Takaichi's upcoming visit to the southern historic city of Andong, which is also Lee's hometown, would be a reciprocal gesture after Lee visited Takaichi’s hometown of Nara in Japan earlier this year. That kind of symmetry matters in diplomacy. It signals not just courtesy but mutual respect, a reminder that good neighborly relations are built as much on gestures as on treaties.
The two leaders first met last fall on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, where they committed to shuttle diplomacy between the neighboring countries. Lee then traveled to Nara in January, and during the meeting, proposed that the next summit be held in Andong.
Known as the spiritual and cultural capital of South Korea, Andong breathes history as home to Hahoe Village, one of the country’s most remarkable living repositories of Joseon-era heritage, as well as Byeongsan Seowon, a Confucian academy designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In 1999, Queen Elizabeth II visited Hahoe Village, where she was honored with a birthday feast, watched a traditional mask dance performance, and drew global attention to the provincial town that, at the time, many outsiders had never heard of.
The effect was electric. Tourist arrivals to the village surged past one million that year, and the ripple effects lasted for two decades. That is the power of a single high-profile visit to the right place.
Since then, however, visitor numbers have fallen sharply to around 500,000, hit by the coronavirus pandemic and shifting tourism trends. Andong, for all its magnificence, has struggled to recapture that global spotlight. This summit could change that.
Lee and Takaichi are expected to discuss various topics including bilateral cooperation, particularly in sectors such as energy and critical mineral supply chains, amid the prolonged conflict in the Middle East.
But the setting will do its own quiet work. Foreign leaders do not often venture 190 kilometers away from Seoul into inland areas. When they do, the world takes notice - and so do travel editors, tourism boards, and curious travelers around the world.
A business forum is also being planned in Andong to coincide with the summit, suggesting that both countries understand this is about more than a mere photo-op. It would also be a boost for a city that deserves a closer look as part of balanced regional development.
The shuttle diplomacy pattern between the two neighboring countries - Gyeongju, Nara, now Andong - is noteworthy. These are not capital cities. They are places rich in history, where layers of heritage give meetings a weight and texture that no glass-and-steel conference center ever could.
Nara, with its ancient temples and roaming deer, and Andong, with its Confucian academies and traditional mask dances, share more in common than their leaders perhaps realize.
For Andong, the opportunity is enormous but only if it is seized. The Queen's visit about three decades ago did not promote itself. It took deliberate effort to turn that royal visit into a tourism boom. The same formula could work again here.
Some cities wait for history to find them, and Andong is ready when it does.
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