Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam's First International Marathon to Run Across Three Sea Bridges

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Marathon events held in global cities like Boston, London, Sydney, and Tokyo attract participants from all around the world, making them lucrative cash cows for their local economies. Against this backdrop, the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region's first internationally certified marathon running across three bridges over the sea is set to take place this coming December.

Cho Jin-wook from KNN has the report.

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This is Gwangandaegyo Bridge, a symbol of Busan.

Busanhangdaegyo Bridge and Namhangdaegyo Bridge connect along this route.

With dense containers, the sea, and cruise ships visible right beside it, every scenery is packed with the charm of Busan.

A marathon where runners can race across three sea-adjacent bridges in Busan will be held at the end of this year.

As the first internationally certified competition in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region, domestic and international elite marathoners will participate first.

[Lee Bong-ju / Marathoner: It is a race that just anyone cannot do or run. I hope many athletes will come, enjoy Busan, achieve great records, and produce many outstanding athletes.]

Starting from BEXCO, the 42.195 km course passes through Gwangandaegyo Bridge, Busanhangdaegyo Bridge, and Namhangdaegyo Bridge, turns around at Chungmudong Intersection, and heads back.

Amateur marathoners numbering 12,000, including 5,000 full-course runners and 7,000 10km runners, will also participate.

[Kim Sung-joo / President of the Busan Association of Athletics Federations: We will actively support this event so that it can establish itself as a festival enjoyed together not only by professional athletes, but also by citizens and runners.]

The event date is this coming December 6. As it is the only internationally certified marathon that runs across three sea bridges, it is analyzed as an opportunity to promote Busan's unique charm to the world.

In line with the increasing trend of foreign tourists, the city of Busan also plans to develop it into a global tourism product symbolizing a warm winter.

[Nam Jung-eun / Director of Sports Bureau, Busan Metropolitan City: Our goal is to foster an event where people can run, stay, and enjoy themselves in Busan. We aim to cultivate it into a competition that is both internationally certified and widely known overseas....]

The problem is traffic congestion.

With major transportation networks in Busan, including Busanhangdaegyo Bridge, scheduled to be sequentially controlled for half a day starting early in the weekend morning, a traffic mess seems inevitable.

Amid concerns that citizens will have to bear the inconvenience, attention is focused on whether it can become another representative content symbolizing Busan.

(Video by Hwang Tae-chul, Design by Lee Sun-yeon)

Cho Jin-wook, KNN
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.