The unknown but beautiful Busan
Busan is located on the Nakdong River, east of Mount Kumjung. The city is quite large: as many as 4.6 million people live there. This makes it the second-largest city in South Korea. While many tourists from abroad may not be familiar with Busan, they are likely more acquainted with South Korea's capital, Seoul. If you're comparing accommodations, you might want to check Seoul apartments for a different urban experience in South Korea. Going back to Busan, the lack of familiarity with the city is not due to a lack of major attractions in the city. It is rather more likely due to Busan's southern location in South Korea.
TIP ♥ - if you stay longer in Busan consider applying for a Busan Hanaro Card. You can use this on subways, trains, taxis and buses.
As this city lies on the Sea of Japan (also called the East Sea by Koreans), you can also enjoy going to the beach here. South Korea is not known as a real beach destination, but for a holiday full of sun, sea and sand, you can go to Busan.
4x fun things to do in Busan
Unlike many other big cities in South Korea, Busan doesn't really have any top tourist attractions. However, this does not mean that there is nothing to do in the city, as there are definitely things to see and do. The best things to see and do while you are here are listed in the paragraphs below.
#1 Visit the Busan Museum of Art
If you are a lover of art, you should definitely visit the Busan Museum of Art. This museum features beautiful works by some of Korea's leading artists, including Yang Dal-suk and Woo Shin-chool.
TIP ♥ - entrance fee is 3,000 KRW p.p.
#2 Go to Busan Cinema Centre
The Busan Cinema Centre is a large cinema built in the year 2011. Visiting the cinema might not be much fun if you don't speak the language, but the building of the cinema is definitely worth seeing. Especially when the building is illuminated in the evening in a kaleidoscope of beautiful colours and images, it is beautiful to see.
#3 Fish tasting at the Jagalchi market
The Jagalchi market is a large market in Nampo-dong, where you can find many stalls selling exotic fish. You can buy these fish on the spot and prepare them yourself, but there are also stalls where you can taste the special fish.
Not a fan of fish? Then it is also worth visiting the market, simply because the market has a very special atmosphere and really offers a glimpse into Busan's daily life.
Also visit the Seokbul-sa temple
#4 Take a pub crawl in Kyungsung
Many students live in Busan and this is especially noticeable in the student area called Kyungsung. If you want to go out for once in the city of Busan, you can do a real pub crawl in different student pubs here.
TIP ♥ - Vinyl Underground is highly recommended to visit if you want to listen to live music and have a drink in a quieter environment.
Busan's history
Over the years, this city has developed into South Korea's second-largest city. This is mainly because the city has an important port, where large containers of different types of cargo still arrive every day.
As a tourist destination, Busan is somewhat less popular, mainly because there are no major attractions in the city and because the city is located quite far in the south of South Korea. Nevertheless, more and more beach lovers are also discovering this holiday destination, resulting in the number of tourists in the city increasing a little every year.
Haeundae Beach
Busan has a beautiful coastline with several beaches. The most popular beach among locals and tourists alike, is Haeundae Beach. This beach not only has a beautiful bay with soft sand, but also a sparkling and clear sea. Other beaches to visit while in Busan are Gwangalli and Songjeong.
How to get there.
Several airports can be found near this city. These include four airports located at a distance of up to 100 kilometres, namely Ulsan (59 kilometres), Jinju (78 kilometres), Daegu (82 kilometres) and Pohang (99 kilometres).
Depending on available flights, fly to one of these airports and use local transport options to travel to Busan from the airport. As this is a large city, there are plenty of options to travel to the city quickly from the airport.
Best travel time
The best travel time to go to Busan is in the months of June, July, August and September. Do you really want to lie on the beach? Then it's best to go to this city in the months of June or September. This is because during these months it is nice and warm in the area, but it does rain less than in the months of July and August.
Do you want to get to know the city and not so much lie on the beach? Then it's best to avoid the hot summer period. In this case, April and May are ideal. You then have a pleasant temperature that does not get too high. In the winter period, though, you should expect low temperatures around freezing.