To welcome in the New Year, Busan is hosting its annual New Year Festival, a popular winter festival so characteristic of Busan as a marine capital and celebrated both by Busan’s citizens and tourists visiting the city.

The 2012 Busan Haemaji (Sunrise) Festival - also known as the New Year Festival - consists of the Bell-tolling Ceremony and New Year Sunrise Event. The festival will start at 11pm on New Year’s Eve, December 31^st and continue through midnight to the morning of New Year’s Day, January 1^st, at Yongdusan Park and Haeundae Beach, respectively.

▶ Period: December 31, 2011 ~ January 1, 2012

▶ Venue: Yongdusan Park, Haeundae Beach

▶ Events

Bell-tolling Ceremony

December 31, 2011: 11:00p.m. ~  (Yongdusan Park)

Celebratory Performance, Bell-tolling Ceremony, Busan Mayor’s New Year Address and Fireworks Display

The Bell-tolling ceremony will begin with the ten-second countdown to midnight followed by 33 tolls of the bell to officially mark the beginning of the New Year.

New Year Sunrise Event

January 1, 2012: 6:30 a.m. ~ 8:00 a.m.  (Haeundae Beach)

Celebratory performance, helicopter flypast, release of balloons and early morning swim in the sea.

Complimentary hot coffee and green tea will be provided at service booths. At the beginning of every year, a sculpture symbolizing the New Year is installed at Haeundae Beach, providing the perfect photo-taking spot for visitors wishing to mark the beginning of the New Year.

For more information, please contact the Organizing Committee for the Busan Culture & Tourism Festival at 051-888-3395.