Gyeongju Drives Dynamic Change with Stay-Oriented Tourism, Smart Public Safety, and Youth Entrepreneurship

Leaping Forward as a Tourism City Blending Gourmet Experiences and Accommodations

Advanced License Plate Recognition with Vehicle-Type Search Introduced for the First Time in North Gyeongsang

Youth Entrepreneurship Brings New Vitality to the Old Downtown's 'New Golden Startup District'

Gyeongju City (Mayor Joo Nak-young) is accelerating its evolution into a 'global tourism and safety city' by pursuing multifaceted policies, including tourism innovation based on the thousand-year-old historical and cultural heritage of Silla, the establishment of advanced smart public safety infrastructure, and the revitalization of the old downtown through support for youth entrepreneurship.

The paradigm of tourism in Gyeongju is shifting away from simple day-trip historical sightseeing to a stay-oriented tourism model that combines gourmet dining and accommodations.

Tourists visiting Hwangridan-gil and Daereungwon are enjoying Gyeongju's historical and cultural heritage along with a variety of food and tourism contents. Provided by Gyeongju City

According to Gyeongju City on June 10, analysis of big data from Korea Tourism Data Lab showed that the cumulative number of visitors to Gyeongju from January to April this year reached 16,278,654.

This figure represents an 8.2% increase (about 1.23 million) compared to the same period last year (15,045,227), with approximately 4.36 million visitors in April alone, the peak season for spring tourism, driving the growth trend.

In particular, an analysis of accumulated navigation destination searches (1,887,000 cases) revealed that the food category (695,742 cases) far outpaced historical tourism (322,876 cases) and accommodations (309,858 cases).

The growing demand for gourmet experiences and the expansion of lodging facilities, especially around Hwangridan-gil and the Bomun Tourist Complex, indicate that tourism centered on 'eating and staying' is becoming firmly established.

The age group of visitors also showed that those in their 20s to 40s accounted for more than half, confirming a dynamic tourism demand centered on younger generations. Additionally, the proportion of visitors from the metropolitan area, such as Gyeonggi (9.2%) and Seoul (6.8%), continues to rise steadily.

Mayor Joo Nak-young of Gyeongju said, "By expanding diverse night tourism and gourmet content, we are continuing the transformation into a stay-oriented tourism city," and added, "Building on the successful hosting of APEC, we aim to become a global tourism destination that attracts people from all over the world."

The smart public safety infrastructure supporting a safe tourism environment has also been significantly strengthened.

Gyeongju City newly installed 17 license plate recognition cameras (now operating a total of 131) and upgraded related systems to respond quickly to vehicle-related crimes and accidents.

Through this upgrade, the license plate recognition rate has been raised to an average of 98%. For the first time in North Gyeongsang Province, a 'vehicle-type search function' linked with the automobile information management system has been implemented.

As a result, it is now possible to analyze the routes of vehicles entering and exiting the area and quickly identify specific vehicles, which is expected to provide substantial assistance in investigations of major incidents such as drunk driving or hit-and-run cases.

In fact, as of the end of May this year, Gyeongju City's CCTV monitoring center, in cooperation with the Gyeongju Police Station, has resolved a total of 71 cases, including locating seniors with dementia, apprehending thieves, and detecting drunk driving.

The city plans to continue reducing blind spots in monitoring by newly installing 89 multi-purpose CCTVs and replacing outdated equipment during the first half of this year.

The creation of a youth-friendly ecosystem for the city’s sustainable growth is also bearing fruit.

On June 10, Gyeongju City held an opening ceremony and plaque presentation for the 'Youth New Golden Startup District Development Project' startup teams at the Youth Center 'Youth Gyeongdo', marking the new start of eight selected teams.

Now in its fifth year, this project is a representative public-private cooperation model in which Gyeongju City and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) work together to support youth entrepreneurship and revitalize the old downtown.

The newly launched startups include unique spaces such as an independent bookstore ('Malmoe Geulmoe'), a traditional liquor bar ('Portion'), a cultural complex space ('Neugeusi'), workshops, and a traditional tea house.

Each selected youth startup team received KRW 35 million in startup funding, and over the past year, they were also provided with capacity-building programs such as a startup academy and customized consulting.

As a result, the total number of youth startup teams established in the new golden startup district of Gyeongju’s old downtown has increased to 33, injecting new energy into the local economy.

Mayor Joo Nak-young emphasized, "We will spare no effort in providing follow-up management and support so that young people can settle and grow stably in the region," and added, "We will develop this project into a nationwide success story for youth entrepreneurship, serving as a catalyst for the revitalization of the old downtown."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.