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FestivalWinter 2026

Haeundae Light Festival

해운대빛축제

This edition · Data as of · Published · Compiled by

Every winter, Haeundae district fills the sand of Busan’s best-known beach — and Gunam-ro, the street that runs from Haeundae subway station down to the sea — with light sculptures and media art. It is free and open-air: no tickets, you just walk through. The 13th edition runs 28 November 2026 – 10 January 2027, according to the district’s 2026 events calendar (checked 19 October). Lighting hours, theme and opening night have not been announced; last winter the lights were on 18:00–23:00 every evening. The festival isn’t in the national tourism listings, so dates and times come from Haeundae-gu and Busan city announcements, and we read Korean blog posts from people who went in the last three seasons.

Haeundae Light Festival
부산_해운대_해운대 해수욕장_1.jpg해운대해수욕장부산_해운대해수욕장09
Photos: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type1, Type3). Shown uncropped, as supplied. Photos: Haeundae-gu light-festival website · last edition’s (2025) installation preview image, loaded unaltered from the original.

What’s on

Dates and venue are from Haeundae-gu’s 2026 events calendar (checked 19 October). Lighting hours, opening night and activities are not yet announced, so the times below are last season’s (2025) official times.

Gunam-ro & Haeundae Beach

Light sculptures & media artWalk-inFree (as in past editions)
28 Nov 2026 – 10 Jan 2027 · TBA · last year 18:00–23:00 daily
Walk from the light tunnels and trees of Gunam-ro, outside Haeundae Station, to the sculptures and media art on the sand. The theme changes every year.

Beach in front of the Event Plaza

Lighting ceremonyWalk-inFree (last year)
TBA · last year on opening day · Last year 18:00–19:40 (fireworks 19:00–19:05)
Last year: opening show, speeches, the switch-on, five minutes of fireworks and a guest singer. The busiest night of the run.

Haeundae Beach Event Plaza

Activity boothsWalk-inFees on site · some charged in past years
TBA · last year throughout · Last year 18:00–22:00
Last year: sand art, light drawing, a photo booth, a pedal-powered generator bike and a wishing tree, with Santa-costume photos in mid-December and folk games over New Year, according to visitors.

Sources: Haeundae-gu 2026 events calendar; Haeundae-gu light-festival pages (about, programme, directions — 12th edition); Busan Metropolitan City English website event listings (11th and 12th); visitors’ blog posts from the last three seasons.

The essentials

Dates2026-11-28 – 2027-01-10
WhereHaeundae Beach and Gunam-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan (around 264 Haeundaehaebyeon-ro)
CostFree (as in the last three editions; a few activity booths charged a small fee)
OrganisersHaeundae-gu Office, Culture and Tourism Division (+82 51-749-4062)
Address부산광역시 해운대구 해운대해변로 264
Contact · www.haeundae.go.kr/tour
ProgrammeLight sculptures, media art and activity booths — 2026 details not yet announced; see “What’s on” below.

What 30 visitors said

We searched Naver, the blog platform most Koreans use, for posts written during each season (2023–24, 2024–25, 2025–26) and the two weeks after — 30 per season — and read every one to the end. 28, 26 and 26 described actually seeing the lights. We dropped sponsored posts, the district’s own supporter blogs and a visit made the day before opening, counted each writer once, and kept ten per season spread across the run — 30 in all. Every number counts the posts that mentioned something.

What people liked

The big media-art piece on the beach is the highlight13 of 30 posts

A 40 m snow castle in 2024, a giant globe in 2025 — watch the whole loop from the front 23-04 23-21 23-23 24-01 24-04 24-07 24-08 24-12 24-13 24-14 25-07 25-09 25-13

Plenty of photo spots, and photos come out well12 of 30 posts

A photo spot at every sculpture, with the night sea and skyline behind 23-03 23-04 23-06 23-13 23-29 24-14 25-01 25-04 25-05 25-20 25-22 25-27

You walk a lit street from the station down to the sea12 of 30 posts

Through the light tunnels and trees of Gunam-ro to the sand, then back via Haeundae Market 23-03 23-04 23-13 23-21 23-23 24-07 24-13 24-21 25-01 25-13 25-20 25-22

Children love it17 of 30 posts

Touch-reactive domes and sculptures, planet and rabbit photo spots — and the sand itself 23-08 23-13 23-15 23-21 23-23 23-29 24-01 24-04 24-08 24-12 24-13 24-21 24-24 25-05 25-16 25-22 25-27

What people struggled with

The sea wind makes it bitterly cold12 of 30 posts

Some nights were too cold to write a wish card; several cut their visit short 23-03 23-15 23-17 23-21 24-01 24-12 24-14 24-21 24-24 25-07 25-09 25-16

