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Busan in October: The Entire City Becomes One Big Festival!

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, and the Busan Tourism Organization, headed by President Lee Jung-sil, announced that Festival Shiwol 2026 will be held throughout Busan for one month, from tomorrow, October 1, through October 31.

Festival Shiwol is an integrated festival project that brings together a wide range of cultural, tourism, and MICE events held across Busan in October under a single brand, enabling domestic and international visitors to enjoy the city’s diverse events and encouraging them to stay longer in Busan.

This year’s Festival Shiwol 2026, under the slogan “Hello October, Welcome to Busan,” will feature a total of 22 events in three categories: Music & Culture, Film & Arts, and Business & Innovation.

Centered on flagship events in each category—the Busan International Rock Festival, Busan International Film Festival, and FLY ASIA—the program will connect a wide variety of performances, cultural and artistic events, culinary experiences, festivals, and industry events under the single Festival Shiwol brand and as tourism content, offering domestic and international visitors an even broader range of experiences.

Busan Metropolitan City and the Busan Tourism Organization will operate an integrated Festival Shiwol promotional hub at Busan Eurasia Platform from tomorrow, October 1, through October 18.

The promotional hub will provide visitors with comprehensive information on Festival Shiwol and offer a variety of interactive activities and events designed to encourage participation in individual programs.

In particular, a stamp tour connecting major event venues will encourage visitors to explore Festival Shiwol sites throughout Busan. Participants can collect stamps by verifying their visits with QR codes at major venues and receive rewards and prizes based on the number of stamps collected.

This year, integrated online and offline promotion will also be further strengthened.

Event schedules, themed content, short-form videos, and other materials will be shared continuously through the Visit Busan tourism portal and social media channels to actively promote “October in Busan” to domestic and international visitors.

Customized marketing campaigns will also be carried out in cooperation with major online travel agencies to attract visitors from Korea and abroad.

Ahead of the main festival, promotional activities targeting prospective visitors in the Seoul metropolitan area were conducted at Busan Super in Insa-dong, Seoul.

Programs will also be offered to expand exchanges among event organizers and strengthen connections between Busan’s content and its various events.

From October 5 to 6, a cultural and tourism familiarization tour of Busan will be held for 20 key representatives from major participating events.

On October 5, a networking reception will bring together event organizers and tourism and MICE industry professionals to expand collaboration and exchanges among events and establish a foundation for continued cooperation.

Detailed schedules and information on how to participate are available on the Visit Busan tourism portal.

Visit Busan: https://www.visitbusan.net > Recommended Trips > Festival Shiwol

Na Yoon-bin, Director General of the Tourism and Content Industry Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, said, “Busan in October offers a special opportunity to experience a diverse range of content—from music and culture to film and the arts, as well as business and innovation—all in one place.”

“We will do our utmost to turn visitors to individual events into potential Festival Shiwol travelers and encourage them to experience Busan’s wide range of content, helping extend visitor stays and revitalize local tourism,” Na added.