A nightly view of the Gwangan Grand Bridge in Busan.

Busan City plans to develop its tourism policies for foreign tourists under the main theme of recalling old Busan and enjoying visiting the tourist sites in the old harbor city.

The Yeongdo Bridge is the first tourist location in the largest port city in Korea, especially, for those in their 40s and 50s, cultural villages around the river  bends, filming locations for lawyers, Jeolyong Free Travel Road and the 75 Plaza passing by the Busan Grand Bridge Taejong Observation Deck. Dongsam Firearms Exhibition Hall, Archi Island, the National Marine Museum, Samjin Fishcake, and the Grand Busan Harbor Bridge make up some of the key tourist destinations in the port city included in the city’s tourism development plan.

A night scene of the Seomyon District in Busan.

The city’s tourism development plan is designed to encourage families to learn the modern history surrounding the largest and the most vibrant port city in Korea. The Yongdu (Dragon Head) Mountain heads the list of the tourism locations in Busan, aimed at teen student group tours, as the entire port comes into view from the top of the famous mountain which leads to the visit to the port. The Bonga parking lot, which used to be a wharf during the Japanese colonial period from 1910 to 1945, the Gwansu House, Choryang Waegwan lot, which used to be a Japanese office for the management of Busan Harbor during the Japanese colonial years, and Gwangbok Boulevard in the heart of downtown Busan.

Also on the list of the tourism sites in the city’s tour programs are Eeba Road in Dongu for those in their 20s and 30s, the old site of Baekje Medical Clinic, Namseon Warehouse, Choryang Church, the 168 Stairs, the Kim Min-bu Deck, Dang Mountain, and Eebagu Workshop.

The city’s recommended tour program includes a number of famous eateries and cultural spots where tourists can view cultural events. PIFF Plaza, food alleys, the Kukje Open Market, Bookstore Alley in Posu-dong, Bupyong Can Stores, and Busan Art Streets. The city also recommends a family tour visiting such places as Dong-A University Museum, Old Streets for the Days when Busan was the Temporary Capital of Korea during the Korean War (1950-1953), the Memorial Hall for the Temporary Capital, and the Memorial Stone for the Cultural Village in Ami-dong.

 A scene from  firework over the Youngdo Bridge in Busan during 

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

The city has a number of festivals and cultural events this year: 

The Special Discounts at Tourist Locations from Sept. 12 to Nov. 12 in such places as Haeundae, Nampo-dong, Gwangan-ri, Seomyeon, and other well-known tourist spots in Busan. From 70 percent to 5 percent discounts offered on shopping, lodging, and eateries in those renowned tourist spots in Busan.

The Busan Biennale from Sept. 12 to Nov. 12 held at Busan Municipal Art Museum and Busan Cultural Hall is one of the renowned cultural events held annually in the port city. The art exhibition also has a special event and side events.

The 11th Busan China Town Special District Cultural Festival is another annual event held in the port city from Sept. 26-28, which includes a Korea-China Culture and Arts Performance, an exhibition for Korean and Chinese arts designed for foreign tourists to experience the arts of the two countries.

The 19th Busan International Film Festival is the most famous art event in Busan held annually. This year it is scheduled to be held from Oct. 2-11 at the Busan Cinema Hall and Haeundae Outdoor Movie House with many popular domestic and overseas movie stars participating.

Other events include a welcome event for foreign tourists on Sept. 5 in front of the Busan Railroad Station with a number of families arriving by train in Busan picked to receive bouquets of flowers as welcome to the city as well as commemorative prizes from Korail.

A view of the Taejongdae Light House on Yeongdo, Busan.

Busan City has a pressing need for interpreters for the Chinese tourists whose numbers are rising very fast. At the moment, the Chinese men and women married to Korean citizens are being called upon to lend their time to serve as interpreters for the Chinese tourists in the port city who arrive on cruise ships. In 2013, around 100 cruise ships arrived in Busan with 120,000 passengers arriving with from 3,000 to 4,000 tourists each and from 80 to 100 buses are mobilized to pick them up at the port and take them around the city.

For this year, some 114 cruise ships are projected to arrive in Busan, with 55 ships weighing more than 100,000 tons arriving in the port, 43 ships over 70,000 tons, and 17 ships less than 70,000 tons.

The city saw to it that the Chinese interpreters should be trained by the International Exchange Foundation. In 2013, they trained 30 people and 18 of them received licenses. The city plans to educate the interpreters for Chinese, Russian, and Southeast Asian tourists in 2014. The International Exchange Foundation has been training 97 trainees for a number of languages including Chinese (71), Russian (7), Vietnamese (6), and Thai (5), among others.

The city has been wooing foreign investors to invest in tourism facilities in Busan with lots of incentives including funding assistance for foreign investors hiring local manpower. The wage incentive of from 100 million won to 200 million won will be given to firms that are more than 30-percent owned by foreign investors and whose number of employees total over 100 for over a year.

The city has also been out to lure Chinese investors to invest in Chinese restaurants to attract the Chinese tourists as well as create jobs for Korean people.