When I booked my flight to Korea, I did so with the intention of exploring parts of the country. I wanted to explore parts that I haven’t had the chance of seeing through my own choices and an adult lens. My time in Korea was exactly three weeks, and I knew I wanted to spend at least one of those weeks traveling outside of Seoul. I know it’s cliche and I know it’s touristy, but I genuinely felt like I had to visit Busan and Jeju-do—in my mind, it was a rite of passage for me as a Korean person.
I can’t say whether I’ve been to Busan before. If I have, it was likely that I was too young to fully remember, since the only beaches I can recall seeing in Korea before this year are from Sokcho or Jeju-do. (I can, however, say that I’ve been to Sokcho at least three times and that the dakgangjeong from Mansuk is always excellent.) It’s a place I wanted to cross off my list, even if it was just for a few days to mainly see the beaches and eat local food.
Busan is Korea’s second largest city and home to the sixth busiest port in the world. In 2020, Busan’s port processed over 20 million containers of cargo. But the city is also famous for old school markets, incredibly popular beaches, and some of the best fish cake you can find. In about 48 hours, I made my way through some of Busan’s gems in a relaxed and breezy fashion. Despite being a metropolis, I felt that the city had a slower pace, much like how Chicago feels after being in New York (though this might be because I went before the summer vacation rush).
After taking what might be the smoothest ride of my life to Busan Station on the KTX, I started the trip by doing the most touristy and over-photographed thing I could possibly do. No really, if you Google “Busan,” it’ll be the first picture you see. Yes, I went to 감천문화마을 (Gamcheon Culture Village), which was originally developed to be a working-class neighborhood and community. It’s best known for colorful houses built on the mountainside and woven streets and alleys. The view was fantastic, and despite the fact that there was a yellow dust storm that day, I enjoyed walking around the up-and-downhill streets. The houses are not nearly as saturated in color as most online photos may suggest, but I found the actual colors somehow more lively.
After Gamcheon Village, I headed to 광안리해수욕장 (Gwangalli Beach) since it was right by where I was staying. There’s a great view of Gwangan Bridge, and while the beach was relatively empty due to slightly chillier weather, I could easily see myself going for a swim if it had been twenty degrees warmer. The beach was also used for filming a scene in Black Panther, which is cool!
For an early dinner, I went for 밀면 (milmyeon), a Busan staple. It’s similar to naengmyeon in that the noodles are served cold and there’s a broth option and a mixed option with spicy bibim sauce. However the noodles are made from wheat rather than buckwheat. Typically the broth option still comes with bibim sauce, though you can ask for it without if you’re not into spice. There are dozens of shops serving milmyeon throughout the city, and one of those shops is 옥이네밀면칼국수 (Ok’s Milmeyon Kalguksu). I chose this one because of the distance from the beach and the Naver reviews, and it ended up being my favorite meal in Busan. From what I understand, milmyeon will be tasty at many hole-in-the-wall type places, and this one didn’t let me down.
I ordered the 물밀면, which is the milmyeon that comes with broth, for under $5. But never mind the absolute steal of a price, even by Korean standards, the food here is the real deal. They give you only one banchan—pickled radishes—which also make an appearance in the milmyeon bowl. The milmyeon came with bibim sauce, hard-boiled egg, a few slices of pork, cucumbers, and ice slush broth. And every single component was good: the bibim sauce brought a lot of umami, the noodles were perfectly springy, and the broth had a slight sweetness that was perfect. I doctored it up with some hot mustard and vinegar and inhaled the bowl. I’m not sure if the owner gave extra noodles since he joked about a “foreigner special” (I was with my white partner), but the portions are massive. I’m still thinking about the milmyeon as I write this post and will probably think of it again when I edit the photos.
To end the first day, a nightcap was required from 갈매기브루잉 (Galmegi Brewing Co.). I won’t say too much about this because I thought it was just OK as a brewery. I think many breweries in Korea are coming up with new things since the demand for craft beer is quickly growing, and I may have just visited at the wrong time. None of the beers really stood out to me, but I’d be open to trying one of their beers again in the future.
