Category: Festivals & Events

Takashi Murakami’s Exhibition at BMA

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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]

Gwangalli M Drone Light Show (Line-up for February)

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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. 

Seollal Rabbit Sculpture

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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.

Gwangalli M Drone Light Show (Line-up for January)

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Gwangalli M Drone Light Show is a FREE attraction that is held every Saturday in front of Gwangalli Beach. It has quickly become one of the most popular attractions in the Gwagalli area.

Check out the line-up for January.

January 7th : Drones will decorate the sky with a North Pole theme.

January 14th : Drones will display winter sports in the sky.

January 21st : There are usually two drone shows on Saturday, one at 7pm and one at 9pm. In order to celebrate the Lunar New Year aka Seollal, a total of 1,500 drones will create a Seollal themed performance at 7 pm.

January 28th : Things relating to “Frozen” will be displayed in the sky.

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. 

Haeundae Polar Bear Swim Festival Returns

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The Haeundae Polar Bear Swim Festival, recognized as one of the top 10 best winter sports by BBC, is being held for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Around 4,500 brave participants will swim in the ice-cold water at Haeundae Beach. Along with this, other events like parades and concerts will occur.

If you want to participate in the event, visit bear.busan.com.

When: Saturday, December 24th, 2022 at 12:30pm

Where: Haeundae Beach

Gwangalli M Drone Light Show (Line-up for December)

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Gwangalli M Drone Light Show is a FREE attraction held twice every Saturday in front of Gwangalli Beach. Despite the cold weather, Gwangalli Beach has been flocked with locals and tourists, eager to watch the different light shows. 

This month features a variety of themes. 

December 10th Drones will put on a Christmas themed performance at 7:00 p.m.

December 17th Due to the Busan Firework Festival, Gwangalli Drone Light Show will not happen on this day.

December 24th This show’s theme is “Marriage Proposal.” For this event, the Suyeong-gu District had Busan citizens participate by sending in their love stories. Lucky couples will have the opportunity to make their once-in-a-life-time proposal memorable.  

December 31st To celebrate New Year’s Eve, a total of 1,500 drones will create a countdown just before 12:00 am.  

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. 

The Busan Fireworks Festival Returns

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The Busan Fireworks Festival, which had been postponed due to the “Itaewon Tragedy” will be returning this month.  

The Busan Fireworks Festival was originally scheduled for November 5th, but was indefinitely postponed after over 150 people lost their lives in the stampede in Seoul’s Itaewon on Halloween.

The city said that the 17th Busan Fireworks Festival will be held on Saturday, December 17th in Gwangalli Beach.

In order to host the event safely, the city said that they will double the number of safety personnel at the venue and there will be a capacity limit on the 16 streets of Gwangalli Beach.

The city will also install nearly 50 new CCTVs so that the area can be directly monitored and managed.

Meanwhile, the firework festival is scheduled to start at 7 p.m., one hour earlier as previously scheduled in preparation for the cold weather.

Busan Concerts in December 2022

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1. Geomi (거미)

Geomi, one of the top female kpop solo artists is holding a concert in Busan.

  • Date: 6pm on Saturday, December 3rd and 4 pm on Sunday, December 4th  
  • Venue: KBS Hall, Busan

2. Lim Jae-beom (임재범)

Legendary kpop singer, Lim Jaebeom will hold a domestic concert tour for the first time in 6 years. His tour information is listed below.

  • Date: 6 pm, on Saturday, December 10
  • Venue: Bexco  

3. La Poem (라포엠)

La Poem is a South Korean male crossover vocal group, consisting of four classically-trained singers, Chaehoon You, Gihun Park, Minsung Jeong, and Sunghoon Choi. La Poem was formed in 2020 via a reality TV auditioning program called, “Phantom Singer.”

  • Date: 6 pm on Sunday, December 17 and 5 pm on Sunday, December 18
  • Venue: Dream Theater (located in Munhyeon-dong, Nam-gu District)

4. MeloMance (멜로망스)

MeloMance is a South Korean duo. Since debuting in 2015, they have sung many OSTs for K-drama programs.

  • Date: 5 pm on Saturday, December 17 and 4 pm on Sunday, December 18
  • Venue: Bexco, Auditorium

5. YB

The rock band YB will be holding a nationwide tour entitled, “Lights.” They will perform twice in Busan.

  • Date: 6 pm, on Saturday, December 17 and 5 pm on Sunday, December 18
  • Venue: Shinhan Card Hall of Sohyang Theater, in the Centum City area

6. GOD (지오디)

All five members of the kpop boy group, G.O.D will go on tour for the first time in four years. 

  • Date: 7 pm on Saturday, December 24th and 5 pm on Sunday, December 25th
  • Venue: Bexco

7. K will (케이윌)

Famous Korean ballad singer, Kwill will be touring for the first time in three years. 

  • Date: 6 pm, on Saturday, December 24 and 5 pm, on Sunday, December 25
  • Venue: KBS Hall, Busan

8. Ailee (에일리)  

Korean-American singer Ailee will tour the country to mark the 10th year since her debut.

  • Date: 6 pm on Saturday, December 31
  • Venue: Bexco, Auditorium

9. Lim Chang-jeong (임창정)

Lim Changjeong’s tour will be themed, “Multiverse.”

  • Date: 6 p.m. on Saturday, December 31
  • Venue: Bexco

The Hotel Art Fair is Back

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The 8th edition of Blue Art Fair is returning.

This year, the event will take place at one of the city’s trendiest hotels, Signiel Busan.

The 9th and 10th floors of the hotel will be transformed into show rooms for around 2,000 pieces of artwork.

Both local and foreign artists will present a variety of artwork within the unique exhibits.  

Date: From November 24th – 27th

Venue: Signiel Hotel, Dalmaji-gil 30, Haeundae, Busan

Ticket Price: 10,000 won

[This is NOT a sponsored post]

Barrier-Free Opera ”La Traviata”

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One of the greatest Italian operas called La Traviata is coming to Busan, but with the title Barrier-Free Opera: Opera for All – La Traviata. 

Barrier-Free Opera means a performance that includes everybody. 

The Busan Cultural Center will host the performance on Wednesday, November 9, 2022, at 7:30 pm. This one-night-only performance will have live music, sign language interpretion and voice acting. 

The performance is approximately two hours long and there is no cost for admission.

Director / Jeong Heejeong

Producer/ Noh Irum

Conductor / Youn Seungup

Violetta / Lee Younkyoung

Alfredo / Lee Beomju

Germont/ Byeonghak Choi 

Music / Barrier-Free Opera Chamber 

Chorus/ Barrier-Free Opera Choir