Why Gyeongju City Refuted Posts Claiming "'APEC Ambassador' G-Dragon to Hold Free Concert at Cheomseongdae"

False Posts Spread Online
Gyeongju City Responds: "No Performance Planned"

As the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit approaches, the city of Gyeongju has issued a warning after false posts circulated online claiming that singer G-Dragon would be performing in front of Cheomseongdae.

On the 26th, the city of Gyeongju stated, "Recent posts about a 'G-Dragon APEC 2025 Gyeongju Cheomseongdae performance' on some online communities and blogs are completely untrue." A city official emphasized, "There are no plans for a G-Dragon performance, and any posts encouraging 'pre-registration' or 'application submissions' for the performance are also false."

G-Dragon SNS.

Currently, searching for 'G-Dragon Cheomseongdae' on portal sites such as Naver yields numerous posts titled 'APEC 2025 Gyeongju Cheomseongdae Performance Participation Schedule Pre-Registration.' These posts claim that G-Dragon will hold a free public performance in front of Cheomseongdae, in the Donggung Palace and Wolji area, on the 31st, and state, "As a cultural program commemorating the summit, various experiences have been prepared along with G-Dragon's performance."

As the false information spread rapidly, the city sent official notices to towns, townships, neighborhoods, and all departments to quickly communicate the facts and began blocking the posts through village leaders and local community organizations to prevent further dissemination.

Meanwhile, a large-scale fireworks show that was scheduled to take place in the downtown area during the APEC summit was canceled due to security, safety, and traffic congestion concerns. The city of Gyeongju stated, "We plan to organize a separate commemorative event for citizens after the summit concludes," and emphasized, "We ask citizens and tourists to be cautious and not be misled by false information online."

G-Dragon, who was appointed as an APEC summit ambassador in July, previously participated without a fee in the APEC promotional video "What Happened in the Parking Lot," produced by Dolgorae Yukwaidan. On the 23rd of this month, he received the Ok-Gwan Order of Cultural Merit at the 16th Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards, becoming the youngest recipient of the honor.