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Just this other week, me and my other friends went to Busan for a short vacation. This is a trip I was really excited to go to since I’ve only been out of Daejeon twice since I arrived here and Busan would be the farthest I would have been. Being the second largest city after Seoul, Busan has been recommended as a vacation spot since it has many tourist attractions.

One of Busan’s main attractions is its beaches. It is home to the country’s most famous beach - Haeundae. As such, the trip was planned such that we could go to one beach per day for the 3-day trip. So for the first day we went to Haeundae and then to Gwanggali and finally to Songjeong Beach for our last day. Fortunately, moving from one beach to the other was quite easy as they were close to stations connected by one subway line.

The moment I set foot on the sands of Haendae was one to remember since it was the first time I’ve seen that many people in a beach and tightly-spaced parasols lined up along the shore despite the extremely hot weather during that day. Indeed, Haeundae is a top destination for Koreans during summer, also evidenced by how commercialized the surrounding area is. We ended up staying in a parasol until close to sunset when there were fewer people and the weather was more tolerable to enjoy the water. The Gwanggali experience was more enjoyable. It was much wider than Haeundae and the quality of the water was better although there were just as many people. Another advantage of the Gwanggali was the scenic view of the Gwangan bridge from the beach. We stayed there until evening when this bridge, said to be the longest bridge in here Korea, was illuminated by colorful lights. It looked very stunning, a treat for onlookers like us. Songjeong is the least commercialized beach we visited although the seemingly standard for-rent multi-colored parasols and yellow tube floats and the roaming Mexican chicken vendors were still around. If one wants to enjoy just the beach and doesn’t mind not having close restaurants and hotels around, then this is the place to go. There were fewer people and it had the finest sand among the three.

For the two nights, we stayed at jimjilbangs. This was the recommended cheap place to stay especially that we don’t have many baggage with us. It was the first time I’ve been in to such a place. The public bath and sauna experience was awkward especially since I’m not used to walking around naked in public. We also tried the rooms with different temperatures ranging from 0°C to 75°C. Even though there were isolated publics rooms, I chose to sleep on the floor of the open hall for the thrill of it. When I woke up the following morning, I was surprised by the large number of people who are sleeping everywhere the place. For those who are seeking a unique Korean experience, a jimjilbang is a must-try.

For seafood lovers like me, Busan is a definite place to visit as seafood restaurants are all over since it is a port city. Among all the meals we ate during the trip, the 해물탕 at a restaurant near Songjeong what I liked most. Not only was the mix of seafood ingredients interesting, the actual taste of the soup was actually was very good. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time and money to try out other seafood delicacies of Busan.

Overall, the Busan trip was definitely worth it and is recommended place to visit for foreigners and even to Koreans who haven’t been there. This trip allowed me to experience and appreciate Korean culture even more.