Gwangalli Beach

Gwangalli Beach in Suyeong-gu, Busan, is a 1.4 km city beach. Gwangan Bridge spans the bay in front of its half-moon of sand, so people come during the day to walk along the water and after dark to see the bridge lights and the city skyline. Thanks to the drone light show held over the sea every Saturday night, the beach is often busier after sunset than during the day.

What the beach is like

The sand covers about 82,000 m² and is 25 to 110 m wide depending on the spot. Fine sand curves gently along the bay, and the beachfront road behind it is lined with cafés, restaurants and raw-fish restaurants. Towards Millak-dong at the eastern end you will find a live fish market and Millak Waterside Park, where many people sit by the sea with sashimi bought at the market. Since July 2008 smoking has been banned on the entire beach. The beach lies west of Haeundae, and at night LED lights on Gwangan Bridge keep changing colour.

Festivals and the drone light show

• Gwangalli M Drone Light Show: since 2023, about 1,000 drones draw pictures and words above the sea every Saturday night. Each show lasts about 12 minutes and is free. It runs twice a night: 20:00 and 22:00 from March to September, 19:00 and 21:00 from October to February.
• Busan Fireworks Festival: it grew out of a multimedia show on the water held for the 2005 APEC summit. Every autumn fireworks are launched with Gwangan Bridge as the backdrop, and the event draws more than 1 million spectators.
• Gwangalli Eobang Festival: a three-day local festival in spring. In 2001 it merged the Namcheon–Millak live fish festival, the Gwangalli beach festival and the Namcheon-dong cherry blossom festival. Eobang refers to the fishing communities of the old Suyeong area.
• Busan Sea Festival: a summer festival held since 1996, with concerts and events on Gwangalli and Busan's other beaches in early August.

Good to know

Gwangalli is nicknamed the "holy ground of e-sports". From 2004 a stage was set up on the sand every year for the StarCraft Proleague final, and tens of thousands of fans filled the beach. A car chase in the 2018 film Black Panther was also shot around Gwangalli. Close to the beach is the yachting centre that hosted the sailing events of the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Tripto tips

• Getting there: walk 10–15 minutes from Gwangan or Geumnyeonsan station on Busan Metro Line 2.
• Watching the drones: the show is visible from anywhere on the beach, but from the middle of the sand you can fit both the bridge and the drones into one frame. Shows may be cancelled or delayed because of weather or technical problems.
• Time needed: 2–3 hours is enough for a walk and a meal. If you want to see the drones, plan a Saturday evening.
• Watch out: on fireworks night the whole area is packed and roads are closed, so take public transport. Haeundae Beach is a few stops away on Line 2, so the two beaches fit easily into one day.