By rail
Busan station, ~2.5 h by KTX from Seoul
East Asia · South Korea
Busan, South Korea
Beaches, fish markets and hillside villages
Getting there
By air
Gimhae International (PUS), ~25 km
Best time to visit
May to June and September to October — warm, not humid
Don't miss
Haeundae
Gamcheon Culture Village
Haedong Yonggungsa
Taejongdae
Things to do
Haeundae Beach
The Gamcheon Culture Village
The Jagalchi fish market
Haedong Yonggungsa
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: by lwy · CC BY 2.0
What to pack
Swimwear in summer, layers
A quieter corner
Huinnyeoul Culture Village, cliffside houses over the sea
Questions travellers ask
When is Busan warm but not too humid?
May to June and September to October. Pack swimwear if you come in summer, plus layers.
How long is the KTX from Seoul to Busan?
About 2.5 hours to Busan station. If you fly, Gimhae International (PUS) is roughly 25 km away.
What's good to eat in Busan?
Raw fish at the Jagalchi fish market, dwaeji gukbap (pork soup) and ssiat hotteok.
Where can I see Busan's cliffside houses?
At Huinnyeoul Culture Village, where the houses sit on cliffs over the sea.
About Busan
- Coastal
Where it is
Busan is South Korea's second-largest city and its busiest port, on the south-eastern tip of the Korean Peninsula where the Nakdong River meets the sea, facing the Korea Strait towards Japan.
History
Under the Joseon dynasty Busan held the Waegwan, a walled trading post for Japanese merchants, and in 1876 it became Korea's first port opened to international trade. During the Korean War it served as the temporary capital and sheltered hundreds of thousands of refugees, many of whom settled on its steep hillsides, and it grew into a great city of shipping and shipbuilding.
People
Busan's people speak Korean in the Gyeongsang dialect, and life here has long turned on the sea, from fishing to the port and its shipyards. Street stalls sell eomuk fish cakes and ssiat hotteok, seed-filled pancakes, and each autumn the city hosts the Busan International Film Festival.
Known for
- Haeundae and Gwangalli beaches
- The Jagalchi fish market
- The Busan International Film Festival
- Dwaeji gukbap, pork and rice soup
- The Gamcheon Culture Village
Did you know?
Busan holds the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea, the only United Nations cemetery in the world, where soldiers from many countries who fell in the Korean War are buried.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.