Train to Busan: 3 Days in Busan, South Korea
TRAIN TO BUSAN
SEPTEMBER 2019 | 3 DAYS IN BUSAN, South Korea
안녕하세요 Annyeonghaseyo (hello) and welcome to my Busan, South Korea travel blog post!
This is a continuation of my 1 week in South Korea - the first 4 days in Seoul and the last 3 days in Busan. To read about my travel adventures in Seoul, click here.
As the title suggests, my parents, best friend and I took a train to Busan. Thankfully, we did not get attacked by any zombies 😪🧟♀️🧟♂️. I hope you got the reference! If not, be sure to watch the 2016 Korean action-thriller film, Train to Busan. It honestly felt so strange and ominous walking onto a train heading to Busan. I kept picturing the scenes from the movie and getting a little freaked out over the uncanny similarities. There was nothing to fear as it was a smooth ride from Seoul to Busan 😅.
3 DAYS IN BUSAN
Located on the Southeastern tip of South Korea, Busan is well-known for its stunning beaches, traditional temples, mountainous landscapes and unique art and film festivals. As South Korea’s second largest city and the fifth largest port in the world, Busan is a widely recognized destination for international tourists. Each year, the city hosts the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), one of the most significant film festivals recognized throughout Asia and across the globe. Events like this one contribute to the citizen’s love for up-and-coming films, visual culture, and international flair. In comparison to Seoul which is known as the central entertainment hub-city, Busan is viewed as a more relaxed, slower-paced, coastal city.
Busan Travel Itinerary: 3 dayS IN BUSAN, south Korea
day 1:
day 2:
GAMCHEON CULTURE VILLAGE
SONGDO MARINE CABLE CAR
BUSAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (BIFF) SQUARE IN NAMPODONG
day 3:
day 1 | arrival | Lotte Department store and seomyeon
Much like Seoul, Busan’s transportation system is fully integrated throughout the vast districts and neighbourhoods of the city. Note that you can use the same ‘T-money card’ for multiple subway networks in Seoul and Busan, along with many other cities in South Korea. We decided to stay at Solaria Nishitetsu Hotel Busan, located in the centre of Seomyeon district. The easy part was arriving at Seomyeon station. However, the difficulty was figuring out the best way to exit since all the stations in South Korea were much larger than what I was used in comparison to back home in Vancouver. We apparently looked like very confused foreign travellers as we wandered around Seomyeon Station. Although there was a language barrier between ourselves and a friendly local gentleman, he still tried his best to direct us in the right direction. Thank you 🙏🏻. From what I recall, there were 20+ different exits and none that were within close proximity to an available elevator. I usually wouldn’t mind taking the stairs but traveling with heavy suitcases and multiple carry-on bags made the trek up a 30-step staircase quite difficult for us all. In the 30+ degrees humid heat, you’ll definitely get a work out while travelling here! We were so relieved once we found our hotel and couldn’t wait to explore the area after grabbing a bite to eat.
LOTTE DEPARTMENT STORE
We stumbled upon the gigantic Lotte Department Store and were pleasantly surprised with the wide-selection of food in the underground food court. I think the whole chicken in soup (middle image) takes the award for most unique meal between the four of us. All of these meals were only around 10,000 KRW (~$12 CAD)!
SEOMYEON
Selecting a neighbourhood to stay in Busan can be a bit overwhelming and all depends on the things you like to do and the places you want to visit during your stay. We picked Seomyeon because it’s the “commercial center” and “transportation hub” of Busan - I’d highly recommend! The streets are lively, brightly lit with neon lights, and always filled with all the street food you could ever want! Although I was full from our dinner meal, it didn’t hurt to look at all the other food options in our area. Seomyeon reminded me a lot of Meongdong area in Seoul since its a main shopping and tourist district. The Starbucks that I am typically used to seeing looked a little different in this neighbourhood though 🤔😂 (bottom right photo).
day 2 | gamcheon culture village, Songdo marine cable car, and biff square in nampodong
We had lots planned for Day 2, which was going to be a long one. As per usual, we started the day off strong with a breakfast from 7-eleven. I can never get enough of the samgak-gimbap!
