Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Wins Excellence Awards in Both Citizen Participation and Local Government Categories at the “2025 Korea Public PR Awards”

내용

Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it received Excellence Awards in both the “Citizen Participation” and “Local Government” categories at the “2025 Korea Public PR Awards” on September 12.

The “2025 Korea Public PR Awards” is a representative prize in the field of public communication, hosted by the Korean Academic Society for Public Relations and supported by the Korea Press Foundation.

The competition targeted public PR campaigns completed between January 2024 and June 2025. Now in its 11th year, the awards have expanded beyond their original local government focus to include government ministries, public institutions, and private companies, evolving into a platform to discover and share excellent public-interest campaign cases across diverse sectors.

The campaign “Exercise with Bugi,” which won the Excellence Award in the Citizen Participation category, was a citizen-friendly everyday sports campaign based on the concept of “Turn Busan Station Plaza into a Playground!” It was highly evaluated for reinforcing Busan’s image as a “paradise of everyday sports.”

A total of 22,266 citizens participated in the event, which featured 26 programs across five zones: a 15-Minute Fitness Test and Exercise Prescription Zone, an Everyday Sports Experience Zone, a Policy Exhibition Zone, a Class and Performance Zone, and an Event Zone.

In particular, the “15-Minute Exercise Challenge” video created with local influencers achieved 1.11 million views online, significantly boosting its digital reach, while citizen satisfaction reached 91 percent.

The campaign “HIP Busan,” which received the Excellence Award in the Local Government category, was a makeover project for seniors under the theme of generational empathy. It was recognized for spotlighting the transformation of the active senior generation and spreading positive awareness about aging society.

Content showcasing the stylish transformation of Busan’s seniors, produced in collaboration with the online fashion platform “Musinsa,” recorded 4 million views and was also featured in “Musinsa Magazine,” broadening engagement with younger generations.

Additionally, outdoor advertising in 1,436 multi-use facilities such as KTX stations, along with extensive media coverage, drew nationwide attention. Participating seniors even embarked on new careers as models and lecturers, opening a “second stage of life.”

Building on this success, the city has continued to collaborate with private companies such as “Danggeun,” “Today’s House,” and “CJ Olive Young” to run diverse participatory campaigns targeting different demographics, including “Busan Danggeun Easy!,” “Youth LUV: Today Busan,” and “Young Busan.”

This simultaneous achievement demonstrates external recognition of the city’s strategy of “public relations through direct citizen participation and experience.” Its significance lies in achieving results across very different themes: everyday sports and generational empathy.

City spokesperson Won Young-il stated, “Rather than one-way communication, our participatory and experiential promotional policies, which citizens can enjoy and relate to, have yielded results. Going forward, Busan Metropolitan City will continue to expand campaigns that allow diverse groups to participate by actively utilizing digital platforms and public-private partnerships, thereby further spreading promotional achievements that resonate with citizens.”