A view of Busan City Hall in Yeonje-gu, Busan. Photo courtesy of Busan City
The Busan One Asia Festival (BOF), the city’s flagship K-wave festival, is moving to become a global K-culture platform as it marks its 10th anniversary. The strategy combines K-pop concerts with Busan’s culture, tourism and content industries, aiming to achieve two goals at once: attracting stay-over tourists and enhancing the city’s brand.
The Busan city government said Tuesday it will hold the “2026 Busan One Asia Festival (BOF with NOL)” from the 20th to the 28th at Hwamyeong Ecological Park and the area around Busan Asiad Main Stadium.
First launched in 2016, BOF has established itself as a K-wave content festival representing Busan. This year, to mark its 10th anniversary, the event has expanded in scale and content beyond a concert-centered event into a convergence festival combining K-culture and local content.
The festival’s highlight, the “Big Concert,” will be held on the 27th and 28th at Busan Asiad Main Stadium. On the 27th, AKMU, Yunho (TVXQ!), Treasure, CRAVITY, 8TURN, KiiiKiii, HEARTSWAVE, Haechan (NCT) and NIKSI will take the stage. On the 28th, RIIZE, Lee Young-ji, tripleS, KickFlip, Hearts2Hearts, IDENTITY, EVNNE, Jang Han-eum and Kim So-hee will meet fans.
This year’s differentiating point for BOF is the experience-based content unfolding both inside and outside the concert venue. Along the skywalk connecting the interior and entrance of Busan Asiad Main Stadium, the festival will feature busking performances by rookie musicians, K-lifestyle exhibition halls covering food, beauty and fashion, an experience zone for Busan film, webtoon and game content, and a tourism promotion hall.
Through this, the city plans to encourage concertgoers to naturally experience local tourism and content, maximizing the festival’s economic ripple effect.
The “Park Concert” marking the start of the festival will be held for free at Hwamyeong Ecological Park on the afternoon of the 20th. Local musicians Band Giraffe and Hatheway, along with Lee Mu-jin and Zion.T, will perform, presenting an outdoor music stage set against the backdrop of the Nakdong River and the sunset. Anyone can enter freely without separate reservations.
Official tickets are sold through NOL and NOL Ticket. Busan Mayor Park Heong-jun said, “Marking BOF’s 10th anniversary, it will take a step forward into a global festival combining Busan’s unique content with K-culture.” He added, “We will spare no effort in our preparations so that domestic and international tourists can experience differentiated K-wave content in Busan.”