BUSAN < invest Korea

According to Yonhap News,

(BUSAN=Yonhap News) The "Haeundae Polar Bear Festival," which allows an enjoyable experience of Busan's winter sea, has begun at the Haeundae Beach on January 5, 2019.

This year marks the 32nd Haeundae Polar Bear Festival, which first began in 1988 as a commemoreation event of the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Since then, it has become the representative winter festival in Korea. The British BBC selected it as a unique winter sports event to challenge in 2011.

The festival's name changed from "Haeundae Polar Bear Swimming Festival" to "Haeundae Polar Bear Festival" starting this year, to mark the all-encompassing nature of the upgraded event.

The events on the first day of the festival starting from 1 pm include a chorus, a magic show, hip-hop and busking performances.

On the second day, the festival's highlight, the Polar Bear Swimming Contest begins with the opening ceremony at 11:25 am.

At noon sharp and with a signal, about 4,000 participants including 200 foreigners will jump into the cold waters in swimsuits to show off their good health.

Some large polar bear representations were displayed at the Haeundae beach, along with a variety of other events such as the saving polar bear campaign (Greenpeace promotional booth), a hot air balloon experience and an ice bucket challenge.

ccho@yna.co.kr

Copyrights Yonhap News. All Rights Reserved.
Reprint or redistribution without permission is prohibited.

Source Text

** This article was translated from Korean.

Source: Yonhap News (January 5, 2019)