The 30th Busan Sea Festival, blending youth, music and romance, will be held around Busan's Dadaepo Beach from the 7th to the 13th. Marking its 30th anniversary this year, the festival will present sophisticated and rich participatory programs against the backdrop of Dadaepo's beautiful sunset.
According to the Busan Metropolitan Government on the 4th, an opening ceremony announcing the start of the festival will be held at 8 p.m. on the 7th, the first day, along with the "Dadae Fireworks Show." Using three barges, the show will present a 17-minute wide maritime fireworks display, adorning the night sky over Dadaepo, followed by an after-party performance to heighten the festival's excitement.
Major programs this year include "Dadaepocha," the nation's largest beachside food stall zone; "Sunset Beach Club," combining food and relaxation; and "Youth Sea Liberation Zone," featuring participation from local university students.
Dadaepocha will provide a 2,000-seat dining space on one side of the beach, offering both the romance of the night sea and food. On the food-stall stage, musicians of various genres including Heize, Paul Kim, Woops and Band Girin will perform on the 8th and 9th. The "Sunset Beach Club," running from the 7th to the 9th, will be set up as a stay-oriented space combining DJ music, DIY aroma therapy and wellness experiences.
The "Youth Sea Liberation Zone," held on the 10th and 11th, is a grand campus festival involving 10 local universities including Pusan National University and Dong-A University. Campus food stalls planned and run directly by university students, club performances, and invited performances by hip-hop musicians Young B and Han Yohan will follow.
In addition, the "Dadaepo Folk Rock Concert," featuring "Bicycle Riding Landscape" and "Kim Jang-hoon Band," will be held on the 12th, and the "Open Sea Open Concert," enjoyed by all generations, will be held at 7 p.m. on the 13th to close the festival. As a standing event, the "Dadae Beach Market," a citizen-participation secondhand market and upcycling experience booth, will also be operated.
The city will implement a total-capacity system at Dadaepo Beach for visitor safety on opening day. From 4 p.m., one lane of Dadae-ro and three nearby public parking lots will be controlled, and the number of visitors on the beach will be limited to 35,000. If the limit is exceeded, visitors will be guided to surrounding viewing areas such as the Gouni Eco Trail.
"Through the Busan Sea Festival marking its 30th anniversary, I hope you will feel not only the charm of western Busan but also the future of Busan as a 'city of youth and the sea,'" Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo said. "We will do our best to make Busan a global marine tourism city that people around the world return to."
