‘It’s been a tough week’: Gyeongju shop owners struggle under APEC security controls

GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province — As world leaders, delegates and reporters flocked to Gyeongju for this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, many locals had hoped for an economic windfall fueled by APEC-driven promotion.

But instead of a surge in sales, the six-day summit week that kicked off on Monday saw quiet shops and anxious merchants at Gyeongju Central Market, a sprawling traditional market with hundreds of stalls selling food, produce, meat and household goods.

The market was nearly empty around midday on Friday. There were few customers, mostly local residents rather than tourists, leaving shop owners lingering at their stalls as they watched live coverage of the summit on television.

They lamented that foot traffic had dropped by more than half due to summit-related traffic restrictions.

“It usually takes 10 minutes for me to get here by bus, but yesterday it took an hour because of the roadblocks,” said Kwon Soon-do, 71, who has run a local clothing store for more than 40 years. “When I finally opened my shop, there were no customers at all. I just sat here doing nothing. Today doesn’t seem much different.”

Kwon said most of her customers are elderly residents, but many seemed to be staying home after learning that roads across the city were closed due to tightened security.

Kim Sang-gyu, 76, who owns a beef soup restaurant in the market, has also seen fewer visitors than usual. His sales, normally around 1 million won ($720) a day, dropped to less than half that amount during the week.

“With all the traffic restrictions, even my regular customers stopped coming,” he said.

For some, the disappointment was particularly bitter.

One vendor selling food used in rituals and ceremonies said that Oct. 29, which should have been her busiest day of the year as part of a traditional rite honoring nameless spirits on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, was quiet. U.S. President Donald Trump’s arrival in Gyeongju that day meant the city was subject to strict traffic controls.

“It’s usually one of my biggest days, so I prepared a lot of food, but almost none of it was sold,” she said. “At first, I didn’t understand why, but later I heard that the roads were blocked due to the U.S. president’s arrival.”

Nearby, the city’s trendy tourist street of Hwangridan-gil appeared somewhat livelier, with more international and domestic tourists. But the crowd was part of the autumn tourist season rather than the APEC summit.

“The number of foreign visitors seems about the same as usual for this time of year,” said Park, an employee at a bakery. “I did see some customers wearing APEC badges in the evening, probably coming after work, but since the APEC venue is far from the city center, I don’t think the summit brought more guests for us.”

According to the Gyeongju city government, from Monday to Thursday, the city saw 90,191 visitors to Hwangridan-gil, down 26 percent from 123,408 during the same period last year. Visits to Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond, a Silla-era garden and palace complex, fell to 11,593, about half of last year’s 20,446.

City officials attributed the decline to temporary traffic controls during the summit.

Business owners in Bomun Tourist Complex, where the summit events were held, felt the impact more sharply.

Traffic restrictions cut off regular visitors, and several local pension operators reportedly had reservations canceled. Gyeongju World, a theme park in the complex, suspended operations from Wednesday to Saturday.

“At this point, my only customers are police officers and security staff stationed nearby. I know APEC is a major event for the country, but it hasn’t helped our business much,” said the owner of a cafe in the complex.

Some merchants tried to stay positive, hoping the international attention spurred by APEC would eventually bring more international visitors.

“It’s been a tough week,” said Kim Sook-hee, a vendor selling gimbap (rice and seaweed rolls) at the market. Her sales were less than half that of a normal week.

“But APEC is a rare event. When else will I see 20 presidents coming to our city? I’m trying to think of it as something to endure with pride. If visitors leave with a good impression of Gyeongju, maybe more tourists will come in the future.”