2021 Summer Beach Opening Dates in Busan with Guidance for Beaches during COVID-19.
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The seven public beaches* in Busan will be officially opened to the public on July 1, 2021 for the summer season until August 31, 2021.
Haeundae and Songjeong beaches partially opened on June 1, 2021. The swimming areas will be designated on 300 meter and 150 meter areas around tourist information centers stationed with safety guards.
*Haeundae, Songjeong, Songdo, Gwangalli, Dadaepo, Ilgwang and Imnang Beaches
2021 Summer Season Public Openings of Busan Beaches
2021 Summer Season Public Openings of Busan Beaches Beach, Opening Period, Opening Hours Beach Opening Period Opening Hours Songdo Jul. 1 – Aug. 31 (62 days) 09:00∼18:00 Haeundae - Partially open: 6.1.~6.30.
(300m in front of tourist information center)
- Officially Open: 7.1.∼8.31.
* suspend night swimming
09:00∼18:00 (In June)
- Lifeguard stations
- Beach parasols restricted
Songjeong - Partially Open: 6.1.~6.30. (150m in front of the beach information center)
- Officially Open: 7.1.∼8.31.Dadaepo Jul. 1 – Aug. 31 (62 days) 09:00∼18:00 Gwangalli Jul. 1 – Aug. 31 (62 days) 09:00∼18:00 Ilgwang Jul. 1 – Aug. 31 (62 days) 09:00∼18:00 Imnang Jul. 1 – Aug. 31 (62 days) 09:00∼18:00
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) announced safety measures for the 2021 Summer Beach Season on its website https://www.mof.go.kr/en/board.do?menuIdx=1491&bbsIdx=31845
【Expand the Scope of Contact-less Smart Protection】
❶ Operation of Safety Call
❷ Introduction of Body Temperature Stickers
❸ Adoption of Safety Wristband and Management History of Facility Use
【Crowd Spacing】
❶ Expanded Introduction of Traffic Light Congestion Service
❷ Expansion of Pre-reservation
❸ Enhanced Operation of Allocation System on Site
❹ Constant Promotion of Secluded Beaches
Administrative Order Limiting Gatherings at Seven Beaches in Busan
The administration order includes prohibiting private gatherings of 5 or more persons from July 1 to August 31, night drinking and eating, and mandatory mask wearing on the seven beaches, nearby parks and beach roads 24-hours a day.
According to the social distancing level in the Busan area, the adjustment of the order can be considered.
○ Response System for opening/closing beaches in Busan determined by social distancing level
Levels 1 & 2: Beaches only open to the public if management of quarantine measures (including 2-meter distance on beaches, visitor logs, disinfection management) are manageable. Otherwise recommended to close beaches.
Level 3: Beaches remain open to the public only if management of quarantine measures (including 2-meter distance on beaches, visitor logs, visitor temperature checks disinfection management) are manageable. Otherwise beaches will be closed.
Level 4: Closure of Beaches
○ Establishment of Response System when people develop COVID-19 symptoms
- When people with COVID-19 symptoms or suspected cases occur, move them to an isolated place designated at each beach and report it to the community health center or Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.
- In case of a confirmed COVID-19 case, an announcement will be made at the beach, temporarily close down and disinfect facilities at the beach and conduct an epidemiological investigation
- Beaches can reopen after the results of an epidemiological investigation and facility disinfection
*Beaches may close due to inclement weather.
- MOF Announce Safety Measures for 2021 Summer Beach Season -
Source: https://www.mof.go.kr/en/board.do?menuIdx=1491&bbsIdx=31845
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (Minister MOON, Seong-Hyeok) has announced the establishment of quarantine measures to prevent the further spread of the COVID-19 virus before the earnest opening of summer beaches takes place, as well as the implementation of measures after a meeting regarding COVID-19 on June 2 (Wednesday) at the Central Disaster and Safety Headquarters.
As the summer season is just around the corner, 267 beaches are set to open to the public sequentially from July, starting with the partial opening in June of Haeundae and Songjeong beaches in Busan. Compared to last year, this year, summer beaches are likely to be packed with more visitors who wish to relax and find peace of mind, as vaccinations have accelerated in the midst of rising concerns over cluster infections of COVID-19 and the spread of mutant strains.
Learning from last year, MOF has prepared safety measures for this year’s summer beach season to minimize inconveniences to visitors and provide more thorough quarantine measures to contain the further spread of the COVID-19 virus as a result of holding discussions with local governments, the National Police Agency, Korean Coast Guard Agency and National Fire Agency.
【Expand the Scope of Contact-less Smart Protection】
For starters, MOF plans to implement quarantine measures in a convenient manner, via the introduction of safety call check-ins, body temperature stickers, QR code scans, etc., to minimize the inconvenience of visitors as well as promote the active participation of complying with the measures.