GAMCHEON CULTURE VILLAGE
Our first destination of the day was to Gamcheon Culture Village, one of the main attractions of Busan and a place I was really excited to visit. Located in Saha district, the village is about 1hr away by subway from Seomyeon. It’s sometimes considered the “Machu Pichu of Busan” or “Korea’s Santorini” because of the staircase-like placement of all the houses and mountain-side slope that make up this uniquely colourful village. Numerous allies decorated with vibrant murals and artistic sculptures cut through the houses while all appealing to Gamcheon’s playful charm. I also loved getting to check out some of the local shops for souvenirs and nifty finds. Right at the top of the hill, near the beginning of all the shops, was a store selling tons of different socks! Cute character ones, animal ones, funny ones - and all for 1000 KRW (~$1.17 CAD) each. It’s also not every day that you see a store front with a heftier-looking Iron Man in it’s window (image to the right) - maybe Thor 🙃…but never Iron Man!
You can easily spend a whole morning or afternoon here so I strongly suggest blocking off a good 2 to 3 hours to explore all the various streets, turns, nooks and corners. And if it takes you as long as we did to get there (e.g. 1 hr), then you’ll definitely want to make sure you designate a decent amount of time to enjoy every angle of the colourful lego-block building views! Check out this spicy cold buckwheat noodle in soup that I had! Although it did veer on the spicier side, this was a great meal to enjoy on a hot day in the humid Busan heat. It's a spicy, sweet and tangy addictive noodle dish that is very popular in summer for Koreans.
SONGDO MARINE CABLE CAR
Another attraction at the top of our to-do list was the Songdo Marine Cable Car, also known as the ‘Busan Air Cruise’. It originally launched in 1964 as Korea’s first cable car but closed in 1988 to undergo multiple renovations. 29 years later, it relaunched in 2017 to offer surreal views of Busan’s hillsides and cliffs. The attraction runs from East Songrim Park to West Aman Park for 8.5 minutes, and allows visitors to experience crossing over the emerald sea in a transparent cable car. Each car can hold up to 8 people so it’s great for both small and large groups. I am such an avid thrill seeker so anything that lets me experience my surroundings from high above and off land is a must-do activity!
The Songdo Marine Cable Car pick-up/drop-off location is about a 50 minute subway train ride and bus transfer away from Gamcheon Culture Village. You can either catch the beginning of the air cruise at Songdo Sky Park (Amnam Park) or Songdo Bay Station (Songnim Park), depending on if you want to head east or west for the ride. In September 2019, a one-way single ride on the cable car costed 12,000 KRW (~$14 CAD). At the top of the air cruise boarding station, there are also multiple platforms for you to walk around, enjoy art installations and sculptures, snap some photos and take in the scenic views of the water. This was honestly such a fun experience and a great way to see the coast of Busan from a different perspective!
BUSAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (BIFF) SQUARE IN NAMPODONG
From Songdo Beach area, we then headed to Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) Square, located in Nampodong. This area is dedicated to celebrate and showcase the many accomplishments of Korea’s successful film industry. It was officially named '“BIFF Square” on August 14, 1996 and is now a regional focal point. Since then, it has been a bustling tourist attraction featuring movie theatres, assortment of shops, and of course, lots and lots of street food - I swear, you can never go hungry in Korea! Each year in October, the square is decorated with various red carpet events garnering visits from international movie stars. I went at the end of September when they were gearing up to host the upcoming year’s festival. Walking along “Star Street” and “Festival Street”, you’ll find hand prints of famous movie celebrities. Exploring these notable streets reminded me a lot of the Hollywood Walk of Fame in LA! Interestingly, this year was the festival’s 25th annual celebration. They weren’t able to fully celebrate at their usual capacity in-person due to COVID, but they still managed to bring together film fanatics and passionate film makers from all around the world. Learn more about BIFF here.
