Busan, the City of Culture and Arts, Opens the 62nd Busan Arts Festival

At 5 p.m. on the 10th at Busan Citizens Hall Grand Theater, over 1,000 people including Mayor Park Hyungjoon, Busan Arts Council President Oh Sooyeon, association members, and civic groups will attend

Until the 27th, various exhibitions and performances organized by 12 associations will be held at Busan Arts Center, Busan Cultural Center, Busan Citizens Hall, and City Hall

Busan Metropolitan City and the Busan Federation of Artistic and Cultural Organizations will hold the opening ceremony of the 62nd Busan Arts Festival, the city's only comprehensive arts festival, at 5 p.m. on the 10th at the Grand Theater of the Busan Citizens' Hall.

Poster of the 62nd Busan Arts Festival.

The opening ceremony, titled "Art Paradise," will feature a variety of artistic performances across genres, with around 1,000 attendees including Mayor Park Hyungjoon, Oh Sooyeon, President of Busan Federation of Artistic and Cultural Organizations, members of the federation's affiliated associations, and representatives from civic groups.

The event will showcase diverse performances such as the United Korean Orchestra, Japanese traditional dance (Shimonoseki and Fukuoka), Gyeonggi Minyo, electric violin, and Korean traditional dance.

In particular, traditional dance performances by members of the Shimonoseki and Fukuoka Cultural Federations from Japan have been invited, and are expected to serve as a platform for harmony between Korean and Japanese artists.

Starting with the opening ceremony, the 62nd Busan Arts Festival will officially commence and run until October 27 at the Busan Arts Center, Busan Cultural Center, Busan Citizens' Hall, and around City Hall.

The Busan Arts Festival began in 1963 to celebrate Busan's elevation to a directly governed city, and since 2009, it has grown into an international exchange event with Busan's overseas sister cities.

Through this, Busan has continued pure civilian diplomatic activities based on art and culture with its sister cities abroad, serving as a foundation for the city's growth as an international arts and culture hub.

This year, 33 artists from nine countries including Japan, China, Vietnam, and Turkey have been invited, and the "Overseas Sister Cities Art Exchange Exhibition" will be held in the City Hall exhibition hall from October 21 to 26.

This year's Busan Arts Festival consists of 15 diverse exhibitions and performance events organized by 12 affiliated associations of the Busan Federation of Artistic and Cultural Organizations.

Main events include: ▲Busan Architecture and Urban Photography Exhibition (Busan Architects Association) ▲Traditional Music Festival (Busan Gugak Association) ▲Busan Dance Arts Festival (Busan Dance Association) ▲11th Regional Literary Works Exchange Exhibition & Invited Author Lecture (Busan Writers Association) ▲Overseas Sister Cities Art Exchange Exhibition & Busan Art Grand Exhibition (Busan Artists Association) ▲Korean Photographers Association Busan Branch Members Exhibition (Busan Photographers Association) ▲7th Jakgang Theater Festival (Busan Theater Association) ▲25th Busan Silver Song Festival (Busan Entertainment Artists Association) ▲2024 Busan Film Festival Short Film Members Exchange Exhibition (Busan Filmmakers Association) ▲Night of Songs and Arias (Busan Music Association) ▲Floral Art Exhibition (Busan Floral Art Association) ▲World Tea Culture Customs (Busan Tea Culture Promotion Institute), and more.

For detailed information on the performance schedule and viewing guidelines, please refer to the website of the Busan Federation of Artistic and Cultural Organizations or contact them by phone.

All exhibitions and performances of the Busan Arts Festival are open to the public, artists, domestic tourists, and anyone interested, with free participation.

Mayor Park Hyungjoon stated, "The Busan Arts Festival is a representative arts festival created together by the artists and citizens of Busan," and added, "Our city will expand its cultural and artistic infrastructure and strengthen the local arts ecosystem to create a 'prosperous cultural city, Busan,' where all citizens can enjoy top-tier culture and arts in their daily lives."