BUSAN — Busan, home to the world's only United Nations Memorial Cemetery, will host a large-scale peace festival aimed at sharing the values of peace and solidarity with a global audience.
The city said it will hold the 2026 UN Weeks in Busan from the 23rd through Nov. 11 at venues across the city, under the slogan "From Remembrance to Participation: Building Peace Together in Busan."
Now in its seventh year, UN Weeks in Busan is a flagship peace-themed program held around United Nations Day on Oct. 24 to honor the sacrifice of U.N. veterans and spread a message of global peace. This year's edition features seven programs, beginning with the July launch of UNs, a diplomatic supporters' group made up of young Koreans and foreign residents in the region.
The 81st anniversary ceremony for United Nations Day will open the event at 11 a.m. on the 23rd at the U.N. Memorial Cemetery. Mayor Jeon Jae-soo will attend along with diplomatic delegations from the 10 countries whose war dead are interred there, heads of foreign missions based in Busan, veterans' organizations and military personnel, who will pay tribute to the fallen and express their gratitude. A side event at the cemetery running through Oct. 30 will display the flags and national flowers of the participating nations under the theme "Peace Blossomed by 22 Nations."
This year's edition expands participatory and hands-on digital content to make the history of peace more accessible to residents. "Connecting Peace — ONE PEACE," a mobile mission-based escape-room program, will broaden its footprint from the U.N. Memorial Cemetery to Busan Citizens Park, the former site of the U.S. military's Camp Hialeah, linking the two landmarks into a single peace itinerary. Participants will complete missions on their smartphones to learn about the history of peace and can visit photo zones and pop-up exhibitions.
The World Peace Forum will be held on Nov. 2 under the theme "Peace Diplomacy Connecting the World Through K-Culture." A keynote speech by the chairman of the Kim Koo Foundation, an international organizations roundtable and topical presentations will address strategies for peace diplomacy using Korean culture. The forum will also examine Busan's international role and future partnerships as a global maritime city and the host of the 2028 U.N. Ocean Conference.
"Busan is a city that holds the history of a peace secured through the sacrifice of U.N. veterans and the solidarity of the international community," the mayor said. "I hope this year's UN Weeks in Busan gives residents a chance to experience the value of peace firsthand."