As you can see from the photos above, we didn’t shy away from any of the food that night! Sitting on stools behind one of the food vendor’s carts, we enjoyed our freshly-made dinner. We tried mandu dumplings, fish cakes, tteokbokki, gimbap, and chicken yakitori sticks. YUM! 😋
As if we didn’t eat enough at BIFF Square, Tammy, my mom and I ended up grabbing dessert back in Seomyeon as well. Specialized in shaved ice bingsu, Sulbing Dessert Cafe did not disappoint! The strawberry macaron bingsu was as sweet as it looked.
day 3 | haedong yonggung temple, haeundae beach, korean bbq, and Gwangandaegyo (diamond) bridge
HAEDONG YONGGUNG TEMPLE
Located just over an hour away from Seomyeon station is the Haedong Yonggung Temple. Overlooking the ocean, this Buddhist ‘temple by the sea’ is one of the most popular places to visit in Busan. The temple was originally built in 1376 but later destroyed by a devastating fire in the 1590s during the Japanese invasions. It wasn’t rebuilt again until over 300 years later in the early 1930’s. Today, Haedong Yonggung Temple continues to be a traditional place of worship and religious ceremonies. It is also one of the three temples dedicated to the Seawater Goddess Buddha of Mercy.
I distinctly remember visiting Haedong Yonggung Temple because it was on one of the most humidly hot days of our trip 🥵. Umbrellas are definitely a must to bring for both the rain or sun! I had to treat myself to some watermelon ice cream while we were there 🍉🍦. As you can see from the photos here, there are a lot of different sections and varying areas of the temple grounds that you can explore. Along the walkway towards the temple, a row of statues each represent the 12 different animal gods of the Korean Zodiac signs. I also loved all the intricate details and gorgeous colours of the shrine. The gigantic golden statue of the Seawater Goddess Buddha of Mercy is a magnificent site to see!
HAEUNDAE BEACH
A trip to Busan wouldn’t be complete without visiting one of the most iconic and famous beaches of the city, Haeundae Beach! Located in Haeundae district, Haeundae Beach is about 50 minutes by bus away from Haedong Yonggung Temple. I am so glad we got really lucky with the gorgeous sunny weather and were able able to fully experience Haeundae Beach at its absolute finest! Here’s Tammy and I truly living our best lives 🌊🏖:
KOREAN BBQ
Since we were slightly disappointed with the first Korean BBQ restaurant we ate at earlier on our trip, in Seoul, we were determined to find another one to satisfy our cravings ✊🏻. We ended up eating a late lunch, early dinner (aka lunner) at Obanjang, a Korean BBQ restaurant that was just a 10-15 minute walk away from Haeundae Beach. As you can see here, I was just as excited about the name itself as I was to eat the food 😂.
We ordered 4 different kinds of BBQ meats, seafood ramen, cold noodle soup, some bowls of rice and topped it all off with some bottles of soju! Along with all the additional side dishes including kimchi, lettuce, bean sprouts, egg, etc., it was plenty of food for the 4 of us. My mouth is watering just looking at this photo again and being reminded of all the BBQ goodness 🤤 haha. Anyways, I highly recommend this place if you’re near the Haeundae Beach area.
GWANGANDAEGYO (DIAMOND) BRIDGE
With bellies full of delicious KBBQ food, my parents, Tammy and I headed to our final destination of the evening. Walking along Haeundaehaebyeon-ro street, we caught a spectacular view of Gwangandaegyo Bridge (also known as Diamond Bridge) along the marina. This is a suspension bridge that opened in 2003 and spans across 7,420 metres. I loved the white and purple lights that beautifully highlighted the bridge against the hazy indigo sky. Apparently, the lights all along the bridge change every day and every season so I was lucky to see it change to my favourite colour 💜 on this particular day.
That’s a wrap on my adventures in Busan! I had an incredible time exploring the city and experiencing all the unique things it has to offer. Until next time. Kamsahamnida 감사합니다 (thank you) South Korea 🇰🇷!
Next Up 🚅 ➡ Osaka, Japan 🇯🇵
Looking to explore the beautiful city of Busan? Here’s my 3-day travel itinerary for visiting Busan, South Korea!