NAVER Hosts “BE LOCAL WEEK” to Promote Gyeongju’s Culture and Identity to Foreign Visitors in Celebration of the APEC Summit

NAVER Hosts "BE LOCAL WEEK" to Promote Gyeongju's Culture and Identity to Foreign Visitors in Celebration of the APEC Summit

- Launches campaign in collaboration with local businesses to highlight Gyeongju's unique culture and distinctive features in line with the APEC Summit

- NAVER Map enhances visibility and accessibility of Gyeongju's key landmarks and heritage sites through the Flying View 3D feature

- CEO Choi Soo-yeon expresses support for the value and growth potential of local communities and is scheduled to visit the campaign site to engage with business owners

October 22, 2025

NAVER Corporation (CEO Choi Soo-yeon) is hosting the "BE LOCAL WEEK" campaign centered around Hwangnidan-gil in Gyeongju to introduce the city's unique culture and distinctive features to foreign visitors in celebration of the APEC Summit. During the summit, CEO Choi is scheduled to visit the campaign site, meet with Gyeongju's local business owners, and discuss the growth potential of local communities.

Introducing Gyeongju's unique features to foreign visitors in collaboration with local businesses such as alley restaurants, cafés, and workshops

"BE LOCAL WEEK" is a campaign designed to support foreign visitors in Gyeongju during the APEC Summit in exploring the city's heritage sites and tourist attractions with ease and experiencing its culture and distinctive features by using NAVER services to visit local shops. The campaign will run for one week, from Saturday, October 25, to Friday, October 31. NAVER plans to introduce around 30 local businesses in Hwangnidan-gil, including restaurants, cafés, and craft workshops, through multilingual versions of NAVER Map in English, Chinese, and Japanese.

NAVER Map introduces personalized recommendation service "Discovery Feed" and "Flying View 3D" to expand exposure for local businesses and key landmarks

Starting October 23, NAVER Map will introduce the "Flying View 3D," a feature that renders landmarks in three dimensions, allowing users to explore areas around Gyeongju's heritage sites, such as Cheomseongdae Observatory and the Gyeongju Historic Areas, with enhanced realism and depth. In addition, when users search for "Gyeongju" on NAVER Map, the "Discovery Feed," an AI-powered recommendation feature suggesting trending spots, popular restaurants, cafés, and activities, will be introduced for the first time, improving user convenience of location-based searches.

As part of the campaign, select local businesses participating in the "BE LOCAL WEEK" will pilot Npay Connect, NAVER Pay's integrated offline payment terminal. A "BE LOCAL WEEK" clip creator challenge introducing Gyeongju's hidden eateries and alleys, including Hwangnidan-gil, will also take place from Saturday, October 25, to Friday, October 31.

Supporting the continued growth of local diversity and value

NAVER CEO Choi said, "With the APEC Summit, an event of global importance, being held in Gyeongju, a city rich with history, I hope this campaign becomes an opportunity for foreign visitors to discover the value of local communities and experience more of Gyeongju's unique culture and distinctive features." She added, "Going forward, NAVER will continue to support the expansion of local diversity and value." (End)

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