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Busan Metropolitan City to Hold Launch Ceremony for the 2026 Busan Youth Polar Experience Expedition

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, announced that it will hold the launch ceremony for the 2026 Busan Youth Polar Experience Expedition at 4:00 p.m. today, July 24, in Small Conference Room 2 at Busan City Hall.

Approximately 20 people will attend the ceremony, including Mayor Chun Jae-soo, youth expedition members, polar guides, polar experts, and representatives of related organizations.

The ceremony will include welcoming remarks, the presentation of appointment certificates to expedition members, an overview of the expedition schedule and activities, and polar safety training. Participants will review local safety rules and activity plans and pledge to make the expedition a success.

Mayor Chun Jae-soo will present appointment certificates to the expedition members and encourage them to grow into future maritime leaders with a global perspective and a spirit of challenge through their diverse experiences in the Arctic.

The Busan Youth Polar Experience Expedition is Busan Metropolitan City’s flagship polar education program. It has been operated since 2020 to provide Busan youth with opportunities to experience the polar regions firsthand and to foster future polar specialists.

The program is hosted by Busan Metropolitan City and organized by the Polar Ocean Future Forum, headed by Lee Dong-hwa.

Beginning with a visit to King Sejong Station in Antarctica in 2020, the program continued with visits to Dasan Station in the Arctic in 2022, Christchurch, New Zealand, a gateway city to Antarctica, in 2023, and Tromsø, Norway, and Longyearbyen in Svalbard, gateway locations to the Arctic, in 2024 and 2025. To date, a total of 32 young people from Busan have experienced the polar regions firsthand.

This year, the program drew strong interest, with 450 students from the third year of middle school through the third year of high school in Busan applying. Eight expedition members were ultimately selected through document screening, a polar knowledge quiz competition, and in-depth interviews.

From August 6 to 15, the expedition will spend 10 days and seven nights visiting Tromsø, Norway, a gateway city to the Arctic, and Longyearbyen in Svalbard, where participants will take part in a variety of polar experience programs.

In Longyearbyen, the expedition will visit facilities including the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and a museum of Arctic exploration to learn about the history and culture of the Arctic region. Participants will also experience the Arctic natural environment and ecosystem firsthand through a boat expedition on the Arctic Ocean and glacier trekking.

In Tromsø, the expedition will visit the Arctic Council, the Arctic Economic Council, and the KOPRI-NPI Polar Research Cooperation Center to attend expert lectures and discussions on Arctic shipping routes and polar science diplomacy.

The youth expedition members will also give presentations and participate in discussions on ways to promote exchanges between young people in Busan and the Arctic region in the era of Arctic shipping routes, thereby learning the importance of international cooperation.

Mayor Chun Jae-soo said, “The Polar Experience Expedition is a meaningful educational opportunity that enables young people to prepare for the future by directly experiencing the Arctic environment, climate change, and marine science. It also serves as a valuable foundation for fostering globally minded maritime professionals who will lead the future of Busan as a maritime capital.”

He added, “We will continue strengthening our efforts to foster future polar specialists and expand the foundation for global Arctic cooperation as we work to establish Busan as a hub city for Arctic shipping routes and a global maritime capital.”