Busan Brand Festa 2026 opens Friday at Bexco

Busan city is hosting the 2026 Busan Brand Festa at Bexco Exhibition Hall 1 from Friday through Sunday. Now in its eighth edition, the Busan Brand Festa is the city's flagship consumer festival, designed to open new sales channels for local businesses and inject vitality into the local economy through boosted consumer spending.

During the event, a joint public-private regional product procurement consultation fair, organized in partnership with the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency, will offer local businesses direct business opportunities. Supporting organizations committed to environmental, social and governance management — including the Korea Securities Depository, Korea Asset Management Corp., Korea Housing Finance Corp., Korea Technology Finance Corp., BNK Busan Bank and Korea Environment Corp. — are also backing the effort to support local businesses.

Mayor Jeon Jae-soo is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony at 2 p.m. Friday to encourage local small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners. This year's Busan Brand Festa, held as part of the city's "100-Day Emergency Measures for Busan Livelihoods," will feature a record 187 local companies — the largest in the event's history — showcasing their products and technologies.

New sections making their debut this year include a Busan heritage enterprise pavilion, a direct-sale seafood market, a bakery road and a green products zone. Returning sections include pavilions dedicated to Busan social economy enterprises, the Dongbaek Sanghoe cooperative, star small business owners, Busan tourism companies and Busan premium furniture.

A host of local brands expected to draw MZ generation visitors and tourists will also take part — among them Young Coffee, a leading Busan coffee brand; Busan Dang and La Feuille, staples on the city's bakery pilgrimage circuit; Luft Mansion, a lifestyle concept store in Haeridan-gil; and Arp, a vegan restaurant selected by the Michelin Guide.

BNK Fear X, South Korea's first regionally rooted esports team, will participate and meet fans, while camping gear brand Tevler will set up a camping zone on the exhibition floor for a distinctive experience.

A joint public-private regional product procurement consultation fair will also be held for companies struggling with product promotion and sales. This year, in partnership with the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency, the fair will include a retail platform MD consultation session for small business owners, a small and medium-sized enterprise marketing and procurement consultation, and a maintenance, repair and operations procurement consultation.

"This will be a meaningful occasion to confirm the growth potential of local businesses and create new energy for the Busan economy," Mayor Jeon said.