Busan is good

From Busan’s Culinary Alleys to the Global Stage: Applications Open for the “2026 Busan Gourmet Selection”

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) and the Busan Tourism Organization (CEO Lee Jeong-sil) announced that they will recruit participating businesses for the “2026 Busan Gourmet Selection” until April 17 to expand Busan’s gastronomic tourism content and strengthen its global competitiveness.

This public call has been prepared to discover new culinary content through collaboration among local restaurants and to develop it into immersive gastronomic tourism content that visitors can experience.

The “Busan Gourmet Selection” is Busan’s flagship gastronomic promotion program in which restaurants collaborate to develop new menus or signature course combinations and operate them as participatory gastronomic tourism content for visitors.

The pilot project conducted in the second half of 2025 was centered on restaurants selected by the Michelin Guide. This year, the scope of participation will be expanded to include general restaurants located in Busan, with plans to build a comprehensive gastronomic ecosystem encompassing everything from fine dining to popular local eateries in alleyways.

The application period runs from March 16 to April 17, and approximately 30 teams will be selected from among general restaurant businesses located in Busan.

Selected teams will receive approximately 3 million KRW per team in promotional execution support, along with publicity and marketing assistance.

Detailed information and application guidelines can be found on the Busan Tourism Organization website (www.bto.or.kr) under the announcements and events section.

Meanwhile, Busan continues to achieve tangible results as a culinary city. In the 2026 Michelin Guide, one additional one-star restaurant was recognized, and including 14 newly listed establishments, the total number increased by seven compared to the previous year, bringing the total to 55 restaurants. In addition, “Fiotto” was ranked 99th on the 51–100 list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026, demonstrating the international competitiveness of Busan’s culinary scene.

This marks the first time a Busan restaurant has entered the ranking, and it is regarded as a meaningful achievement that highlights the growth potential of the region’s culinary content.

Building on these achievements, Busan Metropolitan City plans to expand its global gastronomic network and continue strengthening the competitiveness of Busan’s culinary offerings through experiential content such as the Gourmet Selection.

In addition, to share the direction of its gastronomic tourism policies with citizens, the city will host the “Citizen Empathy Gastronomic Talk Concert: Asking About the Diversity of Busan’s Flavors!” on April 1 at Millak the Market.

Approximately 200 participants, including representatives from the food service and tourism industries as well as related organizations, are expected to attend, and the event will be open to all citizens.

Through open discussions and Q&A sessions, the event will facilitate on-site, practical communication regarding the direction of Busan’s gastronomy and related policies.

In particular, discussions will focus on strategies to expand gastronomic tourism across the city, based on the diversity of Busan’s cuisine, ranging from fine dining to gukbap and temple cuisine.

Na Yun-bin, Director General of the Tourism MICE Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, stated, “Busan’s gastronomy is being transformed into tourism content that embodies the city’s stories and experiences. Through the Gourmet Selection, we will build a culinary ecosystem that grows together with local industry stakeholders and, building on the meaningful achievements in international culinary evaluations, further strengthen the global standing of Busan’s gastronomy.”

He added, “Through communication with citizens, including events such as the talk concert, we will enhance the completeness of our policies and firmly establish Busan as a global culinary tourism city where a diversity of flavors thrives.”