Back to Busan
Two weeks ago, I made another trip to Busan, the portside city infamous for its seafood, colorful villages and paradisal beaches.
At first, I thought this would be just another routine weekend trip. After all, haven’t I been to Busan so many times?
But after I left, I realized this was only my third time in Busan. Okay, that might sound like a lot. But the first time had been just one night before orientation, when I was deliriously jet-lagged. I had seen the beach, but that was it.
So, effectively, this was only my second time in Busan. Time to play tourist!
I left on Friday, thanks to time off for a long weekend, and made it to Gwangbok-dong, a neighborhood near the main station right next to Gukje market. This is close to where Busan Film Festival is!
I left for an early dinner (an expensive, but really good, omelet) at Vamanos and then took a bus from Gukje to Yeong-do, the island right off the south of Busan.
I’ve been reading Pachinko lately, which is about a Korean family that moves to Japan before the war. The story starts in 1920s Yeong-do, so it felt strange to go there and see it for myself. I wondered what it looked like when the protagonist would’ve lived here.
I headed to the Huinnyeoul Culture Village, which was a lot like Yeosu’s colorful homes.
There, I went to Sonmokseoga Book Café. This little café was so charming and peaceful, I wrote up its own café review here. I thought it deserved it :’)
I spent an hour or so here, slowing drinking my coffee and watching the ships rock on and on. When some people left, I took their seat by the window and enjoyed the last of the pink sunset.
I headed back after walking through the village, and turned in for an early night, but not before grabbing some tteokbeokki from the ahjummas outside my hostel.
The next morning, I met up with my friend Dominique. Our hostel was close to Bosu Book Alley, so we went there cause I’d seen it in this Busan travel ad and thought it looked fun. Unfortunately, it’s quite small and much of it seems to be under construction. Still, I’m glad we went.
We spent some time in Gukje market as well. You can find international goods, textiles, and houseware. Really, anything you want, including yummy street food.
As we went on, Dom and I remarked how much Busan feels like a trip to another country. It’s hard to describe. Busan just feels like a league unto its own.
Dom bought some rice tea and we headed to a nearby café for…very lettuce-y sandwiches. Look, I have nothing against lettuce, but you have to watch the ratio.
Our main goal for the day was to see Haedong Yungungsa, the famous coastal temple in north Busan. We hopped on the 1001 bus, which was pretty warm in the May weather, and dozed off for a full hour. Traffic in Busan sucks.
Once there, we walked five minutes to the temple. They were setting up Buddha’s birthday lanterns at the time and it’s probably the most crowded temple I’ve ever seen.
We noticed families tossing coins over the bridge, shouting in joy or disappointment at whether they made the three-tiered fountains below. We weren’t sure what it was all about, but we tried our hand. Dom made it effortlessly. I think I barely made it into the water.
We explored the rest of the temple, stopping behind hopeful students praying to a specific shrine for good academic success. My friend was overjoyed—this is was by far her favorite temple—so we spent a good time taking photos.
We grabbed a hotteok (honey fried pancake) outside the temple and took the 1001 bus back to the center, this time hopping off at Gwangalli beach.
The weather was so clear that every shop had their storefront opened, and everyone was eating outside.
We walked along the beach and then headed to Gorilla Brewing, a local BBQ and craft beer restaurant infamous among foreigners and Koreans alike.
It was…pretty good! I never thought of myself as picky about barbeque until I left Texas. But it’s hard to impress me with bbq. Gorilla did a pretty good job. Their pulled pork croquette was the best, and I liked their rolls too. The beer was delicious—I tried both their stout and another, I believe it was the pale ale? 8/10, good stuff.
After dinner we went back to the hostel. I met up with an old friend from Busan, one I hadn’t seen in years. We drove around, catching up and stopping at the ports, watching local fishermen prepare their boats for early sunrise fishing.
I don’t have any pictures, but the view of Busan at night, driving down the highway…I can’t describe it. Like a sea of little sparkling lights as far as you can see. It felt like we were floating.
Because I’ve only really been to Busan once before, it was easy for to underestimate just how large the city is. It’s far more spread out than Seoul—a long string of city wrapped onto the east coast. My original impression of Busan had been much more humble, more lowkey. But the city can be just as overwhelming as Seoul.
On Sunday, we went straight to Haeundae, the other large beach area, and grabbed brunch at Prahan, a little café that looks straight out of any hipster area back in the states (in a good way haha).
I had the shakshuka while Dom tried their french toast. Both were really good, but I think I’d order their house open sandwich next time.
We spent the next few hours on Haeundae, browsing the sand castles and laying under the sun. It wasn’t hot enough to swim, but there were still dozens of other foreigners out tanning in bathing suits.
A group of really loud Korean guys parked in front of us. They played shitty EDM remixes of children’s songs, but we kinda thought it was amusing. They started an impromptu volleyball game with the French foreigners next to us.
We laid there for hours.
But then it was time to catch our trains, so we ate some tacos and beer at Fuzzy Navel right by the beach. (Actually, surprisingly good food for what seemed like a mediocre tourist spot!) We left to grab our bags from the hostel and headed back.
I had a three hour train ride waiting for me (never again) but I, a little (okay, a lot) sunburned and very relaxed, headed back to Daejeon promising myself to come back before I leave.
Busan—the best. Thanks for reading!
