South Korea trip (Part 2 - Busan)

18 - 21 Dec'22

This is the second part of our trip in South Korea during the December holiday. Busan is a port city located in the south-east of South Korea (Korean peninsula). Being South Korea's second largest city, it is highly developed and has played host to important sporting events such as the Asian Games and World Cup. We were at Busan for around 3 days, which I have to admit is not enough to explore Busan entirely.

Using the KTX, we arrived at Busan station at around 3pm. Our hotel was located right next to Busan station. We quickly settled into our room and made our way out again to explore Busan. In addition, we were already quite hungry as we had an early lunch in Seoul. To be honest, we didn't plan our trip to the detail and left it to our curiosity and wonderlust to explore the city. Thus, we walked along the main road for a good 30 to 40 minutes in search of suitable food.

It wasn't helped by the fact that we were at an office district and most eateries were closed. In the end, we settled for a simple restaurant which served Korean sausage. We were surprised when our Korean sausage arrived as it was not what we had expected. It was actually pig intestines. We had no choice but to consume it as the food had been ordered and we were hungry. We found out later that the dish was actually a local delicacy called sundae. This event marked the tone on how exciting the rest of our time in Busan would be in venturing into the unknown. We spent the rest of our first day at the Nampodong and Jungang area. We visited the Jagalchi fish market, Lotte Dept Store and the popular BIFF (Busan International Film Festival) square. The Diamond Tower (formerly Busan Tower) could be seen from Nampodong as well. After a long night, we returned to our hotel and not long after that, it was the World Cup finals!. Go Argentina!

We visited the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple the next morning. It is a coastal temple which faces the ocean, providing picturesque views for tourists. After that, we made our way to Haeundae Beach. It is a clean and modern beach which attracts many visitors. It reminds me of modern beaches similar to those in Miami and Hawaii. With the cool breeze blowing gently towards us, it was indeed a relaxing afternoon. We walked along the beach until the end and made our way to the 4.8km Busan Green Railway trail. As it was already quite late, we decided to return here the next day. The rest of our time was spent at Haeundae district and Shinsegae Centum City.

On Tuesday, we visited the famed Gamcheon Culture Village. It is known for its layered streets, twisted alleys and brightly-coloured houses. Our journey there was an experience in itself as we had to do a mini-hike along the alleys of houses which are built on hills. We got a beautiful and panaromic view of Busan city in the process. We arrived at Gamcheon Culture Village after around 30 to 40 minutes of walking cum hiking. There were many tourists, together with souvenir shops and cafes. In the afternoon, we visited Busan Diamond Tower and its surrounding park. The park provided respite for weary travellers with its ample shades and greenery. We chose not to go up the tower as we wanted to have ample time to complete the Busan Green Railway trail.

The Busan Green Railway trail is historically an old railway trail which has been converted to a green corridor. As it faces the ocean, attractions have been built to attract visitors. The trail can be completed by using a Beach train, sky capsule (reminds me of Among Us) and our trusty two legs at the walking trail. We started our walk from Mipo station (at end of Hauendae Beach) and stopped at several attractions. The cool temperature, generous greenery, scenic views of the ocean and the various attractions made it a pleasurable walk. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip in Busan.

After walking for around 4.8km, we ended at another beach, the Songjeong Beach. From there, we rested for a while before we took the metro to Seomyeon to have dinner. These sum up the main highlights of our trip in Busan before we headed back to Seoul the following day.

As we come to an end of 2022, the trip to South Korea provided time for us to wind down, get some healthy dose of exercise and take stock of our lives. I am definitely more recharged coming back to Singapore. Looking forward to our next trip. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 😊