Busan [부산]: the second most-populous city after Seoul, and also the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern Korea.

Going to Busan was absolutely blissful. There is a certain beauty within this city that I cannot put into words.

Although my visit was rushed, I enjoyed every single moment spent there. I didn’t get to see much, but what I did see definitely motivated me to visit again.

Today, I’m going to share with you a snippet of Busan’s charm.

Train to Busan

Unlike what the famous movie promotes, our ride was zombie-free. In fact, taking the train to Busan is your best chance to arrive quickly to your destination. However, everything comes with a price, and the train ticket is very pricey to say the least.

Bexco

Although we were planning to visit Busan anyways, our plans were hurried since we had to attend the Korea hip hop festival that was held in the city.

The event was held in BEXCO, which is a large international exhibition center with eight floors where you can find convention halls, auditoriums, as well as plenty of restaurants and other facilities. Around the center, you can reach many shopping outlets by foot.

Haeundae Beach

My feet did not touch the sand, but the view before me was serene.

Watching the calm sea, and listening to interesting performances held on the golden sands, by people who either came for a swim or just happened to be passing by, was definitely an interesting change of view.

I was a bit surprised by the dress code on the beach though: only a rare party actually wore swimsuits. The majority of Koreans swimmed fully clothed, assuming they didn’t want to get a tan.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeL6xfKl8S_/?taken-by=esmeegoeshallyu

Haeundae Market

After my little stop at the beach, I couldn’t just walk by Haeundae market and not sneak a peek. For foodies like myself, the market is almost torturous with all kinds of street food available, as well as many restaurants that serve fresh meat and sea food.

I eventually settled for sweet potatoes, which really came in handy when I wanted to calm my hunger episodes on the way back home.

Busan People

The people of Busan are the kindest souls I have met during my entire trip.

Throughout various situations, I received all sorts of help: a complete guidance to the guesthouse and the bus terminal, patiently serving me the right smoothie after an amusing language barrier incident, and generously explaining to me what the staff were saying in Korean during the festival.

Overall, kindness is genuine amongst Busan citizens, and it’s very much appreciated.

That’s all for today! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, and stay tuned for more Hallyu gems. Until I see you next time, thank you for reading me.