BusanNov 8, 2026
Inside Busan’s International Student Boom: Degrees, Language and Work
Busan’s international student population has surged to 24,328. Data on housing, language, wages and graduate jobs reveal what enrollment totals leave out.
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Busan
Busan news, in-depth reporting, and editorial insights covering the city’s politics, economy, development, institutions, and social change.
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Coverage of Busan's politics, economy, civic institutions, and urban change, with local developments placed in their wider context.
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The Shipping Networks Behind Busan Port’s Global Reach
ONE invested in a Busan terminal as CMA CGM launched a Japan–Europe route without Busan. Their decisions reveal the economics of transshipment, direct services and Arctic trade.
Busan’s Smart Senior Centers and the Social Geography of Aging
Busan’s smart senior center plan meets an uneven city: older residents’ access to learning, work and community depends on more than devices or distance.
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Where Busan’s Patients Go—and What Its Hospitals Can Provide
Busan is expanding university hospital capacity as cancer patients travel for specialist care. Our analysis follows treatment routes, funding and health outcomes.
Where Busan’s New Density Meets the Old City
Busan’s Beomil and Munhyeon districts are gaining homes and financial offices while North Port plans evolve. The public return depends on what reaches existing streets: accessible crossings, working infrastructure, viable local businesses and spaces people can actually use.
The Long Bill for Busan’s Apartment City
Busan has about 958,000 apartments even as its population declines. Elevators, pumps and other shared systems will need renewal. Long-term repair funds, owners’ finances and reconstruction economics will shape the cost of keeping these homes usable.
Busan’s Twelve-Year School Account Faces a Test Beyond Access
Busan’s PENZ promises one school account for 12 years, while BeAT brings AI tutoring into classrooms. Lasting value depends on students keeping their work, questioning AI answers and learning to solve problems independently.
Busan Port’s LNG and Methanol Plan: Who Pays to Keep Fuel Ready?
Busan already supplies ships with LNG and methanol, drawing on regional and international fuel networks. A terminal planned for 2032 could bring fuel closer to the berths—but will customers pay enough to justify the added capacity?
What Is Still Worth Going to See?
Busan’s biennale faces questions of artistic judgment and institutional care. A BIFF project-market selection returns as a finished film, while the city’s new concert hall draws crowds. What endures beyond the event itself?
What Became of Busan’s University Streets?
From 2015 to 2023, registered businesses grew near Pusan National University Station as new business starts fell. In Hadan, vacancy rates varied sharply between survey districts. Busan’s new investments meet university streets with different commercial histories.
Bukangi, the Shark That Stayed in Busan’s North Port
A rescue net guided Bukangi toward the sea, but the dusky shark returned to Busan’s North Port canal. Her familiar appearances offered no clear answer to why she stayed—or whether another rescue would help.
Busan’s Water System Is Entering a Harder Era of Renewal
Busan spent decades building a water system that can absorb major failures. Now it must renew aging transmission mains and rebuild four water treatment plants without losing the reliability that investment created.
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