This Year's Busan Sea Summer Festival Says 'Goodbye~'

Busan City Cancels This Year's Busan Sea Festival and International Rock Festival to Prevent COVID-19 Infection

Fireworks announcing the Busan Sea Festival. The festival, marking its 25th year this year, has been canceled.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The 'Busan Sea Festival' and 'Busan International Rock Festival,' which have become representative summer beach festivals in Busan, heating up the nights and days of the summer beach every year with festive excitement, will not be held this year.

On the 25th, Busan City announced that it will cancel both the Busan Sea Festival and the Busan International Rock Festival, Busan's representative festivals, this year in consideration of the lives and safety of citizens amid the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) situation.

It was judged that since Busan is a tourist destination visited by people worldwide, concerns about infections spreading from overseas as well as from local communities including the metropolitan area remain.

The 'Busan Sea Festival,' which was to mark its 25th anniversary this year, was scheduled to be held from August 1 to August 5, and the 'Busan International Rock Festival,' approaching its 21st edition, was originally planned for late July but postponed once to September; however, it was ultimately canceled to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and block mass infections.

In the ongoing situation of COVID-19 infections, the government is taking the principle of postponing or canceling various events. In the case of beaches, it is also recommended to prohibit events that increase the risk of infectious disease outbreaks due to dense contact among users. When holding events, it is advised to refrain from actions that cause droplets to scatter (such as chanting slogans, singing, shouting, etc.).

Jo Yong-rae, Director of the Tourism MICE Industry Bureau of Busan City, said, "In the current situation where the spread of local COVID-19 infections has not subsided, we ask for citizens' understanding regarding the cancellation of events to prevent further spread and ensure citizens' safety, and we promise to return next year with a more developed festival."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.