A festival of world cultures will open this Saturday in the port city of Busan.

Spokesmen for the city and the Busan Foundation for International Activities say the Global Gathering festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at Cinepark, next to Haeundae Beach.

The event, in its fourth year, is held to promote the understanding of different cultures.

The number of participants has jumped this year, with 55 groups from 24 countries set to attend. Asian countries have been the most frequent attendees to the festival, but this year's lineup includes the United States, France, Romania, Belarus and Germany.