At one time, I had had designs of visiting sites all across South Korea over a week or two, before wrapping up my stay with a few days in Busan. But my frustration with Seoul coupled with the punishing heat of a Korean summer meant I simplified my itinerary drastically. In fact I decided to skip all of it. I’m sure that the smaller cities in central and Eastern Korea are worth going to… so maybe next time. This post is about the 5 days I spent in Busan only. But hey, I actually had a fabulous time.
While I complained about Seoul quite comprehensively in my previous post, there’s one grievance I didn’t mention. The people of Seoul may be good looking and stylishly dressed, but they seemed to be very uptight and self obsessed. An all too common site was a bunch of girls or boys sitting in a cafe, dressed flawlessly – looking bored out of their minds! Everything was purely surface level, and you could tell people were too self conscious about how they looked to actually have any fun. This is where Busan differed greatly. And it was the best part about it.
Busan is a city of over 3 million people, but it had the vibe of one much smaller. It’s on the coast, so people will be wandering around rocking swim shorts, vests and flip flops; it’s the kind of place that was a bit rough about the edges and didn’t take itself seriously. It was a welcome change from Seoul! Get some cans of Cass beer from 7/11 and just chill on Haeundae Beach enjoying the sunset. Because when life is this laid-back, who cares what brands you’re wearing?
As we know, Korea developed insanely quickly in the latter part of the 20th century, so almost everything here is new. I didn’t do anything historical on my visit which is a bit of a shame, but I did enjoy the vistas of sparkling skyscrapers, the huge air-conditioned malls, efficient public transport and neon drenched streets.
The absolute highlight for me was the hike I did along the Igidae Coastal Trail, from the Oryukdo Skywalk to Gwangalli Beach. The sea crashing against cliffs below as you wandered along through the jungle, over small suspension bridges with not a car in sight; it was bliss! Well, actually it was quite physically challenging and insanely sweaty, but the views were phenomenal.
Coincidentally I was in the city at the same time as a friend of a friend from London, so of course we met up for brunch. He was travelling with a friend of his – they’d met at their job years before. I was flabbergasted to learn that this company… was my company. We had all worked for the same firm and I’d had no idea! This ensured we had lots to talk about, from moaning about various old bosses to sharing the gossip on the people we all knew. Wild that this could happen on the other side of the world!
Overall it had been quite a chill time in Busan, enjoying the weather and the beaches, the beautiful seaside scenery, and hanging out with new friends. It had been sufficiently good to change my opinion on South Korea in general; the lifestyle here was so appealing that I was leaving the country excited to return (which I did about a month later). I doubt that Korea will ever occupy a space in my heart like Japan, but I’m keen to visit again and learn more about the place. It’s a fascinating, one of a kind destination and will likely change massively in the coming years. So we’ll have to wait and see!
Checkpoint Charlie 