Enjoy the taste of the sea in Busan, Korea

Coming to Busan - the beautiful port city of Korea, even if you do not swim, visitors can still fully feel the breath and taste of the sea mixed in each unique experience. This way of exploitation helps Busan sea tourism attract visitors all year round, regardless of the season.

Busan is the green gem located in the south of Korea.

Joining the fam tour organized by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) in Vietnam, we started our journey to explore Busan in the early autumn days. The fresh air and cool climate with sea breezes made everyone feel comfortable and want to breathe deeply.

Busan is not as vibrant and bustling as Seoul, nor as romantic and poetic as Jeju, but it is captivating with its charming blend of tradition and modernity, with small villages located in the heart of bustling urban areas, traditional markets located next to high-end shopping centers, or ancient temples hidden next to skyscrapers... This contributes to creating a unique appearance for Busan - a city that is both dynamic and quiet.

Where emotions anchor

Busan welcomed us with strong drinks and sweet, fragrant cakes at a sea-view cafe located in the P.ART Cultural Complex – a project designed in the shape of a large ship.

From here, just a few minutes walk, we were able to reach the first destination of the journey: Busan Museum of Art - Arte Museum Busan, where all senses were awakened.

Arte Museum Busan is a place where all of visitors' senses are awakened.

As soon as you step in, it feels like you are lost in a universe of light where just standing still, the moving effects around are enough to help each person become the owner of beautiful frames.

Each space has a different theme: from blooming rose gardens to surging ocean waves, from hazy whirlwinds to the birth of creation, from Busan's history to the desire to rise up... In particular, in each room, you can also feel the gentle scent of roses, the cool purity of the sea breeze, the coldness of the whirlwind... This magnificent display of light, sound, and scent is enough to create a symphony of emotions for anyone.

Each space in Arte Museum Busan offers a spectacular display of light, sound, and flavor, creating a symphony of emotions.

Officially in operation from mid-2024, Arte Museum Busan is the largest digital art museum in the Arte museum system in the land of kimchi, and is also a hot check-in spot in Busan.

While we were absorbed in the feeling of “living in a work of art”, it was almost noon when we left Arte Museum Busan. The group decided to move to Jagalchi Market – the largest seafood market in Korea located near the Nampo coast. This is where fresh seafood is received from fishing boats arriving at 3-4 am every day, so the seafood at the market is always fresh and delicious. Having existed for over 100 years, Jagalchi is not only a place to buy and sell seafood, but also a symbol of Busan's lifestyle.

Jagalchi Market is known as the "seafood paradise" in Busan.

We walked around the outside of the market, where the atmosphere of buying and selling was extremely bustling at the stalls displaying a variety of fresh seafood such as fish, shrimp, crab, oysters, octopus and more. The stall owners were mostly middle-aged women, who greeted each other warmly while quickly cleaning the seafood according to the customers' requests.

Entering the first floor of the central area of ​​the market, we were extremely surprised to see small stalls divided into clean compartments, with a system of large fish tanks to keep the seafood fresh. The market has 7 floors, but the main trading activities take place on the first and second floors. If you want to enjoy seafood right on the spot, you can buy things on the first floor and bring them up to the second floor to be served and processed.

What impressed us when we came here was not only the abundance and freshness of seafood, but also the warm and friendly smiles of the people. Even if we just visited, did not shop, or ordered a very cheap dish, diners still received attentive service.

Every dish carries the flavor of the sea.

The more we “felt” the freshness of the fish, shrimp,... the more our stomachs “called”. Unable to wait any longer, we immediately chose a small restaurant in the market to enjoy the taste of Busan sea mixed in dishes such as: grilled sea eel, fried sea fish, seafood hot pot... So we were full of energy to continue experiencing the next destinations.

In the afternoon, we visited BIFF Square (Busan International Film Festival Square) located in the heart of Busan, which is considered the heart of the Korean film industry. Previously, BIFF was the main venue of the Busan International Film Festival, and is now a vibrant 428m-long street with hundreds of restaurants, cinemas and handprints on stone of more than 150 famous artists. This is truly a check-in spot not to be missed by Korean cinema lovers and those who want to explore the youthful and creative lifestyle of Busan.

BIFF Square is a must-see destination for Korean cinema lovers who want to explore Busan's youthful and creative lifestyle.

The journey continues with The Bay 101, a coastal cultural and entertainment complex opened in 2014 in Haeundae, Busan, where cuisine , art and luxury yacht experiences converge. This is the ideal place to enjoy the smell of the sea, overlooking "Marine City" - the most splendid high-rise area in the city. When night falls, the brilliant lights reflecting on the sea surface create a magical and shimmering scene.

From The Bay 101, you can enjoy the sparkling beauty of Busan at night.

We were treated to a cruise tour of Haeundae Beach, where we nibbled on prepared cakes, enjoyed the sea breeze blowing deep into our hair, and felt the magnificent beauty of Busan at night.

Arriving in the middle of the bay, the cruise ships simultaneously launched fireworks, creating beautiful moments of sublimation of emotions, completely ending the first day of exploring Busan.

