Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Presents Its Vision of “A Sustainably Connected City” at the 2025 Korea Local Era Expo

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it will participate in the “2025 Korea Local Era Expo,” held for three days from today (19th) through the 21st at Ulsan Exhibition & Convention Center, where it will promote a sustainably connected city under the theme of “Global Hub City Busan.”

The Expo, held under the slogan “K-BALANCE 2025,” is designed to allow the public to directly experience policies related to decentralization and balanced national development.

The city will vividly showcase “Global Hub City Busan, connecting Korea and the world,” as well as “Busan, achieving intercity connectivity and balanced growth through the eco-friendly next-generation Busan Express Transit (BuTX).” Its promotional activities will place particular emphasis on the Expo’s key theme, “a sustainably connected city.”

In alignment with the overall concept of this year’s Expo—“5 Poles and 3 Special Zones”—Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam will jointly present regional policies and visions under the theme of a “one-hour living zone.” Busan Metropolitan City will feature an installation of the Busan Express Transit system, allowing visitors to experience a simulated journey from Gadeokdo New Airport through major points in downtown Busan and onward to Osiria in Gijang.

The Busan Express Transit is a project that passed the Korea Development Institute (KDI)’s preliminary feasibility study for private investment in October. It is an express transit system that introduces low-carbon hydrogen-powered trains operating through deep underground tunnels. Once opened, it will connect Gadeokdo New Airport, downtown Busan, and Osiria in Gijang in approximately 33 minutes. It is garnering significant attention as a core transportation infrastructure expected to drive balanced development across eastern and western Busan and realize a one-hour economic and living zone across the Bu-Ul-Gyeong region.

In addition, Busan Metropolitan City has proposed extending the Busan Express Transit into Gyeongnam and Ulsan to establish a broader metropolitan economic and living zone. The city has requested its inclusion in the “5th National Rail Network Master Plan,” and discussions with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport are currently underway.

Meanwhile, on November 20, at the “2025 Balanced Development Project Best Practices Awards and Performance Presentation,” the city will receive two institutional commendations:
– “Busan-style Neulbom Project (Caring for You Like Family)” as an outstanding case in the Local Era Implementation Plan category
– “Marine and Water Resource Management” as an outstanding case in the regional balanced development project (autonomous account) category.

On the same day, the Busan Branch Session of the Regional Growth Seminar will be hosted by the Busan Economic Promotion Agency under the theme “From Special Zones to Strategic Hubs: Paving the Path for Regional Growth.”

Presenters include Song U-gyeong, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade; Bae Su-hyeon, Principal Research Fellow at the Busan Development Institute; and Professor Nam Gwang-u of Kyungsung University. The session will explore topics such as “5 Poles and 3 Special Zones,” the special zone system, and innovation spaces.

Lee Jun-seung, Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs, stated, “As this year’s Expo is centered on ‘5 Poles and 3 Special Zones,’ we have presented the one-hour Bu-Ul-Gyeong economic and living zone enabled by the Busan Express Transit,” adding, “The Busan Express Transit will serve as a central driving force for activating Gadeokdo New Airport and become a new growth axis leading the sustainable development of the southeastern region.”