Visiting Hometowns by Wheelchair: Busan City to Support Chuseok “Duribal Hometown Visit” Program

Severely mobility-impaired individuals who have difficulty traveling long distances due to their reliance on wheelchairs will be able to visit their families during Chuseok this year using the “Duribal” service.

The city of Busan (Mayor Jeon Jaesoo) announced on September 6, 2026 that it will implement the “Duribal Hometown Visit Support Program” during the Chuseok holiday, to help severely mobility-impaired individuals visit their hometowns if they find it difficult to travel long distances via public transportation.

This program was established to give people with disabilities—who cannot easily use standard public transportation due to their use of wheelchairs—the opportunity to visit their hometowns and families during the holiday period.

Duribal is a special transportation service equipped with a ramp and lift for wheelchair boarding. It is an essential means of transportation for severely mobility-impaired individuals and is operated with funding support from the lottery fund.

Through this support during Chuseok, Busan City will select a total of 20 users to assist with their hometown visits. The program will support five people per day, and will operate for four days from September 24 to 27.

Applications are accepted by phone through the Duribal call center from September 8 to 17 for a total of 10 days. The eligible applicants are severely mobility-impaired individuals who use wheelchairs, are registered as Duribal users, and wish to visit their hometowns during Chuseok.

If there are more applicants than available spots, final selections will be made after considering the necessity for long-distance travel and the degree of difficulty in using public transportation.

Destinations for the service, excluding the Busan metropolitan area, include Gyeongnam, Ulsan, and Gyeongju and Cheongdo in Gyeongbuk Province. Areas within Busan are excluded from this support program, as day-of allocation is possible for these regions.

Users can apply for either round-trip or one-way service during the eligible period, depending on their arrival and return schedules. If the user makes a same-day round trip, they can stay in their hometown for up to two hours, with the same vehicle waiting to provide the return trip.

The transportation service is free of charge; however, users are responsible for paying any expressway tolls incurred during the trip.

Hwang Hyuncheol, Director of the Transportation Innovation Bureau at Busan City, stated, “We will continue to support wheelchair users with limited mobility so that they can visit their hometowns during the holiday. We will also work towards expanding the number of Duribal vehicles to further guarantee transportation rights for vulnerable groups.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.