When Busan does fireworks they seriously go big! For those of you who haven’t seen my vlog covering our trip to the event you can check it out below.

This was Busan’s 11th year hosting one of the biggest fireworks festivals in Asia. The theme seemed to be along the lines of “Love”. For months leading up to the event everyone said it was a must see but informed us that the beach and the streets surrounding the beach would be absolutely packed. So we chose to hike up to one of the surrounding mountains to get a better view.

It turned out to be a pretty good idea. We were able to find a nice spot on a hill that wasn’t too crowded with a great view of the bridge and the water. Unfortunately we could just barely hear the music that the fireworks were timed to but the show itself was interesting enough. We munched down on our lunches and drinks and spent some time hanging out waiting for it to get dark.

They start preview music and fireworks about an hour before the show started. With updates at the half hour and 15 minute before mark. There was an opening introduction for about 5 minutes then a 10 minute break before the real show started. The entire show lasted about 45 minutes with straight fireworks the entire time.

Unique fireworks included: Faces, Cheshire cat looking faces, smilies, the spelling of L-O-V-E and hearts. This was my first time photographing fireworks with my camera so I didn’t get the best shots but I had fun none the less. Overall it was a great time, my husband and I both really enjoyed the show.

Tips: If you’re planning on visiting I would recommend getting a view from the mountains. The beach allows you to get the full experience but you may have to really fight to see if you don’t get there early enough. In Korea lines and personal space are not always respected so the more people, the more chance you won’t end up having a good time. The spot we chose had a lot of people but wasn’t anywhere near as crowded as some of the other people I know had to deal with. No one stepped in front of us, we were able to have a completely unobstructed view and everyone was respectful. If you do not have your own vehicle keep in mind the subway will be PACKED, so do leave a little extra time then you normally would. They do run additional cars though so if one is too crowded don’t worry about waiting for the next one because there seemed to be one every 3 minutes (rather then the normal every 7).

Here’s a couple more shots: