Busan's festivals follow its beaches. At Jeongwol Daeboreum, the first full moon of the lunar year, Haeundae burns a moon house on the sand; the same beach fills with sand sculptures in mid to late May and is lit for the Haeundae Light Festival through the winter. Gwangalli holds the Eobang folk festival in May or June, and in summer the Busan Sea Festival takes over Dadaepo Beach at the end of Metro Line 1. Autumn is the busiest season: the international rock festival by the Nakdong River on the first weekend of October, the Busan International Film Festival in Centum City in September or October, the Jagalchi Festival at the fish market in October, the UN Peace Festival beside the UN Memorial Cemetery around UN Day, the Yeongdo Bridge Festival around Korea's first drawbridge, the mackerel festival on Songdo Beach and, in November, the country's largest single-night event, the fireworks over Gwangalli Beach. In winter the Gwangbok-ro light trees fill the old downtown at Nampo, and a drone show lights the sky over Gwangalli every Saturday evening all year.
On now, coming up and expected
The Busan Mackerel Festival (부산고등어축제) is a free three-day seafood festival on Songdo Beach in Seo-gu, Busan, held since 2008 in honour of mackerel, the city's fish. The 17th edition runs 30 October–1 November 2026, 10:00–21:00, with bare-handed mackerel catching, a kayak mackerel hunt, surprise mackerel auctions, a seafood market and evening concerts.
The Yeongdo Bridge Festival (영도다리축제) is a free three-day district festival in Yeongdo-gu, Busan, celebrating Yeongdo Bridge, which opened in 1934 as Korea's first drawbridge. The 34th edition runs 30 October–1 November 2026, 10:00–20:00, on two sites: the Bongnae-dong wharf beside the bridge (opening ceremony, retro shows) and Amir Park by the National Maritime Museum (song contest, cooking show, closing ceremony).
The Busan Fireworks Festival is a one-night fireworks show over Gwangalli Beach and the Gwangan Bridge in Busan. The 21st edition is on Saturday 7 November 2026, with the main show 19:00–20:00.
The Haeundae Light Festival (해운대 빛축제) is Haeundae-gu's free winter illumination along Gunam-ro, the street from Haeundae Station down to the sea, and on the sand of Haeundae Beach in Busan, held every winter since 2014. The 13th edition runs 28 November 2026–10 January 2027, as listed in Haeundae-gu Office's 2026 events calendar, which notes that dates may change; lighting hours and the programme are not yet published.
The Gwangbok-ro Winter Light Tree Festival (광복로 겨울빛 트리축제), held since 2009 and long known as the Busan Christmas Tree Festival, lights about 1.1 km of Gwangbok-ro, the shopping street of Busan's old downtown in Nampo-dong, with a large media tree and light sculptures for about 80 nights each winter. The 2025 edition ran 5 December 2025–22 February 2026, lit 17:30–22:00 daily; 2026 dates are not announced yet, but the lights usually go on between mid-November and early December and stay up into February.
The Haeundae Dalmaji Hot Spring Festival (해운대달맞이온천축제) is Haeundae's Jeongwol Daeboreum festival: on the first full moon of the lunar year, a large pine moon house (daljip) hung with people's wishes is set alight on Haeundae Beach in Busan at the minute of moonrise, after an afternoon of folk dance and rituals. The 41st edition was on 3 March 2026, with the burning at 18:11.
The Gwangalli Eobang Festival (광안리어방축제) is a three-day folk festival on Gwangalli Beach and at Suyeong Historic Park in Suyeong-gu, Busan, recreating the Joseon-era fishing village where naval sailors and fishermen worked the nets together. The 24th edition ran 12–14 June 2026, a month later than the May dates of 2023–2025; the 2027 dates are not announced, and May or June is expected.
The Haeundae Sand Festival (해운대 모래축제) is Haeundae-gu's free sand-sculpture festival on Haeundae Beach in Busan, first held in 2005. The 21st edition ran 15–18 May 2026 (programmes 10:00–21:00), with 17 sculptures by 11 artists that stayed on the sand until 14 June.
The Busan Sea Festival (부산바다축제) is Busan's city-run summer beach festival, held since 2024 at Dadaepo Beach in Saha-gu with a sunset fireworks show on opening night, a 2,000-seat beach pub, free concerts and a beach club. The 30th edition ran 7–13 August 2026; 2027 dates are not announced, but recent editions opened on a Friday between late July and mid-August.
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) is a ten-day film festival centred on the Busan Cinema Center in Centum City, Haeundae-gu, with Community BIFF events in Nampo-dong, the old cinema district where it began in 1996. The 31st edition ran 6–15 October 2026 with 247 invited films from 59 countries; 2027 dates had not been announced as of 19 October 2026 (recent editions opened between mid-September and early October).
The Busan Folk Arts Festival (부산종합민속예술제) is a free two-day showcase of Busan's intangible heritage, with folk performances, shaman rituals, farmers' music, traditional games and craft classes led by heritage artisans, held on Dasom Square in Busan Citizens Park. The 6th edition runs 24–25 October 2026 (Saturday–Sunday), 11:00–17:00, hosted by Busan Metropolitan City.
Busan International Rock Festival is a three-day ticketed rock and indie festival in Samnak Ecological Park on the Nakdong River in Sasang-gu, Busan. The 2026 edition ran 2–4 October with Megadeth, The Libertines, CNBLUE and Jannabi on the bill; 2027 is expected on the first weekend of October.
The Busan Jagalchi Festival (부산자갈치축제) is a free four-day seafood festival held in October since 1992 around Jagalchi Market, Busan's famous fish market in Nampo-dong, Jung-gu. The 33rd edition ran 15–18 October 2026, 11:30–22:00, with sea fireworks over the South Port on the opening night, a rite to the dragon king of the sea, a street parade, eel relay races, free seafood tastings and a giant raw-fish bibimbap.
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The UN Peace Festival (UN평화축제) is a free festival in Peace Park, beside the UN Memorial Cemetery in Korea in Daeyeon-dong, Nam-gu, Busan, held each October around UN Day to remember the UN forces who fought in the Korean War. The 28th edition runs 23–25 October 2026 (Friday to Sunday), 10:30–21:00, under the slogan 열린 기억, 열린 미래 ("open memory, open future"), with a peace parade, six themed zones, world-culture booths, food and stage shows.
All year in Busan
The Gwangalli M Drone Light Show is a free drone show over the sea at Gwangalli Beach in Suyeong-gu, Busan, with the lit Gwangan Bridge behind it, held every Saturday evening since April 2022. There are two shows of about 12 minutes each night: 19:00 and 21:00 from October to February, 20:00 and 22:00 from March to September.
These come straight from the Korea Tourism Organization’s public festival database. We have not checked them against the organizer, so dates and details can be wrong or out of date. Confirm on the official page before you book.