Busan’s Food Wins Global Acclaim... Named ‘Best Gastronomy Destination’

[Financial News] Busan has won an award for the second consecutive year at tourism awards presented by a leading Southeast Asian travel media outlet, demonstrating its competitiveness as a global tourism city.
Busan Metropolitan City announced on the 5th that Busan had been selected as the ‘Best Gastronomy Destination’ at the ‘2026 TripZilla Excellence Awards,’ organized by TripZilla, a leading Southeast Asian online travel media outlet.
After being named ‘Best City Tourism Destination’ last year, Busan won this year in the gastronomy tourism category, marking its second consecutive annual win. This year, it was the sole winner in the category, earning international recognition for the competitiveness of its food culture and tourism resources.
TripZilla is a digital travel media outlet active primarily in major Southeast Asian markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. It produces travel information and tourism content, operates online platforms for individual countries, and has a media network that reaches at least 20 million people each month.
The TripZilla Excellence Awards, which select outstanding tourism destinations and services each year, are used as a major promotional channel for showcasing the appeal of travel destinations in Southeast Asia’s tourism market.
In making this selection, TripZilla highlighted Busan’s rich culinary resources, the distinctive local culture reflected in its food, and the unique appeal of a maritime city.
In particular, it showcased distinctive foods available in Busan, including fresh seafood and signature local dishes such as dwaeji-gukbap (pork and rice soup), milmyeon (wheat noodles), and seed-filled hotteok, spotlighting the diverse culinary experiences visitors can enjoy in the city and its distinctive local food culture.
The award is significant because it means Busan has received international recognition in gastronomy tourism, following its recognition in city tourism. 
The city expects that, following the award, news of the win and content about Busan’s cuisine will spread through various channels, including TripZilla’s official website and social media services (SNS), further raising Busan’s profile and attracting greater interest in Southeast Asian tourism markets. 
Mayor Jeon Jae-su said, “Receiving consecutive positive evaluations in gastronomy tourism, following city tourism, is a meaningful achievement that shows Busan’s diverse tourism appeal is attracting attention around the world,” adding, “From Busan’s distinctive food culture to world-class fine dining, we will link a broad range of culinary content with local tourism resources so visitors can experience both the flavors and character of Busan.”
[email protected] Kwon Byeong-seok Reporter