212 additional subway runs on Lines 1–3 on festival day

Headways to shorten to 4.5–6 min before event, 3–5 min after

34 'fair-price' accommodations also disclosed

The 20th Busan Fireworks Festival lights up the sky over Gwangandaegyo in November last year. [Busan city government]
The 20th Busan Fireworks Festival lights up the sky over Gwangandaegyo in November last year. [Busan city government]

With the 21st Busan Fireworks Festival set to take place at Gwangalli Beach this weekend, the city government is pushing ahead with comprehensive measures covering crowd transport, safety management and lodging information for visitors.

Busan Transportation Corporation announced its special transport plan Wednesday, which includes additional train runs and the deployment of extra safety personnel on festival day. President Kim Tae-ho and other executives visited the corporation's emergency operations center Thursday to review the plan by department, then inspected crowd-management readiness at major congestion-prone stations including Seomyeon and Haeundae. On Friday — the day before the festival — staff will conduct final safety checks on passenger walkways, escalators and other key facilities at Suyeong, Gwangan, Geumnyeonsan and Namcheon stations.

The corporation will run 212 additional trains on Lines 1 through 3 on festival day. Headways will tighten from the usual 5–8 minutes to 4.5–6 minutes between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. before the event, and from 8–10 minutes to 3–5 minutes between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. after it ends.

A total of 1,341 personnel will be deployed on the ground, including 606 station and train operations support staff. Safety officers will be concentrated at stations expected to draw the largest crowds, handling passenger guidance, crowd control and rapid response to any facility failures. Depending on congestion levels, entry will be managed in stages — from station exits to fare gates to platforms — to prevent sudden surges of passengers.

Ticketing convenience will also be improved. The corporation recently upgraded its automated ticket machines to accept credit cards and mobile payment apps for single-journey tickets. On festival day, a service will also be available at stations near the venue allowing passengers to purchase mobile tickets via mobile payment by scanning a dynamic QR code.

Meanwhile, the city government Wednesday released a list of 34 "fair-price" accommodations — including Gwangan Breeze Garden and The Wave — to help tourists make informed lodging choices.

The city analyzed rates at 157 lodging establishments within 500 meters of the festival venue, comparing prices on festival day against adjacent weekends. Based on rates listed on five online booking platforms — Yeogi Eottae, Yanolja, Trip.com, Agoda and Naver — from Oct. 26, the average rate increase came to 94.5 percent. By establishment, 85 properties raised rates by less than 100 percent, 57 by between 100 and 200 percent, and 15 by 200 percent or more.

The city shortlisted properties where the rate increase on festival day — Saturday — was no more than 20 percent compared with the surrounding Saturdays, then further narrowed the list to 34 establishments that honored their advertised prices and had no hygiene complaints or regulatory violations on record. Details including names, addresses, business type, rating and room count for all 34 properties will be available through Sunday on the Busan tourism portal Visit Busan (visitbusan.net).

"We will work to boost tourist satisfaction while encouraging lodging businesses to voluntarily adopt fair pricing, creating a tourism environment where visitors and the industry can thrive together," a city official said.


kaf2002@heraldcorp.com