Busan is good

Turning Busan’s Hidden Assets into Extraordinary Travel Experiences! Full-Scale Launch of the 2026 Regional Specialized Content Project

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Park Heong-joon, announced that it will launch the “2026 Regional Specialized Content Project” for the first time in cooperation with five districts and counties—Buk-gu, Seo-gu, Geumjeong-gu, Gijang-gun, and Haeundae-gu—starting with Buk-gu in June, as part of its efforts to build a balanced tourism ecosystem throughout Busan.

The project was designed to encourage visitors to explore all areas of Busan and create new tourism demand by discovering competitive tourism content that utilizes the diverse tourism resources of East Busan, Central Busan, and West Busan.

This year, the city conducted its first open competition among all 16 districts and counties. Following first- and second-round evaluations, five projects were selected. Each project consists of experiential tourism content based on unique local resources such as history, culture, and the natural environment. Beginning with the Buk-gu project in June, the selected programs will be operated and promoted sequentially.

The five selected projects are: “Rest & Jam Flavor Tour” in Buk-gu, “Authentic Busan History and Sea Road Tour” in Seo-gu, “Soul Trail in Geumjeongsan” in Geumjeong-gu, “Gijang Gaze Within” in Gijang-gun, and “Dalmaji Culture Festa – Travel at Half Price!” in Haeundae-gu.

In Buk-gu, the “Rest & Jam Flavor Tour” features “Good For You Dining,” which combines shopping at Gupo Market, K-food cooking classes, and rooftop dining experiences. Additional eco-gastronomy tourism content, including camp-nic activities and bicycle snapshot tours, will be introduced in the second half of the year.

In Seo-gu, the “Authentic Busan History and Sea Road Tour” links the Provisional Capital Government Complex, Ami-dong Tombstone Culture Village, the Cheonmasan Complex Observatory, and the Songdo Yonggung Cloud Bridge. The program is designed as a panoramic tour connecting Busan’s wartime refuge history with hidden attractions in the original downtown area, allowing visitors to experience the city’s historical and cultural value from a new perspective.

In Geumjeong-gu, “Soul Trail in Geumjeongsan” is an urban wellness tourism program that utilizes the natural and cultural resources of Geumjeongsan National Park and Beomeosa Temple. Through seasonal summer and autumn trekking, meditation sessions, and temple cuisine experiences, the program offers participants opportunities for rest and healing while presenting a distinctive stay-oriented wellness tourism product unique to Busan.

In Gijang-gun, “Gijang Gaze Within” includes healing programs in the bamboo groves of Ahopsan Forest, wellness programs centered on singing bowls, aromatherapy, and meditation, and wellness sessions at Imrang Beach. Based on the “Gijang Gaze Within” brand—which conveys the idea of turning one’s attention inward through Gijang’s tranquil wellness programs rather than focusing solely on the outside world—the project aims to develop a representative healing and leisure tourism attraction for East Busan.

In Haeundae-gu, “Dalmaji Culture Festa – Travel at Half Price!” is a stay-oriented tourism product centered around the Dalmaji Hill area. From September through November, it will offer moonlight concerts, lantern night-walk programs, gallery tours, and a variety of cultural experiences including ceramics, tea ceremonies, mother-of-pearl crafts, and leathercraft workshops. The program is expected to expand tourism beyond Haeundae Beach to the Dalmaji-gil area and generate new visitor demand.

Through this initiative, the city plans to disperse tourism flows that are currently concentrated in areas such as Haeundae and Gwangalli across multiple regions and enhance tourism competitiveness throughout Busan by transforming hidden local tourism resources into compelling tourism content. The city also plans to continue fostering outstanding content through year-end performance evaluations and gradually expand participation to additional districts and counties.

Information on advance reservation schedules and participation methods for each program will be announced sequentially through the respective district and county websites. The programs are also expected to be offered through online travel agencies (OTAs) in the future.

Na Yoon-bin, Director General of the Tourism and MICE Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, stated, “Through this competition, we were able to select distinctive content discovered directly by each district and county. We hope that this project, which highlights hidden attractions and unique local resources throughout Busan, will introduce new aspects of the city’s appeal and contribute to creating a balanced tourism ecosystem.”