부산에 주말여행: 1 일 Weekend Trip to Busan: Day 1

Amber Villahermosa
Aug 26, 2017 · 6 min read

Another one.

As a lover of seafood, I thought it was important to travel further down south to the city of Busan. I traveled with my friend Megan and her parents as their first adventure in South Korea. We used the KTX express train from Seoul to Busan. It took us about 2–3 hours to get to Busan. I’m sure the countryside views were beautiful but we woke up at 4am to get on that train so ya girl slept reallll good and didn’t see a single bit of it.

Once we arrived in Busan, we were greeted by Megan’s student who’s a Busan native. He took us everywhere by car so bless him because he made our lives real easy. On the way to the hotel, we visited the UN memorial museum commemorating all the soldiers who fought in the Korean War. (lil history lesson for ya right here: During the Korean War, North Korea along with their allies pushed the UN forces and South Korean soldiers from Seoul further south to Busan. This is where the South had resided for sometime during the end part of the war. That’s why the UN memorial is located in Busan.) We walked around the memorial and paid our respects to all the soldiers who took part in the Korean War. Below are a few photos I took of the memorial.

After we were done at the memorial, we got to go to our hotel located right on 해운대 (Haeundae) which is a famous beach in Busan known by all tourists, foreigners and Koreans alike. I had to walk on the beach as soon as I got there cause I’m a Hawaii girlie who needs that salt water and sand to feel sane. After we had some fun on the beach, it was eating time!!! We went to the traditional fish market located across the street from 해운대. There were restaurants lined up with all types of fishes in glass containers and different types of food they specialized in. (Left: the market) We chose to eat 생선구이 (grilled fish) for our first meal in Busan. It was a variety of fish grilled to perfectionnnn with a side of 된장찌개 (soybean paste soup) with seafood inside. The fish was delicious. One of the 반찬 (side dish) included spicy raw octopus and it was so good. After that meal, we got snacks cause the grind doesn’t stop. We went to this well-known 떡볶이 (ddeokbokki) shop. We had 떡볶이 and fried food such as shrimp, kimbab, and others. 떡볶이 is stir-fried rice cakes with fish cakes in a spicy sauce. The 떡 (rice cake) was so big. If you look closely in the picture on the right, you can see a piece of rice cake in the red dish on the right side of it to see how fat that rice cake was.

We were so happy and so full. But the adventure didn’t stop there. We then drove to the only Buddhist temple located near the ocean in Korea. It’s called 해동 용궁사 Haedong Yonggungsa). Before you enter the temple, you’re greeted by ahjummas selling snacks and other trinkets. We bought 식혜 (sikhye) and 씨앗 호떡 (sunflower hoddeok) to snack as we walk through the temple. 식혜 is a traditional Korean sweet rice drink sold basically everywhere in Korea in convenience stores or on the streets from vendors.

호떡 is a Korean snack with sunflower seeds, peanuts, and cinnamon inside. They’re fried into a flat pancake shape and best eaten fresh off the fryer. (No pictures for this because I ate it without thinking. The stomach wanted what it wanted. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) Once you get to the entrance of the temple, there are Buddhist statues lined up along with Chinese zodiac statues detailing certain zodiacs with three years of bad luck (Horse, Snake, and Sheep: ya’ll gotta watch your backs). We then walked through a tunnel which lead us to a set of stairs towards the ocean and the rest of the temple. The view was breathtaking. (no literally I was dry heaving. I hate stairs.) Below are a couple photos I took at the temple. The first photo (left to right) is the walk into the temple. The photos following show what you see along the stairway as well as the view. There are multiple Buddhist icons for those of the Buddhist faith to pay their respect to as well as tourists (like myself) to take pictures without disturbing those in the middle of their prayer. The last photo captures the entirety of 해동 용궁사.

To end our first day in Busan, we had to have a Busan originated dish. Megan and I decided to head back to the traditional market near our hotel and try a dish that originated in Busan called 돼지국밥 (Pork rice soup). It contains sliced pork, broth, and rice in a stone pot. You can choose to add garnishes as you like such as green onions, salted shrimp, or 고추장 (gochujang, red pepper paste). The broth allowed the dish to have a refreshing taste while the 고추장 added the right amount of spice. I was very satisified to have a Busan originated dish. That stone pot looked like it was licked clean when I was done with it.

Yay Busan day 1!!! Two more posts to go for the full Busan adventure update so stay tuned. Ambae out.

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