This symposium started in 1987, then continued for every two years alternatively in Korea and Italy with the support from Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics Network (ICRANet) and hosting institutes. Main purpose of this symposium is to accelerate the exchange between scientists of Italy and Korea, especially young researchers.

The result of every symposium was published in Journal of Korean Physical Society (JKPS) or in Il Nuovo Cimento B. Traditionally, the subjects of this series of symposium have been mainly theoretical astrophysics, especially in the fields of relativistic astrophysics.

In the symposium, results of relevant astrophysical observations and experiments, as well as their theoretical understanding will be presented, including gravitational wave detection experiments in which Korean astrophysicists are actively participating.

This year the symposium is held in conjunction with the XIII International Conference on Gravitation, Astrophysics and Cosmology (ICGAC-13), a series of biennial conferences on Gravitation, Astrophysics and Cosmology which takes place in the Asia-Pacific region with the goal to promote cooperation among the member countries and within an international context, to promote high level studies on hot topics and to encourage young physicists on these fields. The first ICGAC meeting was initiated by Prof. Yong Min Cho, Korea, one of the founders of the APCTP, in 1993.