Today we gathered in front of the hostel at around 10 AM. This was later than the previous days, but for most people it didn’t quite feel like sleeping in. Some went out drinking beer and soju until late and were either still partially drunk or dealing with a hangover, whereas others were still recovering from their jetlags. Me? I was somewhere in between.
The ReisCo handed out metro tickets and we split our group into three smaller groups. Today was going to be all about sightseeing the city of Busan. We met with our tour guides and the groups went their separate ways. My group would be walking with Ben (this was not his actual name but Ben was easier to pronounce for foreigners), a taller-than-average-height Korean who likes to smile and who loves to take selfies.
In order to reach the centre of Busan, we had to walk from our hostel to the metro that would take us there. While waiting for the metro to arrive we took some selfies with Ben’s selfie stick and had a little chat about the Korean and Dutch cultures. Our guide had been to Amsterdam once and knew some Dutch words like ‘dankjewel’ and ‘goedemorgen’, and he was especially enthusiastic about the red light district and the numerous coffee shops.
After exiting Nampo station our group first went to search for a bank, since some people hadn’t gotten cash yet. In Korea most ATM’s work only with credit cards or magnet strips so it took a while before we found a bank where we could use our Maestro bank cards.
Luckily we stayed close to the city’s centre which meant that the markets were only a couple of streets away.
Our first stop was Jagalchi market, the largest and most famous fish market of Korea. Merchants buy fish from the many sailors a few towns away and bring it to this market to sell it. You could see seafood you didn’t even know existed. Squids, octopuses, eels, crabs, lobsters: they had it all! Freshly caught and most were still alive in a small bucket or aquarium. You could even buy a specific fish and watch them fillet it alive.
A part of the market was inside a building on the ground floor, which in Korea is floor 1. Floor 0 doesn’t exist here. You could take the products you bought on floor 1 to floor 2 (first floor), give it to one of the many cooks there and watch them prepare a meal for you. There were even some Japanese people selling whale meat!
Ben then explained that a typical Korean dinner exists of one main dish and many many side dishes. These side dishes are all prepared separately and are served to enhance the flavour of the main dish. This way, even though you have only one main dish, it looks and tastes like you have many since every side dish gives a different twist to the main one.
Busan is famous in Korea for its sea food and especially for its fish cake. The most famous and delicious fish cakes are all said to be from Busan
We then went on to the Busan International Film Festival area. Our guide happily talked about how in the ’50’s and ’60’s Busan and Korea didn’t really have a movie industry, so people who wanted to watch a movie relied on international movies. Therefore the local government decided to build a cinema where Korean movies would be displayed. These days it’s not being used as a pure international films venue anymore, but you can still go there to see movies from all over the world.
Ben also told us that Koreans used to eat dog meat a lot, especially in soups. His parents used to make it pretty often but didn’t tell him that there was dog meat in it. These days though, most young people don’t eat dog meat anymore. Mainly because of western culture and their appreciation for puppies, but also because beef, chicken, and pork have become cheaper.
After the fish market another guide joined our group, her name was Olivia and she was a friend of Ben. Up until this point the two other groups had been with two guides and ours had been with only one. Not anymore.
Continuing from the film festival area we walked on to the largest food market in Busan. It consisted of lots of small alleys filled with even smaller shops and stands. You could buy anything from fresh fruits, vegetables and meat to full meals. We tried some of the foods there and then went on to visit a small square filled with book shops. Here, Olivia told us a bit about how Korean Literature and the Korean script (Hangul) developed (it’s a really interesting story actually, googling is recommended), and how Busan played a role in this story.
Ben then went on and told us that the streets in Busan are the most narrow in all of Korea. This is because after the Korean war in de 50’s and 60’s, the population of South Korea was pushed back all the way to the south, to Busan. Lots of people needed refuge from the northern invaders and there wasn’t enough space to provide housing for everybody. Therefore people had to live really close to each other and that’s how the streets became so narrow. He told us that if you can drive in Busan, driving in the rest of Korea should be easy.
On the way to the souvenir market we passed a small supermarket and bought some beers and some Korean rice wine and shared it with our two guides. It was pretty tasty!
Having bought a few souvenirs we went on to visit the Busan tower, a tower on top of a hill overlooking all of Busan. After taking lots of selfies with Ben and Olivia the other groups arrived here as well and we merged back into one group again. Having ended the tour and thanked our guides we took a bus to Taejongdae Park, a large park with a forest near the sea. Here we were supposed to take a small train that would drive us around the park but because of the ‘rain’ (3 drops per squared meter per minute) the tour was cancelled. This meant that our ‘free time’ for today started a little earlier than planned.
Myself and some other people still wanted to see the park and its famous views over the ocean so we went on to walk around the park instead of taking the train.
This proved to be tougher than initially expected. The Park was near the coast and was basically one giant hill with one path around it, surrounded by sea. This meant that the trail was pretty long and had many climbs and descends. Having walked a lot during our study tour so far our feet and legs were soaring when we arrived back at the bus stop, but the magnificent temples and sea views were all worth it.
By the time we had finished the trail it was already 7 pm. We proceeded to take the bus back to Nampo and try to find some food. Starting to get a little sick from all the Korean sea dishes we decided to have dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant which was located in a large shopping mall nearby.
After our delicious meal we went shopping in the mall for a bit. We also went to the roof of the mall to enjoy a great view of Busan before we went back to the hostel to rest from all the walking and to get some sleep.
– Thijs van Gansewinkel