‘Barefoot Walking Friendly City Busan’ Proclamation Ceremony and Seven Beach Earthing Challenge Held

May 21, 5 PM at Haeundae Beach, Hosted by Barefoot Walking Good City Movement Headquarters

Start at Haeundae Beach - June at Gwangalli - September at Dadaepo - November at Songjeong Beach

Busan City will hold the Barefoot Walking Friendly City Busan Proclamation Ceremony and the Seven Beach Earthing Challenge at 5 p.m. on the 21st around Haeundae Beach.

The event is co-hosted by the city, Busan Ilbo, Busan City Council, and Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, organized by the Busan Barefoot Walking Friendly City Movement Headquarters, and sponsored by local companies including Haeundae District, BNK Financial Group, Banyan Tree Busan, and Songwol Towel.

Earthing refers to connecting the earth and our body by grounding the soles of the feet to the earth, linking to the free electrons present on the earth’s surface barefoot. Its benefits have already been publicized through various terrestrial broadcasts and SNS, sparking a new national movement and earthing craze since last year.

This event was prepared to pledge to improve citizens’ health and create a “Barefoot Walking Friendly City Busan,” and to launch the “Seven Beach Earthing Challenge” to realize this goal.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun, City Council Chairman Ahn Seong-min, Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Yang Jae-saeng, Busan Ilbo President Kim Jin-su, along with about 2,000 citizens and tourists are expected to participate.

The event will proceed in the following order: ▲pre-event busking performance ▲reading of the Barefoot Walking Friendly City Busan declaration and declaration performance ▲special lecture on proper walking and warm-up stretching ▲Seven Beach Earthing Challenge Haeundae edition.

The “Seven Beach Earthing Challenge,” which officially begins with the Haeundae edition on this day, is part of the challenge to realize “Barefoot Walking Friendly City Busan.” It is an event where participants walk barefoot sequentially along seven beaches in Busan.

Starting from Haeundae Beach, the challenge will continue at Gwangalli in June, Dadaepo in September, and Songjeong Beach in November, with a total of seven beaches planned to be covered by 2025. Those who complete the entire walk will receive commemorative items such as a certification medal.

The Seven Beach Earthing Challenge Haeundae edition will be conducted by dividing 200 participants into 10 groups of 20 people each, with two groups participating in each of the five sessions.

Among the two groups, the first group will face the event plaza and earthing will be done to the right, while the second group will face left. Each group will start at 5-minute intervals, walking back and forth about 3 km with event staff for approximately one hour, then naturally disperse.

On the day of the event, participants will receive souvenirs such as shoe bags, towels, and badges on a first-come, first-served basis at the venue.

Haeundae Beach is considered an ideal place for barefoot walking due to its shallow water and small tidal range, so a large number of citizens are expected to participate. Already, 2,000 people have pre-registered due to high public interest. On-site registration on the day is also free.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun said, “To make Busan a barefoot walking friendly city, our city will expand and continuously manage red soil trails and forest roads, and we will do our best to create places where citizens can walk barefoot safely. We ask for the active interest and participation of citizens in this event.”

Location map of the Eosing Challenge event venue.

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