Busan is good

2025 Citizens’ Top Policy Achievements Selected: A Year of Momentum Toward a City People Would Choose to Live in Again

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Busan Metropolitan City Mayor Park Heong-joon announced that the city is unveiling the major policy achievements that drove Busan’s growth and enhanced citizens’ happiness over the past year.

Based on the results of the “2025 Citizens’ Top Policy Achievements Survey” and other evaluations, the city selected 12 Best key policy achievements across two areas—Global Hub and Citizen Happiness.

The survey was conducted for seven days, from December 10 to December 16, with a total of 2,263 participants, including citizens, public officials, and members of the media. The results showed strong public support across 12 initiatives in the two areas of Global Hub and Citizen Happiness.

In the Global Hub area, selected achievements included surpassing 3 million foreign visitors for the first time ever, demonstrating Busan’s global competitiveness as a new hub of innovative growth for the Republic of Korea; establishing a comprehensive support package for the settlement of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in Busan; and surpassing 1 million regular wage workers.

The most notable achievement was the first-ever milestone of welcoming more than 3 million foreign visitors, proving Busan’s strength as a global tourism hub city. By developing content that highlights Busan’s unique characteristics—such as gastronomy, night-time festivals, and medical tourism—the city achieved remarkable results, including being ranked among the Top 2 cities for travel satisfaction on TripAdvisor, surpassing Tokyo and Shanghai.

Another major achievement was the establishment of a comprehensive support plan to ensure the stable settlement of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in Busan. The relocation of the ministry is expected to serve as a turning point, enabling Busan to leap forward as a global maritime hub city rather than being merely a relocation of a government agency.

In addition, Busan surpassed 1 million regular wage workers for the first time ever, officially launching the “Era of One Million Quality Jobs.” Despite challenging economic conditions, the city succeeded in creating high-quality jobs centered on regionally specialized and emerging industries while nurturing future talent. These efforts were recognized when Busan won the Grand Prize among metropolitan governments at the 2025 National Local Government Job Awards.

The next-generation Busan-type express rail system (BuTX), a core infrastructure project set to transform the city’s overall transportation system, passed the private investment feasibility study conducted by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) in October. The project is expected to act as a catalyst for Busan’s leap into a global hub city.

Other notable achievements included the successful inaugural hosting of the Seven Bridges Tour, the world’s largest urban sea-bridge cycling festival, and Busan’s selection as the World Design Capital 2028.

In the Citizen Happiness area, the city selected key achievements aimed at enhancing citizens’ sense of happiness and satisfaction in everyday life and realizing a Busan people would choose to live in again. These included the designation of Geumjeongsan National Park, the opening of the Busan Concert Hall, and the implementation of Busan-style childcare and care policies.

Geumjeongsan National Park was designated as the Republic of Korea’s first urban national park. Through this designation, Busan secured tourism resources that connect the sea, rivers, and mountains, further shaping itself as a city where nature and urban life coexist in harmony.

The opening of the Busan Concert Hall elevated Busan’s status as a global cultural and arts city. As the first non-capital region venue to install a pipe organ, the concert hall has attracted world-class orchestra performances, offering citizens opportunities to enjoy high-quality cultural and artistic experiences.

Busan-style childcare and care policies were also selected as initiatives with a high level of public resonance. To ease parents’ childcare burdens and enhance the quality of care, the city has implemented the Busan childcare policy brand “Caring Like You Would,” and declared full free childcare for children aged three to five at daycare centers. In addition, the children’s complex cultural space Deullak Nallak surpassed 2 million users, firmly establishing itself as an integral part of citizens’ daily lives.

To reduce the financial burden on citizens, Busan introduced a policy of zero tolls during commuting hours on toll roads. To improve transportation convenience for residents in western Busan, commuting-hour tolls were waived on roads such as Eulsukdo Bridge and the Sanseong Tunnel. Following an analysis of the effects of toll exemptions, the city plans to consider a phased expansion of this policy to other toll roads.

The Gijang seawater desalination facility utilization project also entered full-scale implementation. Through this initiative, Busan has laid the groundwork to supply affordable and stable industrial water to industrial complexes in eastern Busan and to be reborn as a core hub for fostering the water industry, including the desalination sector.

Mayor Park Heong-joon remarked, “2025 was a year of achievements that maximized Busan’s potential and demonstrated its possibilities as a new hub of innovative growth in the Republic of Korea,” adding, “Next year, building on the changes and growth achieved so far, we will realize ‘a Busan that people would choose to live in again,’ centered on our dual goals of becoming a global hub city and a city of citizen happiness.”