Busan
South Korea'S Second City And Largest Port · Busan, Busan
South Korea's second city and largest port, home to about 3.3 million people on a coast of beaches, headlands and hills at the southeast tip of the peninsula, the closest point to Japan. Busan grew from a fishing and trading harbour into a great port under Japanese rule, and during the Korean War it was the refugee capital, crowded with people who built hillside villages that survive today. Now its beaches are its best-known face: Haeundae, a curve of sand below high-rise towers, and Gwangalli, facing the lit Gwangan Bridge. Visitors wander the painted lanes of Gamcheon Culture Village, buy and eat raw fish at Jagalchi market, visit the seaside temple of Haedong Yonggungsa and the mountain temple of Beomeosa, walk the cliffs of Taejongdae and ride the beach train and sky capsules along the Blueline Park coast. The Busan International Film Festival fills the city each October. Busan is about two and a half hours from Seoul by KTX, with ferries to Fukuoka and Tsushima across the strait, and it is known for its brisk, direct people, its dialect and its pork soup.
Haeundae Beach, Udong, Haeundae-gu, Busan, Busan, 48094, South Korea
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: beaches and coastal walks are open around the clock, with swimming only in the lifeguard season and hours. Jagalchi runs from early morning to about 10 pm, with some stalls and restaurants closed on the first and third Tuesday of the month; Haedong Yonggungsa opens from about dawn to sunset; the UN Memorial Cemetery closes early and has limited opening. Blueline Park and cable cars run from morning to evening. Traps: sky capsules sold out; drone shows cancelled for weather; ferries to Japan cancelled in rough seas; weekend KTX trains full.