The Busan One Asia Festival, a mega Hallyu (Korean Wave) event that combines K-pop concerts, fan meetings and exhibits for Hallyu fans worldwide, announced the star lineup for the opening performance. CNBLUE with Jung Yong-wha, a PR ambassador for the festival, Apink, Girl’s Day, B1A4 and B.A.P. will take the stage on first 2016 Busan One Asia Festival from October 1 to October 23, hosted by Busan City Government.
2016 Busan One Asia Festival will be held across Busan, including the Busan Asiad Main Stadium and BEXCO, featuring 18 performances and two exhibition programs. The festival will begin with an opening performance staged at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium on October 1, followed by fan meetings with Hallyu stars, three-day K-pop concerts and The Collaboration Music Show.
The festival will move closer to Hallyu fans with a variety of events, culminating in “One Asia Dream Concert” on October 23 during the closing ceremony. Programs for the culture, entertainment (TV) and music sectors will include One Asia Cultural Conference, Running Man Hands-on Experience and One Asia Music Market. In addition, the Busan One Asia Festival will be linked to other local festivals taking place around the same time, including Busan International Film Festival, Busan Fireworks Festival and Asia Song Festival, to provide more enjoyment to visitors.
One of the exhibition programs, “Taste Busan,” will present popular Korean foods and diverse menu items served at fusion restaurants at BEXCO Exhibition Center 1 from September 30 to October 3. Another exhibition program, “Korean Wave Star & Beauty Collection,” will be held in collaboration with the nation’s leading entertainment management agencies to introduce major Hallyu stars, Hallyu ICT programs and K-Beauty, which refers to Korean cosmetics, from September 30 to October 9. For the beauty exhibition, about 100 companies will set up 200 booths to demonstrate Korean beauty products and to provide visitors a chance to experience and purchase them.
“Busan, a hub for Asian cultural exchanges and Hallyu, is committed to creating new cultural content for Hallyu fans around the world, growing them as the city’s major Hallyu tourism products,” said Busan Mayor Seo Byung-soo. The city expects 150,000 visitors to Busan during the festival period.
Park Sa-lim, Seoul