Day two starts with another staple of Busan cuisine, 돼지국밥 (dwaeji gukbap). 돼지국밥 literally translates into “pork soup rice” and it’s exactly what it sounds like. According to my brother who had dwaeji gukbap three times when he was in Busan, some shops make cloudy soup and some places make clear soup. Per his recommendation, I went to 60년전통할매국밥 (60-Years Traditional Halmae Dwaeji-Gukbap). I’m not sure if it’s actually 60 years old (though that would be pretty cool), but the location does look pretty old.
There are a couple of menu items that all come with the same broth, and most customers go for the classic gukbap. From what I understand, this is pretty typical at dwaeji gukbap shops, and some will have a sookyuk baekban option where you get the meat and rice without the soup. If you order the gukbap as-is, the rice comes already in the soup. I actually didn’t realize that this was the case until the food showed up, and it hit me that I should have ordered 따로국밥 where the rice comes on the side. The broth isn’t too milky and isn’t too clear, and it was well seasoned even though I wasn’t blown away. I honestly wasn’t a big fan of the meat—it has an overwhelmingly porky flavor, and I saw this as someone who really likes pork belly. My partner was really into it, so this is a dish that can be hit or miss for people.
I spent most of the afternoon at 해운대해수욕장 (Haeundae Beach) where the water is beautifully clear. Haeundae is by far Korea’s most popular swimming beach; in the summer, there are so many people that you can’t actually see the sand. I lucked out and went on an absolutely perfect day when it was sunny with a strong breeze. It’s nice to just walk around and take photos or sit with a cup of iced coffee on the beach. I also made a pit stop for 떡볶이 and 튀김 at 상국이네 (Sangcookine), one of Busan’s famous tteokbokki spots per my aunt’s recommendation. It’s highly worth the stop—the tteokbokki is quite spicy and on the sweeter side and the twigim is very light and crispy.
On the way back to Gwangalli Beach, there was a cafe that is home to two shibas, so naturally I had to drop in for a coffee. Marko and Jack, the shibas, keep the cafe owners company and greet customers when they enter. The pups (and the coffee) were the cutest afternoon pickup before sunset on the beach. Unfortunately, due to yellow dust and clouds, we did not catch a true sunset.
To end our last night in Busan, my partner and I hit up Busan’s popular brewery 고릴라브루잉 (Gorilla Brewing Co.) for dinner. Thankfully, this brewery was awesome. Their beer list was quite long with 20 or so different brews, and the selection was diverse. They had a beer flight which had massive 9 oz pours, but I wasn’t complaining and my partner certainly wasn’t complaining. The beers were objectively all good, and the most interesting one I had was a tomato imperial gose. You would think tomato doesn’t belong in beer, but it certainly does! Gorilla also serves American-style BBQ to eat, and the food was surprisingly decent and went well with the beer selection.
For the final meal, I picked up the most delicious scone from The Bay Bakery, a tiny bakeshop near Gwangalli Beach. With barely enough room for three people to stand inside, it was definitely a to-go situation, so I sat right outside on their bench. 앙버터, a combination of 팥앙금 (sweet red bean) and (often cold) butter, has been trendy in Korean over the last few years. I was skeptical—because why eat cold butter on bread?—however I was also curious and bought a scone with the combo filing. And honestly, it was so good. The sweet and salty flavors meld together and the creamy texture of both fillings went really well with what was actually a fantastic scone.
To close out the trip, I went to walk around 자갈치수산시장 (Jagalchi Fish Market) and the surrounding area. At Jagalchi, you can pick one of the many stalls with live seafood and the owners will catch and prepare the fish for you on the spot. The market isn’t limited to just seafood; there are produce stalls and butchers available for shoppers to complete their grocery list as needed. While I didn’t have a fish market meal as I was meeting family in Gyeongju for an early dinner, this is something I’d love to try next time around.
Busan was a lovely short getaway, and compared to Seoul, it’s a very relaxed place to be. The clear-water beaches are the highlight, and the regional foods are mostly hits rather than misses. While there wasn’t some kind of profound self-discover that happened from visiting Busan, I felt good being able to say, “hey, I’ve been there and seen that beyond just pictures.” I’m looking forward to going again in a few years and revisiting my favorites and sitting by the beach with a good book.
Shin Hye Away 