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From Ideas to Market: Busan Recruits Participants for the K-Content Tourism Marketing Academy

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Chun Jae-soo) announced that it is recruiting participants for the second cohort of the K-Content Tourism Marketing Academy in partnership with the Busan Tourism Organization.

The academy, implemented as a specialized project under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's Southern Region Metropolitan Tourism Development Plan, is a growth-oriented program designed to identify tourism ideas that combine K-content with Busan's tourism resources and support their field testing and commercialization.

For the second cohort, the academy will introduce a field-testing-focused fast track that integrates the existing advanced and scale-up courses. The revamped program emphasizes validating the marketability and commercial viability of tourism products in real-world settings and facilitating their entry into the market, enabling participants to respond swiftly to rapidly changing tourism trends.

The second cohort will strengthen field testing and follow-up support, focusing on sectors with high commercialization potential.

The introductory course targets aspiring entrepreneurs, university students, and other prospective participants, helping them discover and develop tourism ideas across six sectors: marine tourism, gastronomy, wellness, beauty, esports, and K-culture. The program will include mentoring, a final presentation event (Demo Day), preparation of investor relations pitch decks (IR pitch decks), and intensive collaborative problem-solving sessions (hackathons). The top-performing team will receive a cash prize of up to KRW 2 million and an opportunity to participate in the integrated advanced and scale-up course.

The integrated advanced and scale-up course will focus on developing new tourism content in four sectors—marine tourism, gastronomy, beauty, and wellness—targeting companies headquartered in Busan that possess tourism product development and commercialization capabilities. Selected companies will receive up to KRW 19 million each in funding for field-testing projects, along with support for commercialization through real-world testing, expert coaching, and connections to potential investors.

The restructuring of the academy builds on the tangible commercialization achievements demonstrated during its first cohort.

In the first cohort, 26 teams applied for the introductory course and 54 companies applied for the advanced course. Ultimately, 11 teams and 11 companies were selected, of which six companies conducted real-world testing of their tourism products and services.

P.ARK, a distinctive local venue, developed beef bone broth bread inspired by dwaeji-gukbap (pork and rice soup) as a tourism souvenir and introduced it as a packaged product. Food Travel, a food and beverage (F&B) content company, operated NOWOUR LIVING, a flagship store showcasing Busan's local gastronomy brands.

The Hue Lab, a tourism content company, developed and sold ReBusan, a tourism souvenir made from used books, while Yacht Tallae, a marine tourism company, launched an adventure boat tour.

Esports team FEARX operated an interactive pop-up store featuring audience participation, while LIVE X, a beauty content company, organized international exchange initiatives, including a Korea-Japan haircutting competition held in Nagoya, Japan.

Individuals, teams, and companies interested in participating can submit their applications by October 26 via email to the academy's administrative office at 2026kcma@gmail.com.

Further information is available on the Busan Tourism Enterprise Support Center website (https://tourbiz.bto.or.kr), or by contacting the academy's administrative office at 070-4129-1082.

Na Yun-bin, Director General of the Tourism Content Industry Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, said, "The first cohort demonstrated that innovative ideas could be transformed into actual tourism products and their commercial viability successfully validated. Building on these achievements, the second cohort will introduce a field-testing-focused fast track to help companies quickly assess market responses and refine their products."

Na added, "We will continue to expand support for real-world testing to strengthen the foundation for commercialization and sustainable growth among Busan's tourism enterprises."