Busan is good

Busan Welcomes the 2026 Asian Games Esports National Team, Taking a Major Leap toward Becoming Korea’s Esports Capital

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, announced that, as a partner city for Korea’s esports national team at the 2026 Asian Games, it will begin providing full-scale support to help improve the national team’s competitive performance and ensure successful preparations for the Games.

The national team, having completed its launch ceremony in Seoul today, August 25, will travel to Busan for its first training camp.

In line with the competition schedule for each Asian Games event, the athletes will gather at the Busan Esports Arena in phases from late August through late September for training. Busan Metropolitan City will provide comprehensive support, including optimal training facilities and accommodations, to help the national team enhance its performance and fully adapt to the competition environment.

In addition, the League of Legends National Team Evaluation Matches, to be held at the outdoor theater of the Busan Cinema Center on September 19 and 20, will create an exciting opportunity for Busan residents to meet and cheer on the national team in person. The city also plans to expand opportunities for interaction between the athletes and residents by holding related on-site events, including a media day and open training sessions, once their schedules are finalized.

Building on its partner-city activities, Busan Metropolitan City plans to further strengthen its international cooperation framework as a central hub of the global esports network and take the lead in the worldwide esports market.

Leveraging its strength as the host city of the International Esports Federation (IESF) headquarters, Busan plans to significantly expand international forums, conferences, and cross-border exchange programs. Through these efforts, the city aims to establish a global platform for discussions on international esports policy and industry development, while connecting international esports competitions, industry, and culture within a single ecosystem to create Busan’s distinctive “global esports city model.”

The city will also pursue measures to expand G-STAR, Korea’s largest game exhibition, and the Busan Indie Connect Festival (BIC), an indie game festival, into platforms for esports growth.

Busan plans to further develop G-STAR into a comprehensive platform for interaction between the game industry and esports. Through collaboration with the Busan Indie Connect Festival (BIC), the city will identify and foster innovative indie games as new esports titles, creating synergy among its flagship events.

The city also plans to complete a virtuous cycle model linking game development, the identification of esports titles, tournament hosting, and fandom building. In doing so, Busan aims to firmly establish itself as a game hub city where athletes, companies, and fans gather year-round, rather than limiting its esports activities to one-time events.

Busan Metropolitan City will also develop a strategy to complete its role as a hub for esports culture and industry.

Over the long term, the city plans to build a large-scale esports arena and establish an esports museum where visitors can experience the history and technology of esports, developing the facilities into a new cultural tourism hub that attracts young people, international tourists, and esports fans.

To accelerate the implementation of key related projects, including the establishment of the esports museum, the city plans to significantly strengthen policy cooperation with the central government in connection with its activities as a partner city for the national team.

Jo Yu-jang, Director-General of the Culture Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, said, “We need an urban platform capable of expanding the strength of Korea’s esports sector into industrial value and a global fan base. Busan will make a wide range of policy efforts in step with national-level esports promotion policies so that the city can successfully fulfill its role as that global platform.”