BUSAN — Record heat and a surge in foreign tourists this summer pushed annual visitors to Busan's Haeundae Beach past 10 million for the first time. Foreign tourists kept arriving even in September, a month that normally quiets down once the summer holiday season ends, prompting assessments that the beach is becoming a year-round tourism draw for Busan rather than a seasonal destination.
Haeundae District closed the beach on the 15th. Over the 82 days since it opened on June 26, visitors totaled about 10,147,200 through the 14th. It was the first time the figure surpassed 10 million since 2020, when the district began counting visitors using mobile phone location-based big data.
Weather and foreign tourists drove this year's turnout. A prolonged record heat wave combined with few rainy days created favorable conditions for beachgoers. A sharp rise in foreign visitors to Busan effectively extended Haeundae's peak season into September.
According to the Busan Metropolitan Government, 2,920,674 foreign tourists visited the city from January to July this year, up 46.1% from 2,000,466 in the same period a year earlier. A Haeundae District official said visitor numbers had typically declined after the July-August holiday season through last year, but that September alone drew 1.09 million visitors this year. The official said the scene at the beach had changed, with foreign tourists accounting for 60% to 70% of September visitors.
The shift shows that demand at Haeundae is moving quickly from domestic summer vacationers toward year-round tourism that includes foreign visitors. Beyond the traditional draw of summer swimming, growing numbers of foreigners are coming for nighttime ocean views and nearby attractions, raising the prospect that a new tourism season built around September at Haeundae could take hold.
For the second consecutive year, Haeundae District extended the beach's operating period into September, the only such extension in the country. After topping 10 million visitors this year, the district plans to extend operations into mid-September again next year.
Expecting a continued flow of visitors during the Chuseok holiday and lingering late-summer heat, the district will keep its safety management system running past the official closing. From the 16th to the 27th, private water rescue teams will be deployed at Haeundae (10 members) and Songjeong (4 members). Night patrol units cracking down on after-hours swimming and illegal activity — 28 members at Haeundae and 13 at Songjeong — will operate through the 30th.
