Busan Food Journal, Week Two
We’re starting to learn how to pick out some of the Korean words for foods we especially like. Bibimbap is easy, mostly a lot of “b”s (비빔밥) strung together. And we can identify both bulgogi and kalguksu fairly quickly. But we’re not out of the woods yet! On Saturday night, we sat down a popular place in Seuyoung and only realized at the last minute that they serve strictly intestines. Props to the kid at the neighboring table for warning us… Read More
May 18, 2012
Jungang Park and the Chunghon Tower
Set atop Daecheong Mountain, one of Busan’s most central peaks, Jungang Park offers visitors an unparalleled view over the city and its port. Inaugurated almost twenty years ago, the park and its crowning Chunghon Tower are dedicated to the memories of the service personnel who gave their lives in the Korean War… Read More
May 16, 2012
Bookstore Alley
Not far from Eatery Alley, we discovered Bookstore Alley: a tiny road jam-packed with an insane number of used bookshops, cafes and shoppers. With a history going back 50 years, this is one of the coolest corners we’ve discovered yet in Busan, and a great place to spend a spare hour… even if you don’t read Korean… Read More
May 16, 2012
Out and About in Busan
From the airplane, while arriving into Busan for the first time, I was afraid that the city might be too dull. But while the blocks of identical gray apartment buildings might dominate the skyline, once you get onto the streets, Busan offers endless variety. Temples, bars, traffic, cute plush toys and drawings, and… chicken crossings? This city has it all… Read More
May 15, 2012
Grab a Seat in Eatery Alley
There’s a small street in the shopping nexus of Nampo-Dong filled with stands offering a cheap outdoor lunch. Hot noodles, kimchi, rice bowls, tteokbokki (a spicy rice cake dish), all served up by a colorful collection of Korean lunch ladies. The map refers to this as “Eatery Alley”, which is about as perfect a name as possible… Read More
May 14, 2012
The United Nations Memorial Cemetery
Hands down the most somber place we’ve visited thus far in Busan, the United Nations Memorial Cemetery pays tribute to the international brigade of soldiers who died defending the Republic of Korea against the forces of communism. Sixteen nations are represented here, and the cemetery is a melancholy reminder of the costs of war… Read More
May 13, 2012
Busan Food Journal, Week One
We’re going to be eating a lot of interesting new foods during our time in Busan. Since supermarkets are rather expensive, eating out seems to be almost as cheap as cooking at home… particularly when you stick to the kind of local neighborhood joints which we prefer, anyway. This is the first of our recaps on what we ate, and what it’s called… Read More
May 11, 2012
A Cable Car to Geumjeongsanseong Fortress
Turns out that Busan is the kind of city which can have a giant mountain right in its center, topped by an ancient fortress, accessible by cable car… and it’s not a big deal. We were like “Whoa, check this out!”, and Busan was all like “Oh yeah, that. I forgot about that.” Geumjeongsan Mountain doesn’t even appear in the various “must-do” lists we’ve read for Busan. In most other cities it would be the top highlight… Read More
May 10, 2012
Cosplay at Comic World
Manga is a Japanese phenomenon, but comics and animated TV shows are also big business in Korea, where they’re known as manhwa. During our first weekend in Busan, a manhwa festival called Comic World was underway at the BEXCO convention hall. Wild Korean youth dressed in freaky cosplay? No way we were missing that… Read More
May 09, 2012
A Concise History of Busan… or Is it Pusan?
Busan or Pusan? The city’s name spelled both ways on signs around the city. Before arriving, I’d have sworn that the official name was Pusan, but I would have been wrong. In 2000, a new method of transliterating Korean was implemented and the name changed overnight to “Busan”. The Korean character ㅂ represents both “b” and “p” (which, when you think about it, are nearly the same letter anyway). For the city’s residents, there’s no change at all. 부산 remains 부산… Read More
May 09, 2012
First Impressions of Busan
It took us about 91 minutes walking around Busan to come to a definite conclusion. No way, is 91 days going to be enough to thoroughly explore this city! The beaches, temples, disparate neighborhoods, mountains, street markets, parks… let alone the food. Koreans are known for their work ethic, and I think we’re going to have to follow suit, if we have any chance of seeing even a fraction of the things Busan offers… Read More
May 08, 2012
Shinsegae – The World’s Largest Department Store
We hadn’t even discussed it with each other, it was just understood. An unspoken contract between me and Jürgen was sealed the very moment we learned of its existence. The first place we would visit in Busan, before any temples or museums or beaches, was going to be Shinsegae Centum City — the world’s largest department store. That title is Guinness-certified and uncontested. Shinsegae is three times bigger than Macy’s, the previous record-holder… Read More
May 07, 2012
An-Nyeong Ha-Se-Yo, Busan!
Busan, South Korea’s second city, doesn’t approach Seoul in terms of size or global influence, but is home to a metropolitan population of 3.6 million, and one of the busiest ports in the world. Busan is found on the south-eastern end of the peninsula, closer to Japan than the capital. An important business center full of suits, concrete and convention halls, Busan also boasts popular beaches, nature reserves and an urban landscape shaped by green mountains that pop up almost randomly amid the skyscrapers… Read More
May 05, 2012
