Busan is South Korea’s largest port city as well as the second largest Korean city after Seoul. A narrow city, Busan (formerly spelled Pusan)  is situated between the neighboring mountains and the shore, and rests of the southern tip of the peninsula. The city is vying for the honors of hosting the 2020 Olympics, so it is best to visit Busan in the next few years before prices go up.

Here are a few places to visit while in Busan.

Busan Tower - located inside Yongdusan Park, this 120-meter landmark is the best spot to view the city full circle. You can enjoy the view of Busan better than Seoul since there is less air pollution here. Other attractions to visit inside Yongdusan are the Flower Clock, the Eight-Angled Pavilion, and the Statue of General Yi Sunshin, who courageously repelled several Japanese invasions back the 16th century until his heroic death in battle.

To get to Yongdusan Park, take the Busan subway line 1 and get off at Nampo-Dong. Consult the area map and look for the park; it’s just a 10-minute walk from the station. You know you’re there when you see a series of four covered escalators which aid visitors in climbing up to the park.

Jagalchi Fish Market - a top tourist attraction that lets visitors watch the frenzied transaction of fresh seafood and marine products in the early morning. Located near Yongdusan Park, Jagalchi is the source of the great seafood that is served in the many restaurants and street hawkers throughout Busan. If you feel a craving for some fresh seafood, bring your own lettuce and condiments and a fish vendor will clean, gut, and cook your selection right before you.

Haeundae Beach - an affluent beach community, Haeundae is considered the best beach in South Korea. Thousands of people from locals to foreigners gather here to enjoy the sun and surf. Haeundae has also many commercial developments such as the large hotels which are built right next to the beach itself. Expect the shore to be covered with umbrellas, though: Koreans are near-obsessive when it comes to their skins and will readily rent parasols and beach mats from beach-based vendors.

Haeundae Beach can easily be reached by riding Busan subway line 2 or taking the Donghae train from outside Busan. As a “special tourist zone”, shops along the beach are open 24 hours, allowing you to carouse, bowl, karaoke, and party all night long.

Foreigners Shopping Street – popularly called “Texas Street”, this area near the Port of Busan and Busan Train Station caters primarily to the local Russian residents, crews of foreign ships, and military men on shore leave. The signs here are Cyrillic to cater to the rising influx of Russian sailors.

Heosimcheong Spa - arguably the largest hot spa in Asia, which can fit in 2,000 naked customers at any one time. Herbal concoctions seep into the waters of the tubs and saunas that fill the place. At winter time, you can take a dip in the freezing open-air pool after a hot soak. Be warned, though: patrons must wade through completely naked in the gender-separated baths.

Beomeosa Temple - One of the oldest and most majestic Buddhist temples in South Korea and counted among the Great Five Temples, Beomeosa is located high up in the mountains in Cheongnyong-Dong. The best time to visit Beomeosa is during Buddha’s Birthday during the late June or early July. The festivities are also known as the Festival of Lanterns due to the pretty paper lanterns hung all over the temple. If you time it right and arrive just at dusk, you can join the hundreds of other devotees and visitors in witnessing the monks performing a ceremony and lighting the lanterns until the whole temple is beautifully aglow in the summer night. To get to the temple, take exit 5 from the station, make a U-turn, turn left and take bus 90 from the station a few hundred meters up.

The best time to visit Busan would definitely be during the Busan International Film Festival, one of the largest and most significant film festivals in Asia. The main thrust of the PIFF is the introduction of new directors and films from third-world countries. The PIFF is aimed at young people, and draws a multitude of teen-agers during its 10-day run. The festival is usually held in Haeundae Beach (in Megabox Theater multiplex) or Nampodong in the central downtown area, during the first 10 days of October. For the schedule and venue of the annual PIFF, visit their official website.

If you’re in a hurry, avoid the taxis and take the subway. It takes forever to get to anywhere in Busan’s convoluted traffic.

Posted in Attractions, Beaches, Korea

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 4th, 2008 at 11:07 am and is filed under Attractions, Beaches, Korea. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.