Things to Do in Busan

During my time visiting Travis in South Korea,  we took a one day trip to Busan. Busan is the second biggest city in the country with a population of more than 3 million. We had a couple things we wanted to see, but for the most part we just played it by ear and enjoyed our day.

Things to Do in Busan that We Recommend

First, we went to Busan Tower. Remember when we went up in the 83 Tower in Daegu? Well, this was very similar except we could look out onto the city of Busan, complete with the ocean beyond.

At the bottom of the tower, thousands up thousands of people have placed love locks all along the railings overlooking a park. It was quite the sight to see. The very first love lock I looked closely at was actually written in English, and wouldn’t you know it was a love note from God? A sweet little reminder of His sunshine.

After walking through Yongdusan Park, we found a place to eat lunch. We found a pizza place and both got cheese pizzas, complete with a side of pickles. Did you know every place in Korea serves pickles as a side? Learn more about Korean food here. We also both got some fun drinks — I got some type of carbonated kiwi juice and Travis got blue lemonade. Both drinks were delicious!

After we refueled at lunch, we walked around the city checking out the local shops and all the streets filled (and I mean filled!) with vendors, street food, and people. It was so fun walking around and talking it all in. We actually started to wish we hadn’t filled up at lunch because we began wanting all the street food! But don’t worry, we came back later for street food! We had sugar cane juice, a potato twist, an Oreo waffle, and a huge strawberry ice cream cone.

The Korean markets start to all look the same after awhile, so after we had our fill of shopping, we headed to the Jagalchi Fish Market. I was not really looking forward to this because I figured it was going to smell awful and be disgusting. But I knew Travis would love it. It turns out we both really enjoyed it, and it ended up being our favorite part of the day trip. Who knew?

Because the fish were all still alive (most of them anyway) in tanks filled with water, there wasn’t a bad smell like I expected. There were rows and rows of fish, crabs, lobsters, octopus, shrimp, mussels, and basically all sorts of seafood. They were all alive for the picking.

You can walk around the whole market choosing which you’d like to purchase. Travis bought a small flounder and some shrimp. The lady we bought the shrimp off was very nice and threw in extra shrimp and even some oysters for us to try. The person selling the fish takes it out of the water, weighs it, takes your money, and then cuts the fish up right there in front of you. It’s the freshest fish you’ll ever eat!

You go upstairs to the restaurant area where they prepare your food. You can get your fish as sushi or have it cooked. They set up your table and you are good to go. It was such a neat experience. I tried the flounder but hated it. I did, however, love the shrimp.

Other Things to Do in Busan

• Visit the Busan Aquarium
• Get pampered at Spaland Centum City
• View the beautiful cliffs on a Haeundae Cruise Boat
• See one of the biggest ports in the world through a Busan Port Boat Tour
• Walk the 40 Steps to see bronze figurines portraying street life
• Overlook the beautiful views of the city while visiting Beomeosa Temple
• Take a relaxing walk to Dalmaji Hill commonly known as “romantic road” because of the view overlooking the sea
• Go see the lighthouse at Taejongdae Park
• Lotte Aquatique Show is a 10-minute long musical fountain show that is performed 11 times a day at the Lotte Department Store
• If you are there in October, check out the International Film Festival and the International Fireworks Festival
• Haeundae Beach is one of the most popular summer destinations in South Korea

What other things would you suggest doing when visiting Busan?

Check out these other great posts:

• Common Phrases in Korean
• South Korean Culture
• How to Be a Good Guest in Korea

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