Busan selects 5 companies as '2026 Busan Tourism Star Enterprises'

The Busan city government and Busan Tourism Organization announced Thursday that the Busan Tourism Business Support Center has selected five companies as the "2026 Busan Tourism Star Enterprises," a designation aimed at leading the future of the city's tourism industry and expanding its global reach.

A total of 17 regional tourism companies applied for the program, producing a competition ratio of 3.4 to 1. The five selected firms are Nanugiworld Co., Neulpureunbada Co., Deliverd Korea Co., FGK Co. and S.O.K Management.

Nanugiworld is an education tourism company that draws students from Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand and other Asian countries to Busan through its regional education network. Built around a "learn, experience and return" model of extended-stay education tourism, the company has attracted more than 6,000 foreign students to date.

Neulpureunbada is a local company behind "Goraesa Eomuk," one of Busan's signature fish cake brands. The firm runs stores and experience centers along an "Eomuk Road" connecting major tourist hubs — including its flagship Bujeon branch, Haeundae and Jagalchi — and is expanding Busan fish cake into a leading tourism product sought out by visitors.

Deliverd Korea is a tourism-tech company that provides purchasing, delivery agency and reverse cross-border commerce services for K-brand products to consumers in 220 countries. The company connects foreign tourists who discover K-fashion, K-beauty and K-food during their time in Korea with those same products after they return home, turning one-time tourist purchases into repeat buying.

FGK Co., the operator of Lee Jae-mo Pizza, is a homegrown food and beverage brand that has built a reputation as a must-visit dining destination in Busan, centered on the Gwangbokdong, Seomyeon and Busan Station areas. It is widely cited as a prime example of turning a meal in Busan into a travel draw in its own right.

S.O.K Management is a MICE specialist that designs event production content and community-based local festivals in-house. The company handles planning, video production, marketing, international protocol and safety management on a one-stop basis, and is developing Busan-style local content on the strength of a proven track record that includes the Chinatown Festival and a night pop-up event at Yongdusan Park.

The selected companies will receive marketing support through the city and the tourism organization's promotional channels, content production assistance and access to open innovation events. In the first year of designation, each company will receive 20 million won ($13,000) in commercialization funding to support corporate initiatives covering product enhancement, digital transformation, marketing and overseas expansion.

Through the "Busan City Excellent Enterprise Certification Linkage System" introduced this year, the designated firms will also receive practical management incentives over three years following their selection, including toll discounts on Gwangan Bridge and preferential access to policy funds for small and medium-sized enterprises.