Busan South Korea 4/3/24

Busan, South Korea



No, all those pastel colored shapes are not Legos, that’s the Gamcheon Culture Village of Busan, the “Machu Picchu of South Korea”. It’s one of the fascinating areas of the city that became a popular place to live in the 50’s during the Korean War. Its protected hillsides hid these poorer residents from war’s turmoil and soon houses became stacked on above the other. Like most of what I’ve read about Busan, it will be a great place to explore but be prepared to walk a lot and climb many steep stairs. The top spots to visit here are often cliffside, like the beautiful Haedon Yongungsa Temple. 

Coming into Busan was lovely, and the city was much larger than I expected.  We came in under the bridge to dock at the cruise terminal.  Our neighbor, Margie Talley, was born in Busan, so I hope that the pictures reflect the city well for her.

While the weather did not cooperate - it rained all day and got a bit chilly, we still packed a lot of sightseeing and places in the day.  It really has been the first bad weather day of our cruise so far, which is remarkable.  This is the first of three stops in Korea, which is especially important to Mickey, as his father served in teh Korean War.  Mickey was born while his father was overseas and did not "meet" his dad until he was almost 1 year old.


We started out our day at the most beautiful temple in Korea, Haedon Yongungsa Temple.  It was very slippery so we did not get to all of the park areas which was a shame as it is a very lovely and peaceful area to visit.  




We then went to the Peace Memorial Hall which obviously focused on the Korean War.  Lots of pictures of US soldiers - wouldn't it have been great to see Mickey's Dad!  His mom does not remember exactly where he served, but it was very important to Mickey to visit here, and he was very moved. 


Then, Korean Barbeque  - it did not disappoint.


From there, we went to Gamcheon Culture Village.  Could have spent days here, lots of great food stops, and wonderful crafts local to Korea.  Very artsy...




Our last stop on a soggy day was a stop at Jagalchi Fish Market, Koreas largest seafood market and local shops......

 


Leaving Busan was lovely....

Leaving under bridge



Timelapse of Busan









Location: Busan, South Korea

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