Busan Residents Lead the Way: City Achieves Record-High Hometown Love Donations, Ranks No. 1 Among Major Cities

Final 2025 Donation Total Reaches 4,207,433,000 Won

Last year, people who love Busan donated more than 4.2 billion won to the city. Among the eight metropolitan cities and provinces, Busan ranked first in donations made for one’s hometown.

The Busan Metropolitan Government (Mayor Park Hyungjoon) announced on January 7 that the total amount of Hometown Love Donations collected in 2025 reached a provisional total of 4,207,433,000 won, setting a new record since the program was launched. This is the highest amount among the eight metropolitan cities and provinces.

This year’s donation amount is about 9.2 times higher than the 455,897,000 won collected in 2024. The city believes that the support from people who have left Busan and donors from across the country will become a new driving force in making Busan a happier city for its citizens.

This achievement is largely attributed to the “Unprecedented Prize Giveaway Season 2! Busan Hometown Love Donation Year-End Big Event,” which ran from October 16 to December 31 last year. Of the total 41,849 donors during the event period, about 29,000 participated in this campaign. Donations during the event amounted to approximately 2.96 billion won, accounting for about 70% of the city’s total donations in 2025. The city announced the final selection of 2,930 prize winners the previous day, and various prizes showcasing the charms of Busan will be awarded to the winners.

Busan plans to manage the funds raised through the Hometown Love Donation program transparently and efficiently, while focusing its administrative efforts on identifying additional projects for the 2026 fund that align with the program’s objectives.

In addition to the six already confirmed projects, including the purchase of a Happiness Sharing Bus for social welfare centers (totaling 860 million won), the city will continue to identify new projects that directly benefit citizens, such as supporting socially vulnerable groups, promoting local residents’ culture, arts, and health, and revitalizing community initiatives.

Park Geunrok, Director-General of Administration and Autonomy for Busan, said, “I deeply thank all donors who have not forgotten Busan and sent their heartfelt support,” adding, “We will ensure that the donations are used meaningfully in places where they are truly needed, so that the intentions of the donors are fully reflected.”