3,000 Drones Celebrate Korea’s Biggest Harvest Holiday Over Busan

A spectacular display of 3,000 drones and lasers illuminated the night sky above Gwangalli Beach in Busan, South Korea, on September 26, celebrating Chuseok, one of Korea’s most important traditional holidays.

Held under the theme “Moonlit Feast of Chuseok,” the special edition of the 2026 Gwangalli M Drone × Laser Show transformed the beachfront and the iconic Gwangandaegyo Bridge into a massive nighttime media stage.

Thousands of synchronized drones created large-scale images across the sky, while lasers, music and the architectural lighting of Gwangandaegyo Bridge added depth to the visual experience. With the beach, sea, bridge and sky working together as one canvas, the performance extended far beyond a conventional drone show.

Chuseok, often described as Korea’s harvest festival, is a major national holiday when families traditionally gather to honor their ancestors, share seasonal food and celebrate the autumn harvest. The full moon is one of the most recognizable symbols of the holiday, making the “Moonlit Feast of Chuseok” theme particularly fitting for the waterfront performance.

The Gwangalli M Drone Light Show is a regular nighttime attraction held every Saturday at Gwangalli Beach. Standard performances feature around 1,100 drones, while major special events can expand to as many as 3,000 drones. The show marked its fifth anniversary in 2026.

From March through September, performances are generally held at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturdays, while the schedule moves to 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. from October through February. Each performance lasts approximately 12 minutes and can be viewed free of charge from Gwangalli Beach.

The Busan show is also notable for the way it uses an existing urban landmark and public space as part of the media experience. Rather than relying on a conventional fixed screen, it turns the night sky into a vast digital canvas and integrates drones, lasers, music and bridge lighting into a single visual production.

The result demonstrates how digital technology, public space and cultural storytelling can come together to create a new form of urban media experience. With thousands of drones visible across a wide section of the waterfront, Gwangalli Beach itself becomes a large-scale public media platform.

For the OOH and DOOH industry, the Gwangalli performance also offers an interesting example of how urban landmarks and emerging display technologies can move beyond traditional media formats. The combination of technology, cultural content and place-based experience shows how a city’s physical environment can become part of the storytelling itself.