Cruising Haeundae Beach on a cruise in the light of brilliant fireworks is an unforgettable experience.

Feel the sea in a different way

The second day was the time that made us feel like we were touching the sea of ​​Busan more deeply, starting with the experience of Haeundae Blueline Park - a coastal sightseeing railway nearly 5km long running along the Haeundae coast, connecting Mipo-Cheongsapo-Songjeong.

On the way there, we chose to sit on the independent mini train cars painted in different colors, each compartment can hold 2-4 people, moving at a height of 7-10m at a speed of about 5km/hour. Looking through the small window, the vibrant blue of the sea and sky blend together, making everyone's soul calm, quiet and peaceful.

Colorful mini trains take visitors to explore the natural beauty along Haeundae beach.

On the return trip, we chose the Beach Train – an environmentally friendly sightseeing train. Not only can we see the sea from the train, the journey also includes many impressive stops such as Dalmaji Tunnel, Cheongsapo or Daritdol Skywalk, where visitors can leisurely stroll and take photos for life.

Renovated from the 80-year-old Dong Hai Nam Bo railway line and officially opened in October 2020, Haeundae Blueline Park is not only a symbol of regeneration, but also an ideal meeting place for tourists who want to experience the beauty of Busan's sea in a different way.

Visitors can leisurely stroll and capture impressive photos.

Located right next to Haeundae Blueline Park is BUSAN X the SKY, a coastal observatory on the 98th–100th floors of the 411.6m-tall LCT Landmark Tower. It is the second tallest building in Korea, behind only the 555m-tall Lotte World Tower.

The high-speed elevator quickly took us to the highest floors to enjoy the taste of coffee at the highest Starbucks in the world, experiencing moving on transparent glass floors, opening up a 360° view embracing Haeundae beach and Busan city.

Visitors check in at the BUSAN X the SKY Observatory.

Not yet overcome with the feeling of "touching the sky" at the BUSAN X the SKY observatory, the whole group was amazed when they set foot on Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. Instead of being hidden in the mountainous terrain like many other temples, Haedong Yonggungsa is a rare temple built with architecture facing the sea, creating a poetic and majestic landscape.

Haedong Yonggungsa is a rare temple built with architecture facing the sea.

The temple was built in 1376 during the Goryeo Dynasty with the name meaning “Dragon Temple facing the East Sea”. This is a sacred temple that people often come to pray for peace and luck, especially during the New Year.

Climbing 108 stone steps, listening to the murmuring sound of the ocean waves mixed with the solemn sound of the temple bell, and worshiping the 10m high Buddha statue facing the sea, everyone feels peaceful.

The name of the pagoda means "Dragon Pagoda facing the east sea".

We spent the late afternoon watching the sunset on Dadaepo Beach, and lingered here to admire the water, light and music show in the evening. Since 2012, Dadaepo has become more famous for its Fountain Show with over 1,000 nozzles and LED lighting system. On weekends, many street performers perform along the wooden walkway, creating a modern yet peaceful feeling.

Water, light and music show in Dadaepo.

Located close to the beach is the Starry Night Busan Night Camping, a picnic-style resort campsite that is very popular with young people in Busan. While swinging and enjoying live music, sipping coffee and cake is a very “chill”, light and poetic feeling.

Gamcheon Culture Village is known as the “Santorini of Korea”.

On our last day exploring Busan, the destination that impressed us the most was Gamcheon Culture Village - a coastal art village known as the "Santorini of Korea". This place was formerly a settlement for refugees during the Korean War. Since 2009, thanks to a community art project, Gamcheon has "transformed" into a famous mural village, a creative destination combining art and local culture.

Seen from above, Gamcheon looks like a colorful painting made of colorful houses stacked like stairs towards the sea. This architectural style helps the houses not to obscure each other but to receive light together.

Every alley, wall, and street corner here bears the mark of creative art.

We were engrossed in walking through each small alley, where each step led us to unique check-in corners, sometimes creative graffiti works, sometimes lovely installation models, not to mention countless cute cafes and souvenir shops. Every wall, stairway, and street corner here seemed to invite visitors to raise their cameras to capture them.

Clearly, Busan is showing a very smart way of exploiting marine resources. Without having to drag tourists to touch the sea, the tourist experiences associated with coastal destinations are still enough to help visitors feel the beauty and taste of the sea in every moment.

As a member of the famtour, Travel Blogger To Thai Hung (To Di Dau) said that although he had been to Busan 3 times before in 2017, 2022 and 2023, this trip still brought him many new emotions. Those emotions not only come from the recently opened attractions, but also from the way Busan does tourism. Busan does not depend on available resources but has known how to exploit human and technological factors to create its own appeal.

Busan beach is not only for swimming but also becomes a background element to increase the attraction of experiences, helping sea tourism operate all year round. Destinations, products and services are also linked into a complete value chain so that tourists can experience continuously for several days without feeling bored or repetitive. These are the things that create the unforgettable uniqueness of Busan sea tourism.

TRANG ANH

Source: https://nhandan.vn/tan-huong-huong-vi-bien-busan-han-quoc-post915571.html