On my last day in Busan, I had very little free time, so I decided not to go far from the city centre and chose a sight that wouldn’t take long to explore. That place turned out to be the Busan International Film Festival Square. As it turned out, it’s not really a square at all, but a small pedestrian zone. I walked through it and took a few photos.
A walk through the square
It’s easy to guess that the place got its name from the Busan International Film Festival, which has been held since 1996. The most recent edition took place just recently — the opening of the 2025 festival was on 17 September, featuring the South Korean film “The Method of Exclusion”. The festival has long become one of the most popular in Asia: in 2019, for example, 299 films from 85 countries participated.
The pedestrian zone was arranged for the opening of the first festival. The place is also known as BIFF Square (Busan International Film Festival). Guidebooks say that the pedestrian zone is divided into two parts — the “festival street” and the “star street”, and they also mention the presence of a “Star Alley”. However, I didn’t see this object during my visit — most likely because my short route covered only the northern part of the pedestrian zone.
Along the stretch I walked, you can find references to cinema, but I would call BIFF Square one of Busan’s gastronomic attractions: the entire area is lined with countless street-food stalls, restaurants, cafés and coffee shops. The street-food area deserves special mention — here you can try a variety of local dishes. Most likely, payment is accepted in cash only.
I only had a bank card with me, so I decided to eat at a local restaurant, Yoogasomsee. A large chicken-and-cheese dish for two cost 13,900 won.
How to get there
I travelled here from the Sondo Marine Cable Car on bus No. 30. The bus stop is just a few minutes’ walk from the square. As I mentioned above, I walked only along the northern part of the street. The full length of the pedestrian zone is 428 meters. I assume it begins closer to the bay, so if you have enough time, you can walk it from start to finish.
A few minutes’ walk from the square is Jagalchi Station, and a little further — Nampo Station.
This article completes my two-day Busan travel series. My next piece about South Korea will be dedicated to Seoul Forest — a large park in the country’s capital.
Happy travels!
