Busan Transportation Corporation wins Excellence Award for Local Public Institution Innovation... "Effectiveness of Regional Co-prosperity Content Marketing"

[Financial News] Busan Transportation Corporation announced on the 17th that it won an Excellence Award at the '2026 Local Public Institution Innovation Best Practices Contest,' organized by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) and the Local Public Enterprise Evaluation Institute, for its case of revitalizing the local economy through collaborative marketing with the global intellectual property (IP) 'Pokémon' and a regional co-prosperity merchandise business with local companies.
The corporation combined the global IP Pokémon with urban infrastructure to design an event route centered around subway stations. By enabling people to tour various parts of Busan through limited-time QR tickets and stamp rallies, it encouraged subway usage and local consumption.
This year, local related organizations such as Suyeong-gu, Busan Infrastructure Corporation, Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO), and the Busan City Bus Operators Association participated to connect the entire city of Busan into a single tourism content.
During the event period, total urban railway passengers increased by 2.5% compared to the same period last year, while passengers at the six event hub stations increased by 7.5%.
The merchandise business was implemented through a performance-sharing system with local small and medium-sized enterprises. The structure involves the corporation planning the products, while local companies handle production and distribution, sharing the sales performance.
This year, merchandise featuring the corporation's characters 'BOORAY' and 'TAVIO' and urban railway assets was released. The pop-up store, which operated from July 17 to August 9, was visited by over 67,000 people and recorded sales of approximately 190 million won. Compared to the same period last year, the number of visitors increased 4.1 times and sales increased 6.6 times.
"We have confirmed that attractive content created through global IP collaboration and utilizing the corporation's assets can attract fans and tourists, breathing vitality into the local economy," said Busan Transportation Corporation President Lee Byung-jin. "We will continue to discover content that resonates with citizens and tourists, striving to establish Busan Metro as a regional co-prosperity platform that connects the region and its people."
[email protected] Kwon Byeong-seok Reporter