< Souting for the beauty of 'Gyeongju' from the center of 'Istanbul, Turkey' > Gyeongju World Culture EXPO started from August 31, 2013 after the opening ceremony in Hagia Sophia Square to September 22, 2013 (23 days) that introduces Gyeongju culture to the world in Istanbul area.

The EXPO, which is hosted by Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Istanbul City and ran by Istanbul-Gyeongju World Culture EXPO 2013 organizing committee, is an event that is sponsored by 18 institutions including Ministry of Culture and Tourism of both country, UNESCO, UNWTO, etc., and about 40 countries.

At the opening ceremony held on specially prepared stage in front of Hagia Sophia Church, About 2,000 people including the Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do who is also a chairperson of joint committee for EXPO 2013, Kadir Topbas, Mayor of Istanbul, Mayor of Gyeongju-si who is a vice chairperson of committee for EXPO, Chung Hongwon, Prime Minister of Korea, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey participated in the Gyeongju-si promotional video, performance about the culture of Turkey and Gyeongju, and Korea-Turkey joint performance to welcome the visitors. Mayor of Gyeongju delivered Silk Road and ocean cruising training story in order to pray for the sucessful EXPO.

Since it was held in Turkey, the brother country, the event was various and meaningful. Mayor of Gyeongju participated in 'appreciation ceremony for veterans of Korean War' at ICEC Convention and appreciated the veterans for their sacrifice by stating "I heard that Turks were the bravest force during Korean War."

At the 'Photo Exhibition of Representative Photographers of Korea' that shows the beautiful scenery of Korea through the picture, representative photographers of Korea including Kim Jungman gathered together and showed the beauty of Korea by displaying about 180 works about soul of Korea and spirit and cultural heritages of Gyeongju, the millenary capital of Silla, which are interacted in modern viewpoint.

As a part of 'Korea Silk Road Project,' ceremony unveiling the monument for Silk Road friendly cooperation was held on September 1. Monument for Silk Road friendly cooperation is a symbolic object for the establishment of cooperation system with Silk Road hub nations, and monuments are installed in China, Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkey, Gyeongju and other hub nations of Silk Road which is about 17,000km. Mayor of Gyeongju unveiled Silk Road monument while visiting Isfahan, Iran. Lastly, the monument was installed at Gyeongju EXPO Park on November 4.

Gyeongju-si signed an agreement for friendly relations with Samarkand, Uzbekistan and Isfahan, Iran, which are the major hub nations, and the era of the new Silk Road will be opened through the mutual exchange cooperation and friendly relationship.

Korean Culture Center located in Eminonu Square in front of the bridge that connects the old section and the new section of the city of Istanbul was also focused by the citizens of Turkey. Externally, it looks like Bulkuksa (Temple) in Gyeongju, which is the representative temple of Silla, and relationship between Korea and Turkey through the Silk Road, miniature of golden crown of Silla, and miniature of Bell of King Seongdeok and Cheomseongdae (Observatory) in Gyeongju through the IT technology can be seen inside.

Mayor of Gyeongju showed the expectation by stating, "I could feel the great interest in Gyeongju including Korean traditional music, hanbok (Korean traditional clothes), cultural heritage and traditional culture through this Istanbul-Gyeongju World Culture EXPO while pop culture of Korea such as singers, songs, dramas received the attention so far," and "I am expecting the visitation of Turkish tourists to Gyeongju from this Fall due to the great interest in Silla culture which is a representative of Korean culture, and this EXPO will contribute to the introduction of Gyeongju to Turkey and other European cities, as well as taking off to the international city."