Busan, Korea’s second-largest city, nestled on the fascinating southern coast, has various attractions that beckon tourists all year round. They range from beautiful beaches and fresh local seafood to ultraconvenient mega shopping centers.

But if you happen to be a big fan of movies, fine art or computer games, or just want to explore the city’s charms on a crisp, sunny day, fall is the best time to visit Busan.

Here are the reasons why: 


Busan International Film Festival

In Busan, the arrival of fall means that it’s time to roll out the red carpet.

Stars, big-name directors and their screaming fans will all be here for Asia’s biggest and most prestigious film festival ― the Busan International Film Festival.

This year’s BIFF will kick off on Oct. 2, with a glitzy red-carpet opening ceremony to be hosted by Japanese actor Ken Watanabe and Korean actress Moon So-ri. 

During its event-packed 10-day run through Oct. 11, a total of 314 movies from 79 countries will be screened at various venues, including the city’s signature Busan Cinema Center, Centum City and Haeundae Beach.

“This year, we discovered a variety of films from various countries to clearly differentiate (BIFF) from other film festivals,” Lee Yong-kwan, the festival director, said during a news conference held in Seoul.

In conjunction with BIFF, the Asian Film Market, Asian Project Market and various conferences and forums on the film industry will be held, attracting movie-business insiders from all over the world. For more information, visit www.biff.kr.


Busan Fireworks Festival

A jaw-dropping spectacle of color, light and grandiose music will take place over the night sky of Busan on Oct. 24-25, as the annual Busan Fireworks Festival returns for its 10th run.

The highlight of the two-day event is, without a doubt, the grand fireworks show on the evening of Oct. 25, which will overwhelm Gwangalli Beach, with some 1.5 million spectators expected to gather at various parts of the city for a better and fuller view of the extravaganza. 

Nearly 85,000 fireworks will be set off, creating magnificent images including the famed “Niagara Falls,” fireworks which cascading like a waterfall from a 1-kilometer section of the 7.4 km-long Gwangan Grand Bridge, and the magical flight of the phoenix.

The festival, which was started in 2005 to celebrate the APEC Summit in the city, will this year celebrate the International Telecommunication Union Plenipotentiary Conference, a major gathering of policymakers, experts and businesspeople in the field of communication and information technology that will open in the city on Oct. 20.

For more information on the festival, visit its official website: www.bff.or.kr. 


ITU conference

Arguably the most important event in the global ICT industry, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference will be held at BEXCO for three weeks from Oct. 20 through Nov. 7.

It is expected to bring together some 3,000 government officials, corporate executives and nongovernmental organization workers to discuss and standardize a variety of pending technology issues related to cybersecurity, digital disparity and radio frequency allocations.

Participants will include some 150 minister level officials from 193 economies in the ITU, which is considered the United Nations of information and communication technology.

For the general public as well as industry people, it is an opportunity to get a glimpse into the future of ICT technology. On the sidelines of the ITU sessions, various events are planned such as the World IT Show, the Mobile 360 and a global industry summit on fifth-generation mobile communication. For details, visit www.itupp2014.go.kr. 


G-Star 2014

If you’re a computer or video game lover, there’s a good reason to be in Busan this coming November: The country’s largest game exhibition and trade fair, G-Star, is shaping up to be an even bigger and more fun-filled event than last year’s for both developers and consumers.

The fair, which marks its 10th anniversary this year, will take place at BEXCO and Busan Cinema Center from Nov. 20-23 under the catchphrase “The Game Is Not Over.”

G-Star, growing at an average of 20 percent on-year in terms of the number of exhibition booths, is fast catching up with the world’s three biggest game events ― Germany’s Gamescom, America’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) and Japan’s Tokyo Game Show.

Last year, it saw participation by 512 companies from 32 countries and nearly 190,000 visitors. Deals signed during the fair were worth $180 million, organizers said.

Various side events are planned throughout this year’s four-day run, including a job fair, a game culture festival and the award ceremony for the 2014 Korea Game Awards. Of course, there will be plenty of opportunities for visitors to try out new games.

More information on G-Star can be found at the official website: www.gstar.or.kr/eng/index.asp. 


Busan Biennale

The 2014 Busan Biennale will bring together 160 artists from 30 countries, including top contemporary artists Kim Soo-ja and Anish Kapoor. More than 250 works will be exhibited together under the theme “Inhabiting the World” from Sept. 20 to Nov. 22 at the Busan Museum of Art, Busan Cultural Center and other venues throughout the city.

The theme will be explored through diverse artistic mediums, including sculptures, installations and video works. Along with the main exhibition, the biennale will feature special exhibitions, such as the Biennale Archive, that offer insights into the history and trends of Korean contemporary art. The Asian Curatorial exhibition, cocurated by young Asian curators, will offer an interesting take on life in port cities.

The biennale seeks to play a bridging role, connecting other Asian art events such as the Yokohama Triennale, Shanghai Biennale and Singapore Biennale. It will also feature the Asian Biennale Representatives Forum, aiming to take artistic cooperation to a new level; a special discussion between curators and citizens; and guided tours for citizens and young students. For details, visit www.busanbiennale.org. 

By Lee Sun-young, Lee Woo-young and Yoon Jung-hee
(milaya@heraldcorp.com) (wylee@heraldcorp.com) (cgnhee@heraldcorp.com)