Thirty award-winning works from previous NEAR Youth Art Contests were showcased at the Park Chung-hee Gymnasium in Gumi from May 27 to 31, 2025, at the invitation of the city.
The 2025 Asian Athletics Championships, the largest and most prestigious track and field competition in Asia, was held in Gumi, marking the first time a basic local government hosted the event, following previous hosts, Seoul and Incheon. The championships brought together over 1,200 athletes from 45 Asian countries.
The NEAR Youth Art Contest, launched in 2016, is held annually from March to April and invites participation from youth from local governments in five NEAR member countries: China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and Russia. To date, approximately 3,000 young participants from these five countries have taken part in the contest.
Now in its thirteenth year, the 2025 contest is accepting submissions until September 19 under the theme, “Draw a symbol or character representing a Northeast Asian country you want to visit, other than your own.”