineral supply chains amid China’s export restrictions. The company said Thursday that Chairman Choi Yun-birm attended the US-Korea Business Roundtable in Gyeongju on Wednesday, hosted by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, to discuss ways to enhance bilateral collaboration in securing critical mi

How Korea is curating toasts for APEC 2025

At this week’s APEC summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, the drinks menu has changed almost as often as the guest list. While the main event, the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, opens Friday, a series of official dinners and bilateral meetings earlier in the week have already revealed Korea’s attention to detail when it comes to drinks. From nonalcoholic fermented tea to traditional rice wines, the drinks for the summit’s toasts are being selected with attention to culture, protocol, and practical c

Lee vows to deepen partnership between South Korea, China

GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said he would explore ways to further advance the strategic cooperative partnership with China ahead of his first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who visited the country on Thursday as a state guest for the first time in 11 years. “Together with President Xi Jinping, I will seek ways to further advance and sustain the mature development of the South Korea-China strategic cooperative partnership amid the rapidly

Posco chair highlights supply chain ties across Asia-Pacific

Chang In-hwa, chair of steel giant Posco Group, made a strong case for sustainable and resilient supply chain cooperation during his speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit held Thursday in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. Speaking under the summit’s theme, “Bridge, Business, Beyond,” Chang highlighted Posco’s long-standing partnership with Australia — a relationship that began in 1971 with iron ore imports — as an example of sustainable cooperation already in action. “Tod

What's on the menu at dinner hosted by President Lee

Set in the majestic surroundings of Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday evening hosted a special presidential dinner for heads of state and government attending APEC Economic Leaders Week, in honor of US President Donald Trump. Hosted by Lee from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Hilton Hotel Gyeongju, the dinner was attended by leaders from eight countries, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, New Zealand Prime

Dunamu CEO sees Korea at heart of blockchain finance

South Korea can shape a new financial order with the blockchain revolution, according to Oh Kyoung-suk, chief executive officer of Dunamu, the operator of the country's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit. Oh delivered a keynote speech on the theme "The Future of Currency & Global Financial Markets" at the 2025 APEC CEO Summit held in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. "The growth potential of blockchain and stablecoins is truly immense, considering they are still at an early sta

G-Dragon to perform at private dinner in Gyeongju hotel, not Cheomseongdae

G-Dragon, a K-pop star and an honorary ambassador for APEC 2025, will perform at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting Gala Dinner on Friday in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, city officials said on Wednesday. The performance, exclusively for invited leaders, is scheduled to take place at the Lahan Select Hotel in Sinpyeong-dong, where the gala dinner will be held, not at the Cheomseongdae site as some reports had earlier suggested. “There is no official public announcement, but we understand

BTS’ RM calls on global leaders to support culture in APEC speech

RM of BTS highlighted the importance of diversity as a driving force behind K-pop’s global success and called on world leaders to provide greater financial support for the cultural sector during his keynote speech at the 2025 APEC CEO Summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday. "K-pop is not just a genre of music. It is a 360-degree, total package of music, dance, performance, visual style, storytelling, music video and even social media," he said at the Gyeongju Arts Center, sp

Korea, US sign tech deal to boost AI, quantum ties

GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province — South Korea and the United States signed a technology cooperation pact Wednesday, pledging to boost collaboration in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other emerging technologies. The agreement, dubbed the “Technology Prosperity Deal,” was signed by Ha Jung-woo, Seoul's senior secretary to the president for AI and future planning, and Michael Kratsios, director of the US' White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, on the sidelines of t

Gyeongju boils with rallies welcoming, rejecting Trump

As US President Donald Trump arrived Wednesday in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, to join world leaders gathered for the APEC summit, the city's downtown became a site of political tension, with dual rallies welcoming and protesting his visit unfolding simultaneously under tight police watch. The International People’s Action Committee Against APEC held a press conference near Guhwang Bridge, condemning the summit as “Trump’s one-man show” and accusing the US president of “exploiting ordina

K-pop’s evolution from Busan 2005 to Gyeongju 2025: From sidelines to center stage

When BoA performed her hit “No. 1” at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ dinner in Busan in 2005, she represented the youthful energy of Korean pop culture before an audience of global power brokers, including then–US President George W. Bush, Japan’s Junichiro Koizumi, China’s Hu Jintao and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Sharing the stage with world-renowned soprano Sumi Jo, BoA embodied Korea’s ambitions to project its modern culture abroad. It was an early glimpse of what would become k

Trump: US-Korea trade deal to be sealed very soon

GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province — US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Washington and Seoul are “very” close to finalizing a new trade agreement, describing South Korea as a key economic and security partner and urging deeper Korean investment in US industry. “The Republic of Korea is a cherished American friend and a close ally,” Trump said in his keynote speech during his address at the APEC CEO Summit in Gyeongju. “Here on this peninsula, the people of South Korea have forged a m