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Busan has bid farewell to another summer season as its beaches officially closed its summer operations on August 31.
According to Busan City’s latest report on August 31st, a total of 17,825,799 visitors flocked to the seven picturesque beaches of Busan during this year’s summer season, with data collected until the end of August.
This figure reflects a notable decline of approximately 15% compared to the 21,068,960 beachgoers recorded during the same period last year. This year’s numbers are less than half of the pre-pandemic figure in 2019, when Busan’s beaches welcomed a staggering 36,946,970 visitors.
Breaking down the data by beach, Haeundae took the lead with 8,185,635 beach enthusiasts, closely followed by Gwangalli with 4,254,327 visitors. Songjeong Beach attracted 2,033,337 beachgoers, while Songdo Beach saw 2,127,000 visitors. Dadaepo Beach, Ilgwang Beach, and Imrang Beach welcomed 1,151,500, 44,700, and 29,300 visitors, respectively.
Remarkably, Haeundae and Songjeong Beach managed to maintain their popularity, having opened their shores to visitors on June 1st. Conversely, the remaining beaches, which commenced operations from July 1st to August 31st, faced a challenging season, with only Gwangalli and Songjeong Beach witnessing marginal increases in visitor numbers compared to the previous year.
Experts attribute this decline partly to adverse weather conditions, including heavy rainfall in July and the formidable typhoon ‘Khanun’ that swept through in August.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has requested local authorities to maintain a presence of safety personnel.