Weekends and the holidays are packed, with queues at photo spots18 of 30 posts

Queues for the big tree and the astronaut; crushes around Christmas and on opening night 23-04 23-15 23-17 23-21 23-23 23-29 24-04 24-07 24-12 24-13 24-29 25-01 25-04 25-05 25-07 25-20 25-22 25-27

Smaller than expected, or plainer than before10 of 30 posts

Not worth a trip on its own, several say — best as part of an evening in Haeundae 23-03 23-04 23-13 23-29 24-04 24-08 24-13 25-04 25-07 25-13

Parking is hard if you drive6 of 30 posts

The nearest public car parks queue or fill up on weekend evenings 23-06 23-17 23-21 25-13 25-22 25-27

These are raw counts, not percentages. Someone who did not mention something is not someone who disagreed.

Who goes, and when

Families with children (9 of the 30 posts) and couples (6) are the biggest groups, plus friends, adult families and solo walkers. Many were staying in Haeundae or dropped by after dinner. 5 of the 30 posts noticed lots of foreign visitors.

Who they went with

With friends1 of 30 posts
With children9 of 30 posts
With parents or adult family1 of 30 posts
As a couple6 of 30 posts

12 of the 30 posts did not say.

Time of day

Evening24 of 30 posts
Night4 of 30 posts
Day into night1 of 30 posts
Afternoon1 of 30 posts

Visiting from abroad

Nothing to book and nothing to pay: just turn up after dark and walk. 5 of the 30 posts noticed many foreign visitors, especially on opening weekend and in the market. The district’s festival pages are Korean-only; Busan city’s English website lists the dates and lighting hours under “Haeundae Light Festival”. We could not confirm English signage on site, but the route is simple — follow the lights from the station to the sea. Some activity booths charged a small fee in past years (up to ₩5,000 in 2023). The beach is a short walk from Haeundae Market, good for hotteok (sweet pancakes) and fish-cake soup on a cold night.

Weather and crowds

It is the seaside in winter: once the sun goes down the wind off the sea is bitter — 12 of the 30 posts mention the cold. 18 found it crowded, worst on weekend evenings, around Christmas and on opening night (one writer waited over an hour for the 2025 lighting ceremony); weekday evenings were calmer. The best time is just before sunset — arrive around 17:40 in late December and you get the sunset, the lights coming on and fewer people. Late evenings after 22:00 were quiet too, though the activity booths close at 22:00. On one weekend with a cold-snap warning, the crowds stayed away.

Getting there and access

Take Busan Metro Line 2 to Haeundae Station, exit 3 or 5 — you come out on Gunam-ro, where the festival begins, and follow the lights down to the beach. From Busan Station (KTX), take Line 1 and change to Line 2 at Seomyeon, or take express bus 1001 or 1003. From Gimhae Airport, city bus 307 (06:15–23:20, every 20 minutes) or limousine bus 2 go to Haeundae. Don’t drive: the nearest public car park queues on weekend evenings and the beach car park was closed to cars on at least one weekday evening in 2025. A taxi to “Haeundae Beach Event Plaza” drops you at the centre of the beach section.

In 2025 a wooden boardwalk ran between the sculptures on the sand, and 4 posts say strollers and older visitors got around without touching the sand. In 2024 only the paths between the domes were decked (inside them was sand), and in 2023 you had to cross sand to reach the deck. The layout changes every year, so we could not confirm the 2026 boardwalk. In 2024 there was a nursing room and lockers on the beach plaza; in 2025 one writer found activity booths where the portable toilets used to be. We found no official information on wheelchair loans or accessible toilets.

Year by year

Winter 2023

10th edition, 2 December 2023 – 31 January 2024, lights 17:30–24:00, theme “Hope, once again with light”. Media art on the ceiling over Gunam-ro and a giant tree; on the sand, HAEUNDAE letters, rabbits, a unicorn, planets and lights laid flat on the beach — several said to look down on those from steps or benches. Opening night had a magic show and brief fireworks.

Winter 2024

11th edition, 14 December 2024 – 2 February 2025, lights 17:30–24:00, theme “New Wave, Snow Wave”. A 40 m “snow kingdom” castle with projection mapping at the centre of the beach, igloo domes with plasma balls and a fire pit, artificial snow on Gunam-ro. Opening night was unfinished in places. The New Year countdown drone show was cancelled and held instead on closing night, 2 February, with 1,000 drones and fireworks.

Winter 2025

12th edition, 29 November 2025 – 18 January 2026, lights 18:00–23:00 (shorter than before), theme “Stellar Haeundae”. A space-themed beach — rockets, planets, an astronaut on the moon, Milky Way lights — with a boardwalk through it and a giant media-art globe by the plaza. Opening night had five minutes of fireworks and a concert; telescopes for moon-gazing came out around Christmas and New Year. Opinions split between “best yet” and “plainer than before”.

