Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Busan Mobility Show pivots to land, sea, air
A promotional poster for the 2026 Busan International Motor Show / Courtesy of Busan Metropolitan City
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Signaling a major shift in how the global automotive industry interfaces with the public, municipal planners in Busan are turning the southern port city into an open-air testing ground for next-generation transport.
Under the banner "Moving Tomorrow," the 2026 Busan Mobility Show will open next week, stretching far beyond the traditional convention hall to embed historic auto exhibits, robotics expos and experiential test drives directly into the city's prominent cultural and tourist corridors.
The Busan metropolitan city said Wednesday that the 2026 Busan Mobility Show (BIMOS 2026) will open its doors at the BEXCO convention center from June 26 through July 5. Marking its 25th anniversary under the forward-looking banner "Moving Tomorrow," the biennial event is pivoting away from the traditional showroom spectacles. Instead, it will serve as a vast multidisciplinary festival bridging land, sea and aerospace technology.
The expanded footprint of this year's show signals an aggressive push to integrate industrial transformation with urban culture. Beyond the core exhibition halls, downtown satellites like the Gunam-ro cultural strip in Haeundae and the Domoheon state villa will anchor auxiliary displays. These historical offshoots will juxtapose Korea’s earliest domestic automobiles against contemporary leisure recreational vehicles and precision-tuned concept cars, effectively tracing the nation’s rapid industrial ascent.
For the global automotive sector, the gathering remains an invaluable Asian beachhead. Alongside dominant domestic pillars Hyundai Motor, Kia and Genesis, the exhibition floor will feature a heavy European presence from BMW and Mini. Crucially, the 2026 iteration marks the highly anticipated local debuts of Chinese electric vehicle titan BYD, British rugged off-roader brand Ineos Grenadier, and American truck specialist RAM — underscoring Korea’s strategic importance in the evolving global electric vehicle and specialty vehicle supply chain.
The festival's real intrigue, however, lies in its parallel programming. The first week will cater to the latest domestic leisure trends and outdoor lifestyle demographic with the Korea Camping Car Show. The second week pivots sharply toward deep-tech integration, running concurrently with specialized automation, robotics and big tech exhibitions. It is a tangible reflection of an automotive sector increasingly anchored in digital intelligence.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.