The southeast region of Korea, where Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeon-gsang Province are located, is out to woo tourists, especially foreign tourists, taking advantage of their natural scenic wonders and cultural and historic legacies spread throughout the mountains and rivers meandering through their topographies under the name of “2013 Busan, Ulsan and Gyeongnam Visit Year” for synergistic effects among those localities and a resurgence of regional tourism with the advance of autumn.

Busan Metropolitan City: 

Korea’s largest harbor city boasts of many attractions in the fall including the Busan International Film Festival opening next month, the Cherry Blossom Festival, and all of the other MICE activities that made the port city famous.

 A scene from  firework over the Youngdo Bridge in Busan during the

8th Busan Fireworks Festival in 2012.(photos: Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam)

This is an ad for the 9th Busan Fireworks Festival.

The annual film festival has become a fixture in the city as its 18th installation is ready to run from Oct. 3-12, featuring 301 films from 70 countries at three locations -- the Cinema Hall in Busan, Haeundae Beach, and the Nampo-dong area in downtown Busan. Films will be shown in a total of seven cinemas on 35 screens divided into 11 programs including the “Window for Asian Films,” with a total of 137 films including 95 world premiers and 42 international premiers. The opening film will be “Vara” or “A blessing,” directed by Kaenche Norubu of Bhutan, and the closing film, “The Dinner,” directed by Kim Dong-hyun of South Korea, which is a film made for the 2011 Asia Film Fund. Prizes will be presented in 12 categories with 2 million won in cash prizes. The 12 prizes include the Asian Film Man of the Year, the International Film Critics Association Prize, the Asian Film Promotion Organization Prize, and the Busan Cinefil Prize.

This is an ad for the 18th Busan International Film Festival.

Major events during the festival include the Asian Film Market from Oct. 7-10 where many films will be up for sale, the Asian Film Fund, and the Asia Film Academy, among others. The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, as the host, and the Korean Contents Promotion Institute, as manager, will open the joint exhibition hall while the Korea-China International Seminar will be newly established as part of the annual film festival beginning this year.

 A view of the Busan Cinema Hall, the main venue for 

the Busan Int’l Film Festival that will take place from Oct. 3-12.

The opening of the festival will be televised live on KBS 2 TV in Korea and cable TVs in 88 countries through satellite TV broadcasting.

The Busan Fireworks Festival, with a theme of “50 Years of Love, Busan!” is set to run from Oct. 25-26 at Bexco auditorium and Gwangan-ri Beach with the biggest fireworks show the beach has ever seen. This will follow the story of Busan’s upgrading 50 years ago to a special city with a musical event and street performances in Gwangan-ri preceding the fireworks with a number of musical groups from overseas.

Ulsan Metropolitan City:

The city will present the 47th Cheoyong Cultural Festival with the theme of “Cheoyong Meets World Music and Dance Festival” to attract a huge crowd of tourists from Oct. 3-6, which will showcase all genres of music and dance from traditional Korean music to Spain’s flamenco dance music. Guitarist Marita Robles, flamenco vocalist Alba Carmona, and flamenco dancer Naira Nunez will perform at the festival. The Jeonga Ak Society, a renowned traditional music a-ak performance group, will perform the opening number. The group performed at the Ciudad Flamenco Festival 2013 and the Mercat de Musica Viva de Vic in 2012 and won critical acclaim from local music critics.

A painting of a maskdance which is to be performed during 

the Cheoyong Cultural Festival from Oct. 3-6 in Ulsan Metropolitan City.

There also will be a tango dance performance by Bajofondo from Uruguay, which will return to Ulsan for the first time in five years, followed by Savina Yannatou, a Greek traditional group, and Primavera en Salonico, a contemporary jazz group. Muzsikas Folk from Hungary will also show their skills, solidified through 40 years of performance of Hungarian traditional music, along with Waldemar Bastos, a minstrel from Angola, and Tahuna Breaks, a kiwi band from New Zealand. Also performing will be Breadbach, a Scottish Celtic music group with a contemporary touch, Dj Oshi, an electro music group from France, and SuriSuri Maha Suri, an ethnic fusion group from Korea and Morocco, among others, to delight the audience at the Cheoyong Cultural Festival.

Mt. Sanbul in Ulju, Ulsan, not only boasts of scenic views, but also 

offers diverse sporting activities, including hang gliding. 

South Gyeongsang Province:

The Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival will take place around Namgang from Oct.1 to Oct. 14. 

A view of the Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival.

The province kicked off the World Traditional Medicine Fair & Festival in Sancheong, Korea 2013 on Sept. 6 and it will run through Oct. 20. This festival is designed to show the advantages of traditional Korean medicine by introducing the Dong-ui-bo-gam, the book containing all kinds of traditional prescriptions for sicknesses put together hundreds of years ago during the Joseon Dynasty (1335-1910). This book was designated a historic asset by UNESCO in 2007. This year marks the 400th year since the publication of the medical book and the expo intends to show off its finer points to prove the excellence of Korean traditional medicine, especially to youths so that they can take pride in their country’s medical history and to make Korea a hub for traditional medicine. The visitors can view the history of the medical book at the special hall that shows everything about the book. 

An aerial view of the Dong-ui-bo-gam Museum in Sancheong, Gyeongsangnam-do to preserve

 and further develop the traditional Korean medicine as prescribed in the age-old Korean traditional book of medicine.

The expo will show the harmony between tradition and modernity and the intersection of the local region and the world with a special effort to give visitors the opportunity to be part of the expo through the many events including a rope walking performance, traditional madang performance, and the special events. A short play will explain Dr. Huh Joon’s fancied encounter with Suh Bok, a man who searched for a medicinal herb that keeps people from ever growing old. Also greeting the visitors is a giant golden turtle to please the children in particular, deer, and a herbal medicine theme park with a display of the human internal organs made of plastic.

Also on schedule are a number of musical events and shows to please the senior visitors such as “Healing Concert,” a singing contest, and a Gyeongnam cultural performance, among others.

The World Traditional Medicine Fair & Festival in Sancheong, 

Korea 2013 will be held in Sancheong from Sept. 6 to Oct. 20.