The cherry blossoms will likely start blooming around March 20th in Jeju, March 24th in Busan, and March 28th in Seoul.
Since the flowers take about a week to fully bloom, the best time to visit the famous cherry blossom streets in Busan will be around April 1st.
That is on average 3-5 days earlier compared to past years, according to the Korean Meteorological Administration. 
These days, a lot of make-up and hair tutorials are available on YouTube and Instagram. For some, no matter how hard they try, the outcome is far from what they see online. In this case, there is an idiom we often use, “나 똥손이에요,” which roughly translates to, “I have pooh hands.”
On the other hand, if you are good at following online tutorials (makeup, hair, calligraphy, etc.), we would use the idiom, “금손이다,” which means “gold hands.”
A Musinsa’s store will open in Busan, making it their third location in Korea.
Musinsa opened an offline market in Hongdae, Seoul in 2021 and Gangnam last year.
Around 6,500 people shopped at the Hongdae location during the first three days of it opening. The Gangnam branch was visited by 8,000 people during its first three days.
The store takes up two floors of the Judith Taewha in the center of the Seomyeon area.
Musinsa plans on expanding its offline stores in the future. In addition to Busan, Musinsa is rumored to be opening more locations in different cities, including Gwangju and Daegu.
The city of Busan announced on the 8th that it has decided to provide US $100,000 to help Turkey recover from earthquakes that struck them.
Busan’s mayor, Park Hyungjoon said, “We express deep regret over the unexpected earthquake in Turkey,” adding, “Busan will provide relief funds.”
Turkey has a special relationship with Busan. During the Korean War, Turkish troops were dispatched to fight against North Korea. 1,005 soldiers lost their lives during the war and 462 of them were buried in the UN Memorial Park in Busan.
Westin Josun Hotel Busan announced on February 1st that their renovations are complete!
This hotel, which has been around for 45 years, has refurbished rooms on the 8th, 9th, and the 10th floors. Each room has a “new wave in Haeundae” theme. Along with that, the swimming pool has been updated to have a “still on the island” theme.
To celebrate the upgrade, the hotel has launched a “Wellness Stay at Westin Josun Busan Package” which will be available from February 1st to March 31st.
[This is Not a sponsored post]
The new exhibition, Takashi Murakami: Murakami Zombie, has opened at the Busan Museum of Art.
This is the fourth time the museum has displayed “Lee Ufan and His Friends Exhibition Series.”
The exhibition features nearly 170 works made by Takashi Murakami, the legendary Japanese contemporary artist. People who attend will be able to see some of his early works that have never been shown to the public, along with recent pieces. Some of the works include paintings, sculptures, videos, NFT digital works, and augmented reality works.
Takashi Murakami’s exhibition will be open until March 12th, 2023. The Busan Museum of Art is open every day except Mondays, from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and is free to the public.
[Pictured above is Takashi Murakami when he appeared at the BMA]
Every Saturday, drones fill the night sky in the Gwangalli Beach area, attracting locals and tourists.
Check out the show schedule for February.
February 4th: Drones will display Korean cultural relics in the sky.
February 11th: To celebrate Valentine’s Day, this show’s theme will be “Marriage Proposal.” For this event, the Suyeong-gu District had Busan citizens send in their love stories. A few lucky couples will have the opportunity to make their once-in-a-life-time proposal memorable.
February 18th: Since graduation season is around the corner, drones will put on a graduation themed performance.
February 25th: Drones will decorate the sky with a family theme.
When: Twice every Saturday
Drone show starting time: 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm (March – September)
7:00 pm & 9:00 pm (October – February)
Location: Gwangalli Beach
How to get there: Gwangan Station (Busan Subway Line 2), Exit 3 or Exit 5
Tips: Parking is extremely difficult in the Gwangalli area, especially on the weekend. I highly recommend you use public transportation.
Happy Seollal! Seollal means the year of the rabbit officially begins.
Just remember that you can’t call it the year of the rabbit unless you see a rabbit sculpture.
There is one in the Busan Children’s Park located in the Choeup-dong, Jingu district.
This 3-meter-long rabbit installation will be up until February 5th.
There are also some LED rabbits scattered around the park.
Plus, if you visit the travel information booth, you can get a free postcard. If you write a wish on your card, the park staff will hang it on a tree for it to come true.
This year, the Seollal holiday falls on January 21st, 22nd, 23rd and the 24th. Since the 24th is a 대체휴일 (substitute holiday), many of you might not have the day off.
If any of you have not experienced the Seollal holiday, keep in mind that a lot of business will be closed during it. It is similar to Christmas Day in North America and Europe.
However, if you are feeling sick and need medicine or a doctor, treatment will be made available for you.
For more information, please visit the official website of Busan City, www.busan.go.kr. Next, open the “New Year’s Holiday Life Information Guide” and there will be a list of open clinics written there.
In addition to medical information, transportation, tourism, safety, and environmental information can be found on that website as well. Question about traffic, what to do with your recycling during Seolla, or when different museums will be open? Just visit busan.go.kr! To find exclusive holiday updates, click www.busan.go.kr/holiday/.
Busan’s new slogan, “Busan is Good” has replaced the old slogan, “Dynamic Busan.”
The Busan Metropolitan Government said it held a city brand committee meeting and selected “Busan is Good” as the final city slogan from the three final options.
While “Busan is Good” received 11,373 total votes from the online and in-person citizen’s survey, “Bridge for All, Busan” received 10,981 votes and “True Place, Busan” received only 2,866 votes.
Busan’s Mayor, Park Hyungjoon said, “Nearly 40,000 citizens and experts participated in the selection of Busan’s brand new slogan. We will introduce a world-class urban brand that surpasses New York (I♥NY).”
Contrary to the city’s expectations, the response from the public is starkly divided. Despite the positive opinion that “it suits Busan well,” negative comments such as “it doesn’t fit” and “does the city slogan have to be English?” have arisen. Some say that “Dynamic Busan,” which has represented Busan for 20 years, is a much better slogan.
Busan Travel & Living 