Mayor Joo Nak-young of Korea’s Gyeongju City and wife led a delegation of 13 people to Tainan on February 23 and signed the Tainan-Gyeongju Exchange Promotion Agreement with Tainan City Mayor Huang Wei-che. Chairman Lee Cheol-woo of the Gyeongju City Council and President Lee Sang-gol of the Gyeongju Chamber of Commerce accompanied Mayor Joo and Tainan Mayor Huang was joined by Director-General Su En-en of the Department of Information and International Relations. Director Lin Chen-Fu of the Legislative Yuan Department of International Affairs (former Director of the Taipei Mission in Korea, Busan Office) was invited to act as a witness.
Gyeongju is the first to establish a signatory city relationship with Tainan since the city launched the Tainan 400 series event. On behalf of the 1.86 million Tainan citizens, Mayor Huang Wei-che welcomed Mayor Joo Nak-young and his delegation to Tainan and expressed his gratitude to Joo for traveling from South Korea to sign this exchange agreement. The fact that this partnership was officially finalized on the eve of the opening of the Taiwan Lantern Festival makes it even more significant.
Huang pointed out that the two cities share many historical similarities as they are both ancient capitals and he looks forward to more substantive exchanges in fields such as culture, tourism, academia, and economics between Tainan and Gyeongju.
Mayor Joo Nak-young of Gyeongju City, the “thousand-year-old ancient capital”, thanked Mayor Huang for his warm welcome as well as former Director Lin Chen-Fu for his assistance and support. Joo agreed that there are many similarities between Tainan and Gyeongju. Gyeongju is often referred to as “the museum without walls” and he hopes to facilitate more cultural and historical exchanges with Tainan. Joo also thanked Mayor Huang for inviting the Gyeongju delegation as Tainan once again hosts the Taiwan Lantern Festival after 16 years and looks forward to more exchanges that will mutually benefit both sides in the future.
Chairman Lee Cheol-woo of the Gyeongju City Council expressed that it is a great honor to witness the signatory ceremony between the two cities and looks forward to working, growing, and prospering with Tainan in the coming years.
Director Lin Chen-Fu of the Legislative Yuan Department of International Affairs said that during his previous tenure as the Director of the Taipei Mission in Korea, Busan Office, he facilitated many connections and collaborations, including the exchanges between Tainan and Gyeongju. He is very happy to witness this wonderful partnership and congratulated the two ancient capitals on their strong friendship.
A popular tourist destination, Gyeongju City is in the North Gyeongsang Province in southeast South Korea. During the 992 years of the Kingdom of Silla, Gyeongju, then Geumseong, has always been its capital, and now the city is often acknowledged as South Korea’s thousand-year-old ancient capital. Like Tainan, Gyeongju is also a member of the League of Historical Cities, and its Seokguram Grotto, Bulguksa Temple, and Yangdong Folk Village are listed as World Heritage sites.