#KoreaVibes
Busan부산
(5 Days 4 Nights)
Prior to completing my 6 weeks student summer exchange at Korea University I decided to plan a trip to Busan 부산 located on the south-eastern most tip of the Korean peninsula.
There are many means of travels to Busan, various itineraries and accommodation choices. The following are my experiences and travel options I chose.
1. Accommodation:
3 weeks before my Busan trip I booked an accommodation via Booking.com. I would suggest making earlier reservations especially during summer time as most hostels/ guest-house were fully booked. I was fortunate enough to secure a space in the Guesthouse 710 for a shared 4 bunk bed dorm(women) and from the reviews online this guest-house had a very good reputation. The price is above average but you're paying for good service and comfort which was my ideal choice.
My experience in this hostel was quite an enjoyable one, the service was very good
(Wifi, clean towels everyday, breakfast included, air conditioned rooms, lounge/ computer area, ;laundry services ) and staffs were very friendly and helpful.
During my stay I met several local Koreans and particularly had a great time during my last night of stay when the owner of the guest house held a party as well as a night out to a nearby sports pub. It was a great experience especially as the only non- Korean in the group and to experience a different culture in a foreign country.
Location was wonderful and easy to locate, restaurants nearby and less than 10 minutes walk to the popular Haeundae Beach 해운대해수욕장 and subway station.
If you're a solo traveller or in a group I would highly recommend this guest-house especially if you're open to having a good time and to meet people with different backgrounds.
For more information follow the link to the hostel page:
2. Travel
As mentioned there are several ways to get to Busan. I chose the Korail Pass option which provides an option of purchasing 1-7 day passes only eligible for foreigners.
I am aware that it is possible to get a bus to Busan as well but I didn't want to be stuck in a bus for a good 4-5 hours.
I chose the 5 day Korail pass (youth saver age 13~25) that cost 111,800 won.
Korail pass allows you to travel on with an unlimited access to the Standard
Class seats of the KTX, KTX-Sancheon, Saemaeul, Mugunghwa and Nuriro trains for a fixed period of time. It is a faster and more efficient was to travel.
Procedure:
1. 1 week before leaving for Busan I went online to make a reservation for my ticket, fill in all required information and choose your rail pass options, PRINT e-ticket. Purchase transaction will only go through once you exchange your printed e-ticket at the Information Counter at Seoul Station.
2. Note: For expected arrival date in Korea: Put down the date of when you're leaving for Busan especially if you're already in Korea like I was
3. During the day of your travel to your destination: Bring along e-ticket, passport and credit card to Information Centre at Seoul station where they will give you a rail pass card with your name and details on it. (Keep it safe)
4. Go to ticketing booth and just show them the pass and let them know where you want to go. They will provide you with the earliest train time and seats if available. They will print out a ticket with your seat number, gate and destination.
5. The trains are very punctual and leaves on time so remember to get to the allocated gate as early as possible.
There are more information in English about Korail which gives quite detailed explanations.
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| Korail Rail Pass ( exchange from printed e-ticket) |
Subway and bus travel:
T-money card
Purchased from any convenience store in Seoul i.e. 7-eleven, GS25 etc. Easy means of travelling as you can use it in Seoul and Busan as well as other cities.
Top up can be done only by cash at any subway stations/ convenience store
3. Intinerary
My main objective of travelling to Busan was to just relax and take my time to enjoy the sights and sceneries. Thus explains why I stayed for a longer period of time.
1st day (Saturday):
Left Seoul Station on board the KTX-train bound for Busan. Arrived at Busan station and proceeded to Guesthouse 710 via subway. Finally checked in at about 5.00pm and was greeted very warmly by the Guesthouse manager who showed me to my room and other parts of the Guesthouse.
Walked to Haeundae beach and was surprised to see the whole stretch of the beach filled with people(literally).
Continued on foot along the beach to Dongbaekseom Island 동백공원 where there are several attraction points. It was a very relaxing walk along the shoreline surrounded by pine trees and a gentle sea breeze.
The sun began to set and I made my way by Subway to Gwangalli Beach 광안리해수욕장 famous for its fine sand, not as busy compared to Haeundae Beach and a picturesque view of the Gwangan Bridge. There were many shops, pubs and eateries along the way making it very convenient for visitors to order take out and have a little picnic by the sea under the illumination of the surrounding city sky lights.
It was a beautiful relaxing night, headed back to the hostel afterwards to rest up.
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| View from Haeundae Beach |
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| Sun set at Haeundae Beach |
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| View from The Bay 101 area |
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| Dongbaekseom Island view of Haeundae |
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| Gwangan Bridge |
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| Gwanganlli Beach |
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| Gwangan Bridge |
2nd Day (Sunday):
Had breakfast provided by the Guesthouse which consist of eggs, toast, cereal and juice. Left for Yonggungsa Temple 해동 용궁사 from Haeundae Station 해운대역 exit 7. Bus stop directly outside the exit and take bus 181 or just check the screen for any bus that is heading towards the temple area. Bus 181 drops you off directly at the foothill of the temple and takes approximately 25 minutes. Paid the bus fare using my T-money card.
From the drop off location it is another 10 or more minutes walk to the temple, surrounded by food stalls, drinks, souvenirs etc.