❶ Operation of Safety Call Check-ins
Given the nature of the summer beach season, where entry control is hard to manage, individual cooperation of visitors is vital to make a visitation list. Last year, manual written lists and the certification of QR codes led to concerns over the possible spread of the virus, the leakage of personal information, technical difficulties with QR code management and delays in entry.
Therefore, this year, MOF plans to provide a ‘Safety Call Check-in’ service at beaches across the nation, where visitors are allowed to easily dial designated numbers assigned to each beach without experiencing any of the inconveniences from last year or worry about infections.
❷ Introduction of Body Temperature Stickers
In addition, MOF plans to introduce a ‘Body Temperature Sticker’ which color differs depending on the temperature of an individual’s body. The sticker is expected to supplement the problems from last year, which caused much delay in waiting lines as every visitor had to wait in a long line to check his/her body temperature to enter the beach. In particular, the sticker will be actively used in beaches with a large number of visitors as well as during weekends and peak season to easily and quickly check whether visitors have a fever or not.
The newly-introduced sticker is a simpler version of a thermometer that changes to a different color once attached to a body part, such as back, hand or wrist. It automatically changes color in real time if the temperature is above 37.5℃, and continues to track the temperature for 24 to 48 hours.
Once the color of the sticker changes due to symptoms associated with a fever, the particular visitor will be immediately notified to go to a temporary waiting station or management office followed by a series of mandatory measures, including reporting to a local medical center and undergoing self-isolation.
❸ Adoption of Safety Wristband and Management of Facility Use History
In the case of less-crowded beaches, visitors will be initially asked to check their body temperature. Then they will be asked to wear a wristband during their stay at the beach to show their body temperature has been checked, allowing them to access multi-use complexes and facilities, such as restaurants. Moreover, every time they visit one of these facilities, including rental service center, management office, or shower room, the history of their visit and use shall be tracked via QR codes and payment system.
【Crowd Spacing】
Second of all, MOF will expand the operational scope of traffic light congestion, pre-booking systems, and the promotion of secluded beaches which were used to effectively prevent concentration of visitors last year.
❶ Expanded Introduction of Traffic Light Congestion Service
The traffic light service utilized big-data technology of information to communicate indicators of congestion levels in green (100% or less), yellow (100%~200% or less), red (200% or more) respectively, in comparison to the appropriate number of people. Last year, the service was only conducted at 50 summer beaches, yet this year the ministry plans to proceed with the service at every beach across the nation, providing information on congestion to the public so that they can arrange their visitation schedule more conveniently.
The traffic light congestion service can be found at portal sites such as NAVER, KAKAO or at BADA Travel (www.seantour.kr).❷ Expansion of Pre-reservation
In conjunction with last year’s pre-booking systems which mostly satisfied visitors, MOF plans to expand the scope of its pre-booking systems at 50 different summer beaches, including 13 in Jeollanam-do, those in Gangwon, Incheon, Gyeongnam, and Gyeongbuk.*According to a 2020 visitor survey, positive responses to conducting the pre-booking system in terms of preventing of COVID-19 reached 80.3%, and the continuation of the systems was reported at 86.2%.
In addition, pre-booking was made possible via portal sites such as NAVER and BADA Travel last year, but to address the problems of poor access to BADA Travel, this year pre-booking is only available via a unified platform on NAVER starting from July 1, allowing the public to have better access to the system.
❸ Enhancement of Operation of Allocation System on Site
Except for the pre-booking at summer beaches, in the case of the other beaches, such as the ones near cities or larger beaches, there will be parasols assigned every 2m distance to prevent possible density issues and help visitors follow safety measures during their stay.
❹ Constant Promotion of Secluded Beaches
Moreover, given the effect to prevent concentration of travelers through the designation of 23 beaches as ‘Secluded Beaches’ last year, where only a few people visited with less density issues and possibility of contact, higher convenience and stunning views, MOF plans to designate an additional 50 beaches as ‘Secluded Beaches’, allowing visitors to safely relax at less-crowded summer beaches.
*The number of beach visitors more than doubled in 2020, compared to the year before, thanks to the promotion of ‘secluded beaches’.
MOF and relevant agencies will actively encourage visitors to comply with quarantine measures at beaches, introduce measures at train stations, highway rest stops and via portal sites to help visitors fully enjoy the summer beaches, as well as continue to guide visitors on site to thoroughly follow the measures by utilizing necessary tools such as drones.
Particularly, incentives will be given to encourage visitors to spend their vacation at pre-booking or secluded beaches rather than crowded beaches such as Haeundae and Gwangalli by providing discounts on their trips to neighboring fishing communities, etc.
