snapshots from busan, south korea.
march 2023
when we went to south korea, we started in seoul and it wasn’t quite cherry blossom season yet. it was quite a contrast when we made our way south to busan right into peak peak bloom. so many streets were lined with cherry trees, and even the hills were dotted with them.
cherry blossom-lined street.
fallen blossoms like snow.
one of the first things we did was a sunset cruise of the haeundae river. we got really lucky being only the only 2 of 4 people on the entire boat. in true korean style, shoes aren’t allowed and they gave us cushy slides to wear around the boat instead. there are many bridges along the way that lit up in colorful lights as the sun went down.
busan cinema center.
cherry blossoms along the river.
gwangandaegyo bridge.
gwangandaegyo from land.
view across yeongdo bridge to central busan from our hotel at night.
at songdo beach, there is a series of “cloud trails” that connect to a small island. it seems like a beach that is really lively and fun in the summer. there is even an aerial cable car you can take down the coast.
songdo cloud trails.
cable cars at songdo.
songdo beach.
busan streets.
like LA, busan is a film city and home to BIFF (busan international film festival) - and the city definitely takes pride in that.
busan tower is located in yongdusan park, which is a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of the city.
yongdusan park.
yongdusan park.
cherry blossoms and a kitty.
busan tower.
being a port city, busan is definitely known for it’s seafood. jalgachi market is one of, if not the, biggest seafood markets in the country. it was later in the day when we made it to the area, so we didn’t go into the building where the market and its restaurants are housed, but there are still many stands along the road outside that we spent a little time exploring.
colorful umbrellas at jalgachi market.
sea squirts and other sea goodies.
sharp things.
dried fish.
and of course, cute cafes and storefronts everywhere, especially in jeonpo cafe street.
towards the northern end of busan is haedong yonggungsa buddhist temple, which is popular for it’s picturesque location by the sea. the temple has many shrines where people can pray for some very specific things, which was quite amusing.
walking to the temple.
"statue of buddha for academic achievement"
haedong yonggungsa temple.
haedong yonggungsa
little buddhas everywhere.
after our trek to the temple, we headed a little south to check out cheongsapo daritol observatory. it’s really just a bridge out over the water so you can see up and down the coast. there are parts that are either glass or grates so you can see down to the water below.
cheongsapo daritol observatory.
booties.
tourists on the observatory.
everyone has to wear cloth booties over their shoes, and it does look like they are planning to build/extend the observatory into a kind of a loop eventually. it’s a neat spot to stop by, but we really came to this area to go eat some seafood - more on that in the next post!
view from the observatory.
