In the first half of 2012, the band Busker Busker released an album that included a track called "Yeosu Night Sea." Even though it wasn't the title track, the song became widely loved, reaching No. 15 on Melon's annual chart and No. 17 on the Gaon annual digital chart for the year. After the song was released on March 29, 2012, the number of tourists visiting Yeosu began climbing noticeably. That year, Yeosu recorded 15 million visitors — more than double its previous average of about 7 million visitors per year. Of course, the Yeosu World Expo held that same year, and the opening of the KTX high-speed rail line on the Jeolla line, also played a role. But many credit this one song with the lasting power to give Yeosu a romantic, emotionally resonant image and keep visitors coming back consistently.
An anecdote illustrates just how big the song's impact was. Yeosu's mayor personally visited Busker Busker's studio to ask the band to serve as tourism ambassadors for the city. The band politely declined — but instead traveled to Yeosu and performed as street buskers there. As tourists flooded in on the strength of the song's popularity, some restaurants even put up signs reading, "If Jang Beom-june [the singer] visits, every table is free that day." The band turned down the official ambassador role, but the promotional effect the song itself delivered ended up outdoing any formal campaign.