Pokémon Emerges as a Major Crowd-Puller as Busan Transportation Corp. Sees Global IP Collaboration Pay Off

[Financial News] Busan Transportation Corporation said its summer marketing campaign, which linked subway stations with major tourist and event hubs across Busan through Pokémon, helped turn the city into a single tourism route and led to an actual increase in public transit use.
The corporation said on the 27th that it had wrapped up the "regional win-win global intellectual property (IP) collaboration marketing" campaign, which ran across Busan from July 10 to Aug. 9.
Building on last year’s effort, the corporation teamed up with the global IP Pokémon to present tourism content that connected major Busan attractions and event venues around the subway network.
It linked five themed stations — Busan Station, Beomnaegol Station, Jeonpo Station, Gwangan Station and Centum City Station — to Seomyeon Station, the final stop of the stamp rally, and also operated a Pokémon-themed train.
This year, the collaboration period was expanded to six partners. Busan Transportation Corporation and Pokémon Korea, Inc. jointly planned the project, while Busan Facilities Corporation, Suyeong-gu District Office, BEXCO and the Busan City Bus Transport Business Association joined in, extending the campaign beyond the subway to buses, tourist sites and convention facilities.
The campaign also connected Busan’s attractions into a single tourism package centered on the global IP, with events such as the Gwangalli M Drone Light Show, a photo zone at Busan Station Square, a card game event at BEXCO, a Pokémon-themed bus and bus stops.
The popularity of the content translated into more visitors and higher subway ridership.
The Pokémon drone show held on July 25 around Gwangalli Beach drew 108,000 people, while more than 4,500 people attended the Busan Transportation Corporation Battle Tournament at BEXCO on Aug. 1.
During the event period, total subway ridership rose 2.5% year on year, or by 646,000 passengers, and fare revenue increased 1.7%, or by 395 million won. The gains were much larger at the six stations that served as event hubs. Passenger numbers rose 7.5% from a year earlier, while fare revenue climbed 9.5%. Compared with the overall network, that was 5.0 percentage points higher for ridership and 7.7 percentage points higher for revenue.
A limited-edition Pokémon QR transit ticket sold 252,000 copies, generating 287 million won in sales.
The corporation’s own content business also delivered results. A summer pop-up store that reimagined tourist spots near subway stations in Busan as a virtual route drew about 67,000 visitors over 24 days from July 17 to Aug. 9. Merchandise sales featuring the corporation’s new characters, "Burei" and "Tabio," along with announcements and station signs, reached 190 million won. Compared with last year’s pop-up store, visitor numbers were up 4.1 times and sales were up 6.6 times.
Busan Transportation Corporation plans to further expand its transport marketing strategy, linking Busan’s tourist attractions, festivals and local commercial districts around the subway network.
President Byungjin Lee said, "Through the past two years of global IP collaboration, we have confirmed that attractive content can create new demand for visits and travel, and that this leads to increased subway use." He added, "We will continue to develop content linked to Busan’s diverse tourism resources so that the subway can establish itself as a key platform connecting travelers’ movement and experiences."
[email protected] Kwon Byung-seok Reporter