Busan nights come alive with film and candlelight this weekend

Busan city and the Busan Tourism Organization announced Wednesday that they will hold the "2026 Daehangminguk Bambam Festa Busan" at the Busan Cinema Center on Saturday and Sunday.

The event is part of a series of shared programs being staged in turn by 10 cities designated as nighttime tourism hubs through a competition run by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism — Busan, Tongyeong, Gangneung, Jeonju, Gongju, Daejeon, Incheon, Jinju, Seongju and Yeosu.

Busan's Busan Cinema Center was selected this year by the Korea Tourism Organization as a flagship nighttime tourism destination, and the city will use it to kick off the Daehangminguk Bambam Festa with a program blending film, performance and relaxation.

The festival runs alongside the 2026 Busan Travel Film Festival, which is being held to mark Busan's hosting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee session. In addition to film screenings, the film festival will feature performances celebrating World Cultural Heritage sites and a speaker talk show. Bambam Festa will also offer a Latin jazz concert paired with a screening of "Buena Vista Social Club."

Running under the slogan "A midsummer night's rest — fill up, empty out, linger … ," Bambam Festa Busan will present a range of programs including an outdoor urban library, a candlelight Busan concert and a convenience store pop-up. The outdoor urban library, stocked with more than 500 books, will offer a reading lounge and beanbag camping chairs where visitors can unwind on a summer night. Guests can also try transcribing their favorite film lines onto manuscript paper.

On Saturday, the opening ceremony of the Busan Travel Film Festival will be accompanied by a "Fever Candlelight Concert," where audiences can enjoy film soundtracks performed as classical pieces in an outdoor theater lit by LED candles. The evening will also feature a special cultural experience tied to the screening of the festival's opening film, "The Fall: Director's Cut," though outdoor events may be canceled if it rains.

The Bambam Convenience Store pop-up will serve Busan-style pork gukbap, ramyun and other noodle dishes, along with traditional Busan liquors and beer. A dedicated corner will let foreign tourists experience South Korea's delivery culture firsthand.