1. Gamchon culture village
This colorful village is located on a steep part of Cheonmasan mountain. Busan was overwhelmed with refuges during Korean war and people started build their own shelters on steep hill sides (You will discover there are not much of flat areas in Busan). After the war ended, many people decided to stay in Busan. Out of many villages like this in Busan, Gamcheon village attracts many tourists because this village was re-vitalized since 2009 by multiple artists. You can find interesting cafes, shops and workshops while you walk through the narrow alleys.
2. Haedongyonggungsa temple
This Buddhist temple is known for its unique location. Most of the temples in Korea are located in mountains but It is the temple that is the nearest from the sea in Korea. Buddhists believe that the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy usually appears on the sea. that's why you can find a big statue of the Goddess of Mercy in the temple and many pilgrims visit the site to pray. Haedongyonggungsa means the "temple of the dragon palace". We were believed that there had been a palace under the sea with a powerful emperor who control the ocean and we have many legendary tales and superstitions about it. The concept of the temple is to visit the dragon palace under the sea as you walk down 108 narrow, crooked steps and suddenly the picturesque temple is in front of you. You can take time to enjoy endless waves waving to the solemn temple.
3. Haeundae beach & Dongbaekseom (Camelia island)
The most visited sandy beach in entire country! Believe or not, there are 1 million people on the beach PER DAY in August days. Korean people dream to visit Haeundae beach on their Summer vacation. It is dynamic area that you can find many hotels, bars, restaurants and street performers (buskers). Variety festivals also go on throughout the year. On one side of the beach, there is a Pine forest that anyone can walk. This is called Dongbaekseom, Camelia island. In the half way, you can find a beautiful building called APEC Nurimaru. Busan hosted APEC(Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit talk in 2005 and The ASEAN-Korea meeting in 2019. It was hosted in this building. Diamond bridge behind the building is truly beautiful too. At the end, stop by "The bay 101" to have some food and drinks.
4. Igidae coastal walk (or hike)
From Oryukdo skywalk to Dongsaengmal or vice-versa. This 4.8km walk is the best walk or hike (or in between) in Busan. It takes about 1h 30m to 2hours one-way. If you want to get away from a bustling street or if you like hiking, take half day and try to walk Igidae coast. This is not a long distance but it contains dynamic changes and different views. You will never feel boring. I recommend to walk from Oryukdo skywalk to Dongsaengmal because the diamond bridge will be in front of you as you walk and more importantly, it's easier than the other direction!
5. Songdo cable car (Busan air cruise)
Songdo beach is the oldest public beach in the nation opened in 1913. The first cable car on the beach was constructed in 1964 and closed in 1987 due to a decreasing number of tourist. However it was re-constructed in 2017 as well as Songdo skywalk. The length of the cable is 1.62km and it takes about 8 minutes to the other side. On the cable car, you can enjoy breathtaking ocean view, Songdo beach, Amnam park and Yeongdo island. Songdo cable car offers some other joyful attractions such as Songdo skywalk, Amnam park, Dino adventure and Sky Harbour Observatory platform. In 2020, Yonggung suspension bridge was opened as well! Therefore it is good idea for the whole family members. Take note! There is a good place to drink coffee on the other side, so don't drink coffee before you ride!
6. BIFF square (Nampodong & Gwangbokdong shopping area)
Busan has a downtown (of course! it has more than 3 million people). well.. two downtowns! The first one is called Seomyeon and second one is called Nampodong (BIFF square). Nampodong can be more interesting than Seomyeon because it has Gukje market, Jagalchi fish market, shopping street and Busan tower all in a walking distance! But why do people call it BIFF square? Because we host Busan International Film Festival(BIFF) every Autumn and originally it took place in Nampodong street. But the festival has been more spectacular and Busan built a place called Cinema center only for the festival somewhere else in the city. Nampodong lost its honor but perhaps they wanted to keep the name eternally. There still some events goes on during the festival and there is a walk of fame that has hand printings of the famous stars. In BIFF square, you can enjoy many street food, shops and people.
7. Taejongdae cliff
This cliff carved by nature is what Busan has to offer! It is located at the southern most part of Yeongdo island which is southern part of Busan. Therefore you can see Japan with your naked eyes from here. Tsushima island(Japan) is only about 50km away from Taejongdae. This is a big area so people take tram. If you are lucky, you can find some dolphins from the observatory. But the best thing about Taejongdae is to have raw seafood and alive octopus with Soju(Korean spirit) right next to the wavy ocean! sometimes you may need a rain jacket to protect you from the sea water. If you take all the way down from the light house to the sea level, some local Haenyeo (women diver) sell fresh seafood. I believe this is my favorite seafood restaurant in Busan. But after all the splendid experience, you have to take hundreds steps up to the tram way. But don't worry! There are some ferries can take you from your table to the park entrance if you are willing to pay some more.
8. Yeongdo bridge
This is the historic Yeongdo bridge built by Japanese during Japanese colonial period. It was opened in 1934 and This is still the only drawbridge in Korea. It opens everyday 2 p.m. little bit for the ships but more for tourists I must say lately. There are plenty of small sized ships around this area because there are many ship yards and dry docks. This is still one of the land-mark in Busan but in 1950, it was the best land-mark in Busan because people heard about the bridge (a giant iron) lifts from the ground amazingly! Therefore when the refuges escape to Busan, They promised to meet under the Yeongdo bridge, sadly, there were too many people tried to find their families and some of them couldn't make their way to Busan. You can imagine full of people trying to find their beloved family members somewhat 70 years ago!
There are many more places I wanted to recommend. But the time in Busan will be limited so I carefully tried to choose 8 places for the travelers visiting Busan for the first time. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this dynamic city Busan!
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