Busan (부산)
What to see in Busan. Top things to do in Busan. Where to go in Busan and the tips and tricks to make travel there amazing. (부산에서 볼거리. 부산에서 해야 할 일들. 부산 어디에 갈지, 그리고 그곳의 여행을 놀랍게 만들 수 있는 요령과 요령들.)
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Gamcheon Culture Village: A Guide to Busan’s Rainbow Hillside
If you’ve ever searched for things to do in Busan, Korea, you’ve undoubtedly seen photos of a hillside of homes in pastel colors. Covered in murals, the Gamcheon Culture Village (감천문화마을) has blown up over the last decade into one of the most touristed places on the southern coast. Cute, quirky, colorful. It’s a stop that will make you smile as you wander thanks to the artistic flare that’s been added over the years, but it will also make you sweat, so be prepared. Beyond the light blues, pinks, and yellows, what actually makes Gamcheon different from a lot of Korea’s “Instagram famous” spots is that it’s not a manufactured…
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Museum of Contemporary Art Busan: Where Art and Nature Meet
Picture Busan, Korea and visions of beaches and seafood may come to mind, but there’s also a thriving art scene waiting to be explored. We’re most often in Busan outside of beach season, so we’ve seen a lot more museums than sand. One of the best places to dive into contemporary art in Korea is in Busan, the Museum of Contemporary Art Busan (MOCA Busan) (부산현대미술관) was opened in 2018 on Eulsukdo Island. The building itself is a piece of art, wrapped in living greenery as part of the installation Vertical Garden by French botanist Patrick Blanc. Inside, you’ll find rotating exhibitions, interactive installations, and even a dedicated children’s library…
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Oryukdo Skywalk: Busan’s Glass Bridge Where Two Seas Meet
Head to where the East Sea and the South Sea converge and you’ll find one of the most dramatic viewpoints in all of Busan. The Oryukdo Islets sit in the emerald water just off the coast of Yongho-dong, Nam-gu, five islands that sometimes become six as the tide shifts, surrounded by volcanic rock formations shaped roughly 80 million years ago. It’s a genuinely striking piece of coastline, and on one of my first visits to Busan, my husband brought me to nearby Igidae and I couldn’t stop staring at the rocky shore and deep blue water. These days, what draws most people to this corner of Busan is the Oryukdo…
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Sky Capsule Busan: Tickets, Route, Tips and the Haeundae Blueline Park
If you’ve been searching Busan on Instagram or TikTok, you’ve already seen them, colorful little retro capsule pods gliding above the coast, the ocean stretching out behind them. That’s the Haeundae Sky Capsule (해운대스카이캡슐), part of the Haeundae Blueline Park (해운대블루라인파크), and it has become one of the most popular and photographed experiences in Busan since it opened in 2020. This guide covers everything you need to ride it: how to book, which direction to choose, what the prices are, how to combine it with the Haeundae Beach Train (해운대해변열차), and the attractions worth stopping at along the route. One important note before anything else: the Sky Capsule is on…
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Where To Stay In Busan: The Best Areas for First-Timers, Families & Beach Lovers
Busan is one of my favorite cities in Korea. If I could choose anywhere outside of Seoul to live, it would probably be here. Yes, my husband is from Busan, but even without that connection, this coastal city has something special. Beaches to the south, mountains to the north, fresh seafood everywhere, and neighborhoods that each feel completely different from one another. If you’re wondering where to stay in Busan, your hotel location matters more here than it does in Seoul. Busan isn’t built around one central downtown. It stretches along the coastline, which means staying on the wrong end of the city can easily add an hour to your…
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Huinnyeoul Culture Village: Busan’s “Santorini” Seaside Village
Most visitors to Busan know Gamcheon Culture Village, the famous hillside one with the Little Prince statue. Fewer know there’s a second, more coastal culture village just as worth the trip. Huinnyeoul Culture Village (희여울문화마을) sits along Busan’s southern coast, where stark white buildings line a clifftop overlooking brilliant blue ocean, close enough to the real thing that locals call it “The Santorini of Busan.” If you’re looking for something different to do in Busan, this is it. Here’s what you need to know about the Huinnyeoul Culture Village in Busan, Korea: (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase…
