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Busan Metropolitan City Hosts 2026 New Year’s Interfaith Gathering to Share a Message of Solidarity and Cooperation for Citizen Happiness

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Busan Metropolitan City announced that it will hold the “New Year’s Interfaith Gathering of the Five Major Religious Orders” at 3:00 p.m. today (the 23rd) in the City Council Grand Conference Hall, together with the five major religious orders in the region, to pray for the peace and happiness of citizens as the new year begins.

Held under the slogan, “United by Shared Values, Lighting the Way for Busan’s Tomorrow,” this year’s New Year’s gathering has been organized to share messages of solidarity and cooperation that resonate not only across religious boundaries but also throughout the entire local community.

The event will be attended by approximately 80 participants, including Mayor Park Heong-joon and representatives and leaders of the five major religious orders—Buddhism, Protestant Christianity, Catholicism, Won Buddhism, and Cheondogyo.

The program is scheduled to proceed with the screening of a video featuring hope messages from the five religious orders, delivery of New Year’s messages by representatives of each order, the announcement of a joint declaration, and greetings and dialogue between the city and the religious orders.

At the event, Mayor Park and the representatives of the five major religious orders will adopt a joint declaration pledging commitment to the development of Busan and social solidarity, and will agree to actively cooperate in their respective roles to realize “Busan as a Global Hub City where citizens are happy,” based on interfaith harmony and cooperation.

The joint declaration includes commitments to actively cooperate in laying the foundation for advancing toward “Busan, a Global Hub City where citizens are happy,” including: building a warm community where citizens show consideration and respect for one another; expanding public-private cooperation projects for the 15-minute city model; strengthening competitiveness as a global tourism city; creating a family-friendly and lifelong learning city where people grow and learn together; and spreading a culture of respect for life and cooperation in suicide prevention activities.

Mayor Park emphasized, “The prerequisite for creating a city where all citizens are happy lies in practicing love and compassion for one another, along with the spirit of coexistence and responsibility,” adding, “The very fact that representatives and leaders of the five major religious orders gather in one place holds great significance. As we share messages of hope for the new year and jointly announce a declaration for the development of Busan, I believe this occasion will greatly contribute to Busan establishing itself as a city of citizen happiness.”

He further stated, “As Busan achieved outstanding results across various indicators over the past year, this year we will be even more faithful to the fundamentals of municipal administration, including the protection of citizens’ lives and safety, and enhance the completeness of our policies. We will also join forces with the leaders of the five major religious orders to make a leap forward toward becoming a ‘Global Hub City’ and a ‘Busan people would choose to live in again even if reborn.’”