South Korea’s Most Anticipated “2024 Countdown Show” Completely Flops

Like the US’s iconic Times Square Ball Drop in New York to ring in the New Year, South Korea’s Busan had big plans for the 2024 countdown.

Times Square, New York, on New Year’s Eve. | Countdown Entertainment LLC

When the rehearsal for the performance went viral (with 4M+ views), capturing a drone dragon soaring over the sea in celebration of the “Year of the Dragon,” Koreans in Busan and all around the nation became excited to see the actual show.

2024년 갑진년 청룡의 해

광안리 드론쇼 새해 카운트다운 리허설 pic.twitter.com/82DdBK8b4H

— 짤 주워오는 펭귄 (@jjal_penguin) December 30, 2023

For 2024, Year of the Blue Dragon. Rehearsing the New Year’s Countdown Drone Show at Gwangalli Beach.

— @jjal_penguin/Twitter

Unfortunately, as highly anticipated as it was, the countdown show became a complete flop—only 30 seconds before January 1, 2024.

Koreans waiting for the drone show at Gwangalli Beach. | Busan Economy

Busan Economy reported that the drone show did not take place at midnight due to a “network error.” And while it was first announced to be postponed half an hour, it eventually became officially canceled.

Most believe that, due to the size of the crowd that turned out, a network congestion or overload had occurred in the area—and that the drones became inoperable without proper internet connection.

Koreans leaving the beach after the show got canceled. | Busan Economy

Disappointment poured from those who went out to the beachside amid the freezing cold in hopes of watching the show. In fact, Busan has since faced massive backlash for the lack of preparation.

| theqoo

• “It’s Busan’s fault for not preparing well enough. There was no countdown. The drone show did not start at midnight on the dot. There was no announcement about what was happening. And after a long wait, someone announced that it was being postponed. It got canceled after all, though. People waited over half an hour at the beach, not knowing what was happening. It was obvious that there were no backup plans for in case the drone show confronted issues. TBH, I feel like those who were in charge of putting this show together should be held responsible for the unsuccessful night.”
• “WTF… Events at this scale should ALWAYS have additional network transmitters set up. How did Busan not think about the internet connection while putting together a drone show?!”
• “It was first postponed. So we missed counting down. And then it got canceled. There was so much traffic. A LOT of people showed up, but Busan didn’t have a single backup plan. I’m at a loss of words.”
• “I JUST got home from this. Haha. I even dragged my mom and dad to see it with me, too… I’m relieved that they aren’t upset about what happened. I don’t understand why Busan didn’t prepare better. Also… No one was managing the traffic flow. There wasn’t a single loud speaker being used. People were literally just yelling around.”
• “WTF…”
• “I had to walk back to my hotel in Haeundae because there were no cabs in the area, and the buses were full. They wouldn’t let me get on. It was so stupid.”

The dragon is now set to re-attempt taking off at 7PM KST, though the technical hiccup has somewhat tanked the interest.