"Let's Establish Busan North Port as a Global Marine Tourism Destination"

[Financial News] "Busan North Port, which has been completely transformed into a waterfront park, must be established as a world-class marine tourism destination."
The Busan Port Future Policy Research Institute, co-directed by Jeong Seong-gi and Lee Gwang-guk, said on the 30th, "Busan North Port has become a hot spot visited day after day by countless locals and tourists from Korea and abroad because of the shark 'Bukangi,' which appeared in the waterway of the waterfront park. We must use this attention as a driving force to develop North Port into a global marine tourism hub."
The institute made the proposal, noting that large-scale national projects such as the restoration of Cheonggyecheon Stream had been followed by various events and promotional campaigns to publicize newly created spaces after completion. By contrast, Busan North Port Redevelopment, carried out as Korea's first port redevelopment project, had relatively limited opportunities to publicize the area's value and appeal nationwide after the waterfront park opened.
The appearance of Bukangi has brought nationwide attention to Busan's North Port Waterfront Park in a short period, turning it into a popular destination visited by more than 600,000 people from the 19th to the 28th. 
The institute stressed that this opportunity should be used to host a global K-pop concert and international cruise events in Busan North Port on a scale comparable to Hamburg's PORT ANNIVERSARY, while expanding diverse marine tourism content to establish North Port as a world-class marine tourism destination.
The institute also identified measures needed to develop Busan North Port into a global marine tourism hub.
With more than 100,000 visitors converging each day during the Chuseok holiday period, the roads and parking capacity in the North Port Redevelopment area reached their limits, causing serious traffic congestion.
Busan's North Port Waterfront Park still has a severe shortage of F&B and other commercial and convenience facilities capable of accommodating demand for dining, rest and sightseeing. As a result, despite the large number of visitors, people could not properly access rest and food-and-beverage services within the waterfront park.
The institute therefore presented the following comprehensive measures to develop the appeal and potential of Busan's North Port Waterfront Park into a sustainable driver of marine tourism growth.
First, a Bukangi Theme Park should be created at Busan's North Port Waterfront Park, along with world-class festivals such as K-pop concerts. A Bukangi Shark Theme Park equipped with shark sculptures and photo zones should be developed, while diverse marine tourism content should be expanded. Large-scale events, including global K-pop concerts and international cruise festivals, should be held regularly to develop North Port into a world-class marine tourism destination.
Second, the Street Mall-style waterfront commercial area should be activated at an early date. The unsold waterfront commercial lots in Blocks Z-2, Z-3 and Z-4 should be used to quickly develop a Street Mall-style waterfront shopping district concentrated with cafes, restaurants, convenience facilities and tourism product stores. This would increase visitors' length of stay and spending while providing tangible benefits to the revitalization of North Port and the regional economy.
Third, parking facilities should be expanded and a public-transit-centered access system should be established quickly. Given the difficulty of securing additional public parking spaces in preparation for large visitor surges like this one, the authorities should actively consider offering incentives, such as floor-area-ratio increases or relaxed building regulations, when private developers constructing buildings in North Port Park secure more parking spaces than legally required.
Above all, a circular city bus route connecting Busan Station, Choryang Station, the International Passenger Terminal, the transfer center, Busan North Port Marina and Jungang Station should be established. The North Port tram connecting Jungang Station, Busan North Port Marina, the waterfront park and the International Passenger Terminal should also be pursued promptly to significantly improve access to the North Port area.
Fourth, water-safety management standards and a system should be established to protect visitors in the event of large marine animals such as sharks appearing. To prepare for the appearance of threatening large marine animals, standards should be established to restrict marine leisure activities such as kayaking, canoeing, pedal boating and dinghy sailing in the North Port waterway and the waters between Piers 1 and 2. A monitoring system using CCTV and underwater and on-water monitoring equipment, along with an emergency response system involving relevant agencies, should also be established.
Jeong Seong-gi, co-director of the Busan Port Future Policy Research Institute, stressed, "The public interest generated by Bukangi's appearance must not end as a one-off phenomenon. North Port should expand large-scale festivals such as K-pop events and diverse marine tourism content, while also improving transportation, parking, commercial and convenience facilities, as well as water and facility safety systems, so that it can become a global marine tourism hub visited continuously by tourists from Korea and abroad."
He added, "I urge the Busan Metropolitan City Government and other relevant agencies to seize this opportunity and take decisive action to formulate and implement comprehensive measures for North Port's development into a global marine tourism hub."
[email protected] Byeon Ok-hwan Reporter