Wonhwa and Hwarang (from left to right), mascots of the Gyeongju World Culture ExpoGyeongju, the capital city of Korea’s Silla Dynasty (57 B.C.- A.D. 935), opens its world culture expo park to the public throughout the year from April with a revived spirit of the ancient kingdom.
The Gyeongju World Culture Expo Organizing Committee will open the Gyeongju World Culture Expo Park, located at Bomun Complex in the city, all year round from April 1 with lots of cultural materials to attract visitors from all over the world.
Having held five expos over the last ten years since 1998, Gyeongju has placed itself as a well-known international culture expo venue, while recording a total of 8.5 million during the past expos by revitalizing the spirit of the Silla Dynasty, its architecture and traditional customs.
Backed by the advanced cultural expo infrastructure and know-how from the previous expos, the Gyeongju World Culture Expo Park will put on various cultural programs for visitors on the themes of culture, experience” and rest.
The cultural programs of the expo park will include a Three-dimensional Animation World that will show four animations based on tales and relics of the Silla Dynasty, including Mud Warrior Chacha, at CT Experience Hall, Seonmudo Experience Program and temple stay at Golgulsa (temple), Moonlight Laser Show at Gyeongju Tower, Fairy Tale Fantasy World, seasonal programs, including a flower festival, and fossil exhibition at the World Fossil Museum, Asia’s largest fossil museum with 3,000 prehistoric remains discovered in various parts of the world.
Night view of Gyeongju Tower Previously shown at last year’s expo, Mud Warrior Chacha is based on Korea’s National Treasure No. 91, a vessel in the shape of a warrior on horseback. Seonmudo is a traditional martial art practiced by Silla’s Hwarang warrior class.
Built in 2007 along with the Silla Wanggyeong Forest and the Expo Cultural Center, Gyeongju Tower is a modern 17-story glass and aluminum building with a cut away center in the shape of Hwangryongsa Temple’s famed nine-story wooden pagoda, which was destroyed in 1238 during the Mongol invasion. The 82-meter pagoda includes an observatory and sky lounge.
Backed by high technology through advanced facilities and various programs, the Gyeongju Expo organizing committee successfully hosted last year’s event in November, making the event a kind of culture Olympics spotlighted by international media.
From Nov. 2006 to Jan. 2007, the city also held a joint cultural expo with Cambodia’s Angkor Wat to mark the tenth anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Cambodia. International media, including BBC and CNN visited the event, as well as thousands of tourists.
To celebrate the permanent opening of the expo park, the expo organizing committee is to hold an official opening ceremony at Jujak Square, meaning phoenix square in Korean, in front of the Gyeongju Tower with more than 1,000 participants in attendance.
The entrance fee to the park costs 3,000 won for children and 5,000 won for adults. The admission fee to the World Fossil Museum costs 2,500 won
