Museum without walls: Gyeongju’s journey from Silla capital to global stage

As leaders, delegates and visitors prepare to gather in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, few places in Korea embody the nation’s long history more vividly than the host city. Often called “a museum without walls,” Gyeongju served as the capital of the Silla Kingdom (57 BCE-935 CE) through the Unified Silla era for nearly a thousand years. Its landscape remains heavily dotted with tombs, temples, historic buildings and ruins that bring that distant era to life. In this way, Gyeongju is often compared to ancient Athens or Rome — cities where open-air ruins, sacred monuments and royal tombs are part of the everyday landscape, connecting visitors directly with the past. Hosting the APEC summit in the city considered the cradle of the Silla Kingdom places global dialogue within the context of Korea’s historical roots, offering a reminder that today’s innovation and diplomacy stand on centuries of cultural legacy. Center of Silla’s golden age Gyeongju’s location in a natural basin madWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times