You will then be greeted by the 12 Zodiac stone statues and as you walk along the paths you'll continue on down several flight of stairs that leads you to look out points and the temple itself. The weather was really hot and sunny, it was a great treat to buy myself an ice-cream to cool off.
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| Yonggungsa Temple from the look out point |
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| Rare chance to get my own picture taken |
After spending about 3 hours there I decided to go back to the hostel to freshen up before heading to church. For those interested do visit the New Philly Busan church a church plant from the Hong Dae branch I went to during my few weeks in Seoul. Service starts at 3.00pm and is located right opposite Gwangan Beach.
Conveniently there was an Ultimate Frisbee pickup at Gwangan Beach so I joined in right after church service ended. It was great to be able to meet some players I met previously in Seoul during the Soongsil Hat tournament! The view was incredible and I could never say no to a beach pickup!
Unfortunately I had to rush off to meet a friend I haven't met in a long time and so had to leave early. It was great fun and met many wonderful friendly souls during that short time; Big thanks to Kyu Po for the lift back!
The night went by catching up with my friend. Shout out to Jay whom I met 3 years ago in Tasmania!
Useful links:
3. 3rd Day (Monday)
After a quick breakfast, I made my way to Taejongdae Park 태종대 . Took the subway to Nampo Station 남포역 and got a bus from Exit 6 the station is right before the Yeongdodaegyo Bridge 영도대교 and opposite Lotte Mart.
There several buses that go towards Taejongdae Park, it'll be easier to look at the bus numbers located on the bus stop sign.
Buses bound for Taejongdae: 8, 13, 30, 88, 101
Arriving at the park there will be rows of shops and restaurants. I made my way on foot to the information centre to get a map of the park. There's a lot of walking uphill before arriving at the scenic sights, one can opt for the Danubi Train 다누비열차 instead of walking by purchasing the tickets. The queues and waiting around made me loose interest and nothing beats walking/ working on the leg muscles!
Slowly and leisurely I walked along side many other visitors who preferred walking rather than taking the train.
Map below shows that several attraction sights, but my main focus was to get to 신선바위 Sinseon Rock(cliff side) located at No. 4 from the map.
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| Photo taken from online |
It was quite a long descend down to the entrance to the cliff side, I spent a good 2 hours taking photo's, trying to get a closer look at the crashing waves below and climbing on the rock faces.
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| Fish market with platforms to sit at where you enjoy fresh sashimi |
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| My essential travel pack and shades: Burton tinder pack |
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| Interesting rock formations |
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| Fishing hut |
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| Feeling free |
It was a shame that since I was travelling alone, I couldn't try the fresh sea food from the cliff side. It was too big of a portion and I wasn't willing to fork out large sums of cash for it. Solo travel problems!
I continued on exploring the other sights after getting my adrenaline fix.
Personally the highlight of this trip was the cliff side. It's not enough to just snap some selfies like many other tourists did; get down on your fours, feel closer to nature and the sheer power of evolution. It's a humbling experience.
Left Taejongdae on the same bus from the opposite bus station. Took the subway to Sinpyeong Station 신평역as I wanted to visit the Dadaepo Sunset Fountain of Dream. Unfortunately the fountain closes on Mondays and the evening was very cloudy so I couldn't catch the sun set which was quite a bummer. I travelled by a local bus that dropped me somewhere way off, so I do recommend just taking the Taxi as it's cheap and convenient.
The night ended with a long subway ride back to Haeundae for a good night rest.
Useful links:
4. 4th Day (Tuesday)
Spent the day walking and exploring Gamcheon Village 감천 문화 마을 known as Busan's Santorini. A very interesting and colourful village painted with different attractive colours, with hidden cafes, boutiques and art galleries that will take up most of your day.
I took a subway to Toseong Station 토성역 Exit 6 and walk towards the bus stop right outside a hospital, get on the local bus Saha 1-1, Seogu 2 or Seogu 2-2 that will drop you right at the entrance of the village. Went to the information centre to purchase a map, it was an interactive map that leads you to several interesting sights around the village and stamp your map upon arrival. Getting lost and exploring the narrow alleys made this visit quite a fun experience.
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| Interactive map from Information Centre |
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| From a look out point |
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| I wonder what it feels like to have strangers walking by your house everyday |
Later in the day I went to Jagalchi fish market 자갈치시장 the largest fish market in Korea. Treated myself to some fried fish set for just 7000won.
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| This was amazing |
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| Fresh fish |
After that I headed back to Haeundae Beach just to chill and relax while watching a guy attempting to surf. Joined in on the Guesthouse party held by the owner and continued on for a night out of beer pong and bowling.
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| It's nice to people watch. I'm no creep. |
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Some of the lovely Korean's I met
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Useful links:
5. Final day (Wednesday)
It was pouring down with rain, putting me off from visiting any other sights.
Checked out of the guest house at 11am and made my way back to Seoul via. KTX train.
There are tons of information located online and it's easy to research and plan your trip accordingly.
Apologies for the long post! Hope it was informative and useful! Any questions please feel free to ask =)
This is such a late post, there's not much excuses. With the busy-ness of Uni work, exams and procrastination I finally am able to sit down and just rummage through my brain thinking back to this beautiful night in Leeds where I was able to enjoy one of my favourite artist perform!
