Cruise ships show South Korea’s struggle to host global leaders at Apec
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet in South Korea this month at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, drawing the world’s attention to the small city of Gyeongju, where some delegates are grappling with how to get there and where to stay.
The summit, meant to highlight South Korea’s diplomacy and efficiency, is instead exposing the strain of hosting a major global event in a city never built for it. Gyeongju – about 370 km from Seoul – is known for its Unesco-listed royal tombs, ancient temples and pagodas. The city was selected under former president Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration as a way to showcase Korea’s long history and cultural heritage.
After Yoon’s failed bid to impose martial law in December and his subsequent impeachment, South Korea went through months of political chaos before President Lee Jae Myung took office in June. By then, preparations were too far along to move the summit anywhere else.
About 700 global business leaders are expected to attend – including Nvidia’s chief executive officer Jensen Huang, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, Amazon Web Services’ Matt Garman and JD.com’s Sandy Xu – along with roughly 20,000 visitors overall. But lodging options in Gyeongju are limited, with only a few international hotels and 35 “presidential suites”, even after recent upgrades.
The city offers around 12,800 hotel rooms within 10 km of the venue, most already fully booked. October is peak tourist season, when visitors come to admire Gyeongju’s autumn colours. With the influx of Apec delegates on top of that, room prices have skyrocketed. The government has stepped in to centralise hotel bookings to prevent bidding wars.
With few options available, organisers have turned to cruise ships – a move last seen at the 2018 Apec summit in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, one of the region’s poorest and most crime-ridden cities. Few expected South Korea, one of the world’s most advanced economies, to revisit that approach.
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The Piano Land, a 70,000-ton cruise liner with 850 cabins, karaoke bars, a gym, jogging track and pools, is now docked at Yeongilman Port in nearby Pohang city, home to steel giant Posco Holdings. A smaller ship, the Eastern Venus, with 270 cabins, will also serve as a floating hotel.
Each morning, hundreds of executives will disembark for the nearly hour-long commute to the conference venue. Few would be thrilled by that. Staying in nearby cities like Busan or Daegu isn’t much better; one industry executive, who asked not to be identified in order to speak freely, said he had planned to stay in Busan, but after finding no vacancies there, he chose the ship instead.
Organisers are putting a positive spin on the situation, describing the cruise ships as a “unique luxury experience.” The government is ramping up security across Gyeongju, deploying as many as 18,500 police officers, Swat units, coast guard personnel, armoured vehicles and anti-drone jammers. The coast guard will also strengthen patrols around the ships.
South Korea’s ambassador to Singapore, Hong Jin-wook, said that while Incheon and Jeju were also considered as possible venues, Gyeongju was ultimately chosen for its deep cultural roots. “I’m definitely 100 per cent sure there won’t be any major logistic issue in accommodating all those important events,” he said.
The idea to lease ships came from Chey Tae-won, chairman of conglomerate SK Group and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which is overseeing the Apec CEO summit. The plan avoids the need to build hotels that would sit empty afterward but comes with its own challenges: security at sea, catering and waste management, smooth transportation between the port and summit venue, and maintaining top-tier service, safety and convenience expected by delegates, especially the VIPs on board.
Even officials privately acknowledge how difficult the preparations have been. One person familiar with the plans, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue, called it a big logistical headache.
The preparations committee did not respond to a Bloomberg News request for comment.
Gyeongju joins a handful of small cities that have become global meeting points. Each winter, Davos in Switzerland fills with world leaders for the World Economic Forum, and every summer, central bankers descend on Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Gyeongju, however, has little experience hosting a summit of this scale. Brazil’s Belem, host of the COP30 climate summit, is also using cruise ships to house delegates.
Immediate problem
The Apec meetings, including the CEO summit and leaders’ sessions, run from Oct 28 to Nov. 1. All eyes will be on Presidents Trump and Xi, meeting in person for the first time since 2019. Their agenda will cover rare earths, fentanyl, soybeans and Taiwan, as well as the future of TikTok and technology export controls.
But the more immediate problem remains finding enough beds for everyone. The summit has sent room rates soaring, in some cases to as much as 10 times their usual level. Local hotelier Cho Hang-yeon said a booking platform even offered to buy out his entire property for the event at a generous price, but he turned it down because existing reservations were already in place.
“Overall revenue is expected to be roughly 30 per cent higher than usual – it’s almost like having two Chuseok holidays in one month,” said Cho, who owns a 32-room hotel in Gyeongju and three other lodging businesses in Busan, referring to South Korea’s Thanksgiving holiday.
Beds are one thing; feeding thousands of guests is another story. Many hotels don’t have large enough kitchens or dining halls to serve hundreds at once, according to a person familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorised to speak publicly. Breakfast for some delegates will be served at the summit venue, the person said.
With Gyeongju lacking an international airport, helicopters have been arranged for high-level guests unwilling to make the long drives from Busan or Pohang. The added traffic and strict security measures could easily disrupt schedules at an event where most delegates are juggling back-to-back meetings.
A government decision to move the Apec gala dinner from a newly built US$5.7 million hall at the Gyeongju National Museum to a hotel has also drawn criticism over wasted taxpayer money and a missed opportunity to promote the city’s heritage. The building had yet to pass fire safety checks and lacked key facilities such as a performance space, kitchen and restrooms, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified given the sensitivity of the situation.
Ambassador Hong said the museum has been set aside to host bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit.
Other officials prefer to focus on what Gyeongju represents, describing it as a rare setting where world leaders, business executives and diplomats can come together to discuss global issues.
“A place for harmony is being created in Gyeongju at a time when everyone is at each other’s throats,” said Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, in a recent online interview. “This is a truly historic moment.” BLOOMBERG
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