On Tuesday July 20th, we took a 4 hour train from Cheonan Station (line 1) to the city of Busan. Busan is South Korea's 2nd largest city and on the south-eastern coast. When we arrived, the first thing we wanted to do was drop off our stuff. We found a hotel room among the many to choose from right in front of the station. We were surprised when we looked around and saw so much Russian writing. We realized we were in a part of town with many Russian immigrants. It was a bit late but we decided to take the subway to Beomeosa station to see "Beomeosa" -- a Korean Buddhist temple. It was a simple but nice temple with beautiful surroundings. Many people were having picnics on the creek next to the temple.
Next, we read in our guide book that there was a nice park nearby called "geumgang" with a cable car. We took a 5 minute taxi from Ocheonjang station and arrived at the park at 6:45pm, only to discover it had closed at 6:30pm. We still got a chance to look around and it seemed nice and relaxing. We walked around that area of town for a while and saw a lot of fruit, veggies, fish, and drinks for sale. One man was selling an interesting looking drink I had never seen before. It seemed he was pressing it out of a tree trunk. We paid 2,000 won (less than $2) for this dark, bitter drink made from arrow root. The man said it was good for the heart. We also had a sweet rice drink called sikhye (식혜, pronounced sheek-hay) for 500 won (about 50 cents).
We headed back to the hotel and got ready for a night out on Haeundae Beach, the most popular beach in Busan. To save time, we took a taxi to the beach and got to drive over Diamond Bridge, which is really beautiful at night. Before we headed out to the beach, we had some pajeon (green onion pancake): 
The weather was lovely and the beach was full of Korean people hanging out on the sand, having snacks and playing drinking games. After a few hours of doing the same, we headed back to get a good night sleep.
The meal started with abalone porridge (전복죽, Jeonbokjuk), and the courses from then on never seemed to stop. Highlights were:
(산낙지, sannakji)
sashimi plate, including 3-4 different types of tuna
and this:
Then we headed over to the Jagalchi fish market. When in Rome....
Hundreds of fish vendors sell their catch inside and outside of a huge building right on Nampo Port. It's hard work!
Finally, we made our way to Taejongdae (태종대), a national park in Busan. We saw a lighthouse, a gorgeous pebble beach, and another Buddhist temple before we had to leave to make it to our train back home. 
Busan is truly a beautiful city... I can't wait to go back!
Next, we read in our guide book that there was a nice park nearby called "geumgang" with a cable car. We took a 5 minute taxi from Ocheonjang station and arrived at the park at 6:45pm, only to discover it had closed at 6:30pm. We still got a chance to look around and it seemed nice and relaxing. We walked around that area of town for a while and saw a lot of fruit, veggies, fish, and drinks for sale. One man was selling an interesting looking drink I had never seen before. It seemed he was pressing it out of a tree trunk. We paid 2,000 won (less than $2) for this dark, bitter drink made from arrow root. The man said it was good for the heart. We also had a sweet rice drink called sikhye (식혜, pronounced sheek-hay) for 500 won (about 50 cents).
We headed back to the hotel and got ready for a night out on Haeundae Beach, the most popular beach in Busan. To save time, we took a taxi to the beach and got to drive over Diamond Bridge, which is really beautiful at night. Before we headed out to the beach, we had some pajeon (green onion pancake): 
The weather was lovely and the beach was full of Korean people hanging out on the sand, having snacks and playing drinking games. After a few hours of doing the same, we headed back to get a good night sleep.
On Wednesday we planned to have lunch with Steve's coworker Gumin, who is from Busan. She showed up with her boyfriend who was awesome enough to drive us to an incredible raw restaurant. This restaurant was on the 14th floor of a building overlooking Busan's southern port.
The meal started with abalone porridge (전복죽, Jeonbokjuk), and the courses from then on never seemed to stop. Highlights were: 
sashimi plate, including 3-4 different types of tuna
and this:
Then we headed over to the Jagalchi fish market. When in Rome....
Hundreds of fish vendors sell their catch inside and outside of a huge building right on Nampo Port. It's hard work!
Finally, we made our way to Taejongdae (태종대), a national park in Busan. We saw a lighthouse, a gorgeous pebble beach, and another Buddhist temple before we had to leave to make it to our train back home. 
Busan is truly a beautiful city... I can't wait to go back!
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