Korea Day 8: Busan Culture Tour

Carol | July 27, 2019 | Featured, South Korea | No Comments

Today was our one and only full day in the city of Busan, and it was one of my favorite days in South Korea. The tour we booked for the day took Bethany and I to several really amazing places that blew me away. I’m really glad we decided to book a tour for the day instead of exploring on our own because there’s no way we would have fit as much in, or have been able to get around Busan so quickly.

Our tour: East Coast Culture Tour via Klook.com

Day 8 Highlights

Busan East Coast Culture Tour
- Haedong Yonggung Temple
- Lunch at Lotte Mall
- Songdo Beach Skywalk
- Gamcheon Culture Village

Bus Tour

We found a nearby bus stop and took a bus to Busan station where we were requested to meet our tour guide. Breakfast consisted of snacks from the convenience store. We had an interaction with a sweet old woman with no teeth who I assume was homeless but we couldn’t understand her. We offered her our food but it wasn’t what she wanted. I wish we’d been able to figure out what she was trying to communicate.

Haedong Yonggung Temple

Haedong Youngung Temple was quite lovely. I enjoyed walking through the marketplace with all it’s unique offerings and the Zodiac statue path. From there we walking down winding stairs till we reached the cliffside shrines and temple. I wish we’d had more time to explore this place and a guide to explain what each of the shrines were for.

Lunch at Lotte Mall

Our tour was supposed to take us to Taejongdae Park but the weather wasn’t cooperative so we went to Lotte Mall for lunch and shopping. It had a really great Artbox shop full of tons of cute character stationary. I loaded up on goodies for both myself and friends and family. We had lunch at MeSteak. I wonder if they’re aware that sounds like the English word ‘mistake.’ I ordered a stroganoff pasta and was quite happy with it.

Songdo Beach Skywalk

Songdo Beach is super cool. We visited some of the shops and walked along the Skybridge to admire the views and take pictures. I loved the view of the cable cars and skyline. This is definitely a place I’d like to return to and share with Karl.

Gamcheon Culture Village

Gamcheon-dong is fun area famous for it’s steep streets, colorful houses, murals, and interactive art. The main shopping/tourist street is lined with shops, cafes, art installations, murals, and photo opportunities. My artistic self was so happy to walk through this area and admire all the ways art was used to enhance and revitalize the neighborhood.

Back to our AirBnB

After Gamcheon our bus returned us to Busan Station. I enjoyed viewing the bridges, buildings, and views on our drive. There were tons of skyscrapers that looked exactly the same which seemed quite odd but was also interesting. We were pretty worn out after our late night traveling to Busan and our all day tour so we returned to our room and crashed for the night.