Tips from people who went

  • Arrive just before sunset: sunset, switch-on and smaller crowds
  • The lights don’t come on early (18:00 last year)
  • Weekday evenings or after 22:00 are quietest — booths close at 22:00
  • Opening night has been unfinished in past years; a week or two in is safer unless you want the fireworks
  • Look down on lights laid on the sand from steps or benches
  • Stand by warm white or yellow lights for photos; blue and green turn faces odd colours
  • Gloves, scarf and hand warmers
  • Walk from Haeundae Station down Gunam-ro to the sea, and back through Haeundae Market for hotteok

The 30 posts we read

  1. 23-03 · 2023-12-04 2023 제10회 해운대 빛 축제 솔직 후기(23. 12. 03 방문)
  2. 23-04 · 2023-12-04 해운대 빛축제 실시간 후기 기본정보 부산여행 추천 주차
  3. 23-06 · 2023-12-06 부산 해운대 빛축제 실시간 기본정보 주차장 부산야경
  4. 23-08 · 2023-12-09 [해운대] 아이랑 다녀온 2023 해운대 빛축제 점등식 후기
  5. 23-13 · 2023-12-16 '제10회 해운대 빛 축제' 다녀온 후기 +주차
  6. 23-15 · 2023-12-22 2023 부산 해운대 빛축제 기본정보 시간 주차 기간 리뷰
  7. 23-17 · 2023-12-26 부산 빛축제 제10회 해운대 빛축제 후기/축제기간,시간,주차정보
  8. 23-21 · 2024-01-01 2023 부산 해운대 빛축제 엄마랑 다녀온 후기 시간 기간 주차장 포함 ....
  9. 23-23 · 2024-01-05 해운대 빛축제 푸른 용이 있던 부산 볼거리
  10. 23-29 · 2024-01-29 [부산 여행] 해운대 빛축제 후기 - 점등시간
  11. 24-01 · 2024-12-14 2024 해운대 빛축제 기대만큼 실망도 컸던 솔직후기
  12. 24-04 · 2024-12-16 부산 해운대 빛축제 연말 야경 데이트 기본정보 생생 후기 ft. 눈 내....
  13. 24-07 · 2024-12-19 2024 해운대 빛축제 기본정보 주차장 부산 겨울 데이트
  14. 24-08 · 2024-12-21 해운대 빛축제 : 해운대해수욕장. 주차정보. 이벤트. 무료의상대여. ....
  15. 24-12 · 2024-12-25 제 11회 해운대빛축제 (2024.12.14~2025.2.2) & Enjoy 파라다이스 with 도라에....
  16. 24-13 · 2024-12-27 부산 해운대 빛축제 실시간 방문 솔직후기
  17. 24-14 · 2024-12-29 [부산 해운대] ‘2024 부산 해운대 빛 축제’ 후기 —행사 정보, 사진 ....
  18. 24-21 · 2025-01-13 2024 부산 해운대 빛축제 후기, 기간 & 점등 시간, 미디어어아트 영상....
  19. 24-24 · 2025-01-22 2024-2025 해운대 빛축제, 체험형 미디어아트 : 야경 축제
  20. 24-29 · 2025-02-03 2025 해운대 불꽃드론쇼 불꽃쇼 관람 후기 해운대빛축제 폐막
  21. 25-01 · 2025-11-29 부산 해운대 빛축제 기간 일정 점등식 불꽃쇼 가수 후기
  22. 25-04 · 2025-12-01 부산 제12회 해운대 빛축제 정보 및 주말 솔직 후기
  23. 25-05 · 2025-12-02 해운대 빛축제 2025 미디어아트 우주 컨셉 포토존 추천 후기
  24. 25-07 · 2025-12-04 해운대 빛축제 후기 일정, 12월 부산 겨울 축제
  25. 25-09 · 2025-12-06 [부산]해운대 빛축제 밤산책
  26. 25-13 · 2025-12-12 부산 해운대 빛축제 해수욕장 혼자 놀거리 주차 야경 시간 기본정보
  27. 25-16 · 2025-12-17 아이와 해운대 빛 축제 산책 짧게 즐긴 겨울 해운대 해수욕장 솔직 ....
  28. 25-20 · 2025-12-25 부산 해운대 빛축제 주차 점등 시간 체험 주말 방문 데이트 후기
  29. 25-22 · 2025-12-29 부산 해운대 크리스마스 이브, 온 가족이 함께한 해운대 빛 축제 솔....
  30. 25-27 · 2026-01-08 제12회 해운대 빛축제 야간출사 사진일기

All posts are in Korean. We summarise them in our own words rather than quoting.