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Spa Land Centum City Busan: Complete Guide, Tips, and What To Expect
Walking into a Korean jjimjilbang for the first time is one of those experiences that sounds intimidating in theory and becomes one of your favorite Korea memories in practice. The nudity, the communal baths, the strangers in various states of undress, it all sounds like a lot until you’re actually inside and realize everyone is just relaxed and focused on their own experience. The jjimjilbang, or Korean spa, is one of the most memorable Korean experiences you can have. And if you’re going to do it once, or if you want to do it properly, the place to go is Spa Land Centum City (스파랜드 센텀시티) in Busan. Here’s why:…
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Songdo, Busan: Beach, Cable Car, and Suspension Bridge Guide
Songdo is an area in Busan that might be overlooked for hotspots like Gwanganli or Haeundae but honestly, it won my heart. This is Songdo Beach in Busan (not Songdo, Incheon, the planned city with Central Park up near Seoul). Busan’s Songdo has a lovely beach, walking bridges over water where Busan’s haenyeo divers work the sea floor, the Songdo Marine Cable Car (also called the Busan Air Cruise), and a suspension bridge with a lookout over the coast. Basically, if you’re looking for things to do in Busan or where to stay in Busan with things to do, this might just be the perfect spot for you. It’s one…
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Busan Travel Guide: Best Things To Do, Where To Stay, and What To Eat
Busan is the kind of city that gets under your skin. Korea’s second largest city sits on the southern coast with beaches on one side, mountains on the other, and some of the best seafood in the country running through the middle of it all. My husband grew up here and if we weren’t based in Seoul, Busan would be home, which means I’ve spent years learning this city the way a local does rather than a tourist. This is the guide I wish existed when I first arrived. It covers everything from the beaches and the hillside villages to the fish markets, the best food to seek out, where…
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Haedong Yonggungsa Temple: Busan’s Famous Seaside Temple
Buddhist temples are not terribly difficult to stumble upon while in Korea. There are temples in the middle of Seoul daring those that enter to just try and find quiet solitude and there are temples dotting the mountains across the country so any hike becomes that much more interesting with the addition of a tour of one. Rarely, though, do you find a seaside temple in Korea. Haedong Yonggung Temple (해동용궁사), which means Korean Dragon Palace Temple, is probably the most popular and widely known seaside temple in South Korea and it truly does live up to the hype that brings so many visitors to its gates in Busan, Korea.…
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Taejongdae Resort Park: Cliffs, Dinosaur Tracks, and Busan’s Best Coastal Views
Taejongdae Resort Park (태종대), named after the 29th king of the Silla Dynasty, King Taejong, who enjoyed shooting arrows off the cliffs, is a top attraction in Busan, Korea and for good reason. Located at the southernmost tip of Yeongdo Island, it offers breathtaking views of the ocean, rugged cliffs, dinosaur tracks, and on clear days people can even spot Daema, or Tsushima, Island of Japan. It is one of 28 designated monuments in the city and is absolutely one of the best things to do in Busan. The varying shades of blue as they wave back and forth from the cliffside out to the horizon is dreamy and there…
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Jagalchi Fish Market: What To Eat, How To Order, and What To Know
Jagalchi Fish Market (부산자갈치시장) is the largest fish market in South Korea and one of the best things to do in Busan, and that’s true even if you never buy a single thing. Walking the stalls alone is worth it: live octopus pulling itself over the edge of tanks trying to escape back to the ocean… literally, tentacles as long as your arm, shellfish you don’t have names for in English, and fish that hang drying in the booths that line the market’s watery alleyways. Each booth is run by an older woman who may not seem particularly welcoming at first glance. That’s just the southern Busan demeanor. They’re used…
