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2026 Year of the Red Horse New Year’s Celebration: Busan Citizens’ Bell-Tolling Ceremony to Be Held

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Busan Metropolitan City Mayor Park Heong-joon announced that the City will hold the “2026 New Year’s Celebration: Busan Citizens’ Bell-Tolling Ceremony” so that citizens can close out the year and welcome the very first moment of the New Year together.

At 00:00 on January 1, 2026, the bell will be tolled at Yongdusan Park along with the countdown to open the New Year.

This year’s Busan Citizens’ Bell-Tolling Ceremony will proceed in the following order: pre-event activities, year-end concert, countdown, bell-tolling ceremony, New Year’s address, and New Year’s fireworks. A variety of participatory programs to cheer on citizens for a hopeful New Year, along with hot packs and beverage service booths, will be available.

The participatory programs for the pre-event will begin at 18:00, offering citizens a chance to bid farewell to 2025 and welcome 2026. The programs will include a photo zone featuring a large moon and zodiac-themed installations—from the Blue Snake of the Year of the Eulsa (2025) to the Red Horse of the Year of the Byeongo (2026)—as well as hands-on experiences such as making a countdown paper slogan (a slogan/catchphrase) and creating a personalized cheer message. A “slow postbox” program will also be available, allowing participants to write letters to their future selves, families, and loved ones.

The year-end concert will be held from 23:00 for 45 minutes, featuring bright and upbeat music to help citizens wrap up the year in a festive atmosphere and welcome the New Year with hope.

From 23:45, a countdown event will be held to mark the Year of the Red Horse (Byeongo, 丙午年), featuring a special moment in which all participants unfold together the paper cheer messages written by citizens.

At the moment of the New Year countdown, the bell-ringers who will signal the first beginning of 2026 for Busan Metropolitan City will include five key representatives—such as the mayor and the chairperson of the City Council—along with 16 citizen representatives, for a total of 21 bell-ringers. The bell-ringers will be divided into three groups—Hope, Love, and Peace—to take part in the bell-tolling for closing out the year.

Institutional representatives participating as bell-ringers will include Mayor Park Heong-joon, City Council Chairperson Ahn Seong-min, Jung-gu District Mayor Choi Jin-bong, Superintendent of Education Kim Seok-jun, and Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairperson Yang Jae-saeng.

The citizen bell-ringers—16 people recommended by Busan Metropolitan City, the City Council, and the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education—will be composed of individuals who shone in Busan this year and citizens who symbolize hope for 2026. They include contributors in the culture and arts sector who have advanced the City’s administrative achievements and promotion efforts, as well as citizens recognized for their good deeds and heroes who practiced the values of hope and love throughout the year.

Citizen representatives set to brighten the event include actor and broadcaster Han Sang-jin, the husband of BNK Sum women’s basketball team head coach Park Jeong-eun, who actively promoted Busan on television this year; ballerina Kim Ju-won, artistic director of the Busan Opera House Ballet Company, who helped establish classical arts as a culture enjoyed by all citizens; a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries employee who established a new life in Busan following the opening of the era of the Ministry’s relocation to Busan; Chief Inspector Oh Young-hoon, head of the Investigation Division at Seobu Police Station, who rescued two young men in a Cambodia employment scam case and demonstrated the pride of the Busan police; and citizen hero Lim Ji-hoon, who rescued a woman who fell into a manhole during this year’s heavy rain.

Also selected are Jeon Jun-woo, the “eternal captain” of the Lotte Giants; student Kim Ji-yoon, who won three gold medals in the aerobics hip-hop category at this year’s Busan National Sports Festival; YouTuber Park So-ra, known as “Ramobu Couple,” who contributes to promoting “Child-Rearing-Friendly Busan” through her work as a parenting influencer; Professor Axel Timmermann of Pusan National University, a 2025 honorary citizen of Busan Metropolitan City who has delivered world-class achievements in climate and ocean research; and Fire Lieutenant Jeong Il-gi, who extinguished a residential fire while traveling on his day off.

In addition, selected citizens include Park In-ho, head of the civic group “Citizens Who Love the Port of Busan,” who won the Grand Prize at this year’s “Busan Proud Citizen Award”; customs broker Jeong Yeong-hwa, who contributed to regional development through hometown love donations and various scholarship sponsorships; Korean medicine doctor Oh Se-hyeong, who provided medical care to citizens amid a healthcare crisis; Kim Gyeong-jae, chairperson of the Busan Association of Korean Red Cross Volunteer Groups, who practices sharing and volunteerism; Ahn Jeong-ae, advisor to the “Jamaeui Pumgyeok” Volunteer Group, who has long carried out neighborly volunteer service quietly and consistently; and Na Hee-jeong, chairperson of the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education Parents’ Association Federation, who contributes to the development of education in Busan.

Meanwhile, Busan Metropolitan City will prioritize audience safety by applying a total attendance cap of 7,000 people at Yongdusan Park. When large crowds gather, entry may be restricted depending on on-site conditions. The City has deployed safety personnel at six main entry and exit points as well as in hazardous areas within the park, and has prepared thorough safety measures by closely analyzing potential risk factors through prior inspections.

Before the event, the City will conduct joint inspections of major access routes and hazard areas with relevant agencies, block risky crowd flows in advance, and ensure full readiness for safety management by installing nighttime lighting and reinforcing guidance facilities.

Under normal circumstances, visitors will be able to move freely along major walkways; however, in areas where congestion is expected, the City plans to redirect and disperse crowds. On-site safety staff will monitor crowd density in real time, and if the number of people exceeds 7,000, the main access routes will be immediately controlled.

In particular, to prepare for the possibility of a large crowd gathering in a short period of time on the event day, major entry and exit routes—including escalators—may be controlled early depending on on-site conditions.

The City will deploy professional safety personnel (private security staff) to strengthen on-site order and safety management, and will dedicate all efforts through the end of the event to ensure that all citizens can enjoy the celebration safely.

In addition, to help citizens return home comfortably and safely, the operating hours of the “Car-Free Street” on Gwangbok-ro and the last services of public transportation will be extended until after 01:00. Based on Nampo Station on Busan Metro, trains will run to Dadaepo until 02:06 and to Nopo until 01:36, and city bus routes passing through Nampodong will also operate on extended hours until around 01:00.

All Lines 1–4 of Busan Metro will extend last train times by up to two hours, and six late-night city bus routes passing through Nampodong (6, 8, 30, 71, 2 (Late Night), 1003 (Late Night)) will operate until around 01:00. However, as last service times vary by route, passengers are advised to check in advance.

As parking space around the venue is extremely limited, the use of public transportation is strongly recommended.

The “Busan Citizens’ Bell-Tolling Ceremony” will be livestreamed online via Busan Metropolitan City’s official YouTube channel, BusanTube (@Busan_is_good).

For more information about the event, please visit the official website of the Busan Festival Organizing Committee: festivalbusan.com/busanbell/.

Mayor Park Heong-joon noted, “2025 was a meaningful year in which Busan once again leapt onto the global stage—marked by achievements such as surpassing three million foreign tourists for the first time ever, the designation of Geumjeong Mountain as a national park, and Busan’s selection as a World Design Capital—firmly establishing itself as a global city in both name and reality.” He added, “We will take even warmer and more meticulous care of citizens’ daily lives so that these changes in Busan can be felt as tangible improvements in quality of life, and we will make 2026 a year in which being a citizen of Busan is a source of the greatest pride.”