Haeundae Blue Line Park Wins SNS Grand Prize for 3 Consecutive Years... 'Busan Syndrome' Craze Spreads

[Financial News] Haeundae Blue Line Park announced on the 26th that it won the Grand Prize in the Corporate category at the '16th Korea Social Media Awards,' achieving the feat of winning for three consecutive years from 2024 to 2026.
The Korea Social Media Awards is an awards ceremony established in 2011 that evaluates the social media utilization performance of companies and public institutions through a comprehensive process involving quantitative evaluation, expert assessment, and user voting. It is organized by the Korea Social Content Promotion Association and sponsored by the Ministry of Science and ICT.
With "Busan-byeong"—a term expressing memories of recent trips to Busan and the desire to revisit—gaining attention as a new tourism marketing keyword, Haeundae Blue Line Park is taking the lead in promoting the charms of Busan by showcasing emotional tourism content.
The flagship attractions, the Sky Capsule and the Haeundae Beach Train, operate along the coastline against the backdrop of the blue sea, offering Busan's beautiful coastal scenery and a special travel experience. As photos and videos taken by tourists spread through social media, they are establishing themselves as iconic tourist spots symbolizing memories of a trip to Busan.
Haeundae Blue Line Park communicates with domestic and international tourists by operating a total of six official social media channels, including a blog, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Xiaohongshu (RED).
Among these, the Xiaohongshu channel, which targets the Chinese market, surpassed 2.5 million cumulative views within three months of its launch, attracting the attention of tourists from Greater China. It introduces Busan's coastal scenery and tourist facilities through content that reflects local tourism trends and user characteristics, and employs emotion-centered marketing that goes beyond simple information delivery to raise expectations for actual visits.
In addition to character marketing utilizing the official characters, the sea otter 'Harry' and the seagull 'Lulu,' seasonal tourism content and visitor participation content are also being introduced. Through these efforts, a friendly brand image is being built, and tourists are being encouraged to voluntarily share content and participate.
This type of social media marketing is contributing to promoting the charm of the city of Busan itself, going beyond the promotion of tourist facilities. As images of the Sky Capsule and the Haeundae Beach Train spread online, they are being utilized as content that motivates international tourists to visit Busan and sparks a desire for revisiting among those who have finished their trip.
Furthermore, as a major tourist facility in the marine tourism belt connecting the Haeundae Special Tourism Zone and the Osiria Tourism Complex, Haeundae Blue Line Park encourages combined visits to nearby tourist attractions and contributes to revitalizing local commercial districts and enhancing the international recognition of Busan tourism.
Haeundae Blue Line Park was previously selected as a 'Star of Korean Tourism' in 2022 and won the Prime Minister's Award at the 'Korea National Land Awards' in 2023. It has also been recognized for the competitiveness of its tourism content, including being named to the 'Top 100 Tourist Spots in Korea' selected by the Korea Tourism Organization for two consecutive times.
"Winning the Korea SNS Award for three consecutive years is a recognition of our achievements in growing into a global tourist attraction by continuously communicating with tourists from around the world," said Bae Jong-jin, CEO of Haeundae Blue Line Park. "We will continue to convey the inspiration and lingering impressions of traveling in Busan to the world and contribute to making Busan a place tourists want to visit again, to the point where they get 'Busan fever'."

[email protected] Kwon Byeong-seok Reporter