One Day in Busan, South Korea - This city has SURPRISED me!

Not only it's the second largest city in South Korea, but it's the fifth largest port city in the world. This is our first time being in this bustling city, such massive, massive and spread out. So we unfortunately have this afternoon and tomorrow morning to discover what Busan is like as a tourist and yet another. Busan, South Korea's city of tomorrow, is a lively metropolis home to over 3.4 million people and the country's largest port. Despite its rough history, Busan has evolved into a bustling hub for commerce, culture and technology, often serving as a global meeting place. So we've just got breakfast, lunch actually, and a cup of coffee. This is the most important We need to have enough fuel for the day but we are actually going to the metro station because we're heading to Busan station to purchase the high-speed rail ticket to Seoul for tomorrow. Oh look at this people selling fresh veggies on the street. I think because today is Saturday and probably this is Saturday's market, having been in more village area or town vibe, I still feel like I'm still adjusting to the pace of Busan. It's just so busy I'm not used to having to dodge people. Yeah. Walking through a city. So that's the metro stop we're going to. I think it's called The Seomyeon metro station has got so many shops that sells clothing, shoes and all other knickknacks. It's so interesting because this reminds me of some of the metro stations in the post-Soviet countries. So we are trying to buy a ticket from this vending machine that costs 3,100 for two single journey tickets. We buy two tickets to Seoul tomorrow. So we are actually going to Gamcheon cultural village which is one of the must-to-do lists as a tourist in Busan but what makes it interesting I think historically is also quite important. So over here you can start seeing the colorful buildings over there. That's where we're heading to. Slightly a hike to this area. We're in Gamcheon village in Busan which is popular amongst domestic and international tourists. What makes it interesting is its brightly painted houses, labyrinth-like alleyways as well as like this layered buildings. I think recently it has been restored to attract more tourism and as you can see it has been successful in doing so because there are just so many tourists taking photos but with the sun about to set it's so actually pretty. During the Korean war, Busan was one of the only two South Korean cities not captured by the North Korean army becoming a refuge for many. In early 1951, approximately 500,000 refugees were in Busan. Originally a hillside shanty built by war refugees, Gamcheon cultural village is now one of Busan's main attractions. So Gamcheon village was built in 1920s and in 1930, Busan government decided to relocate working class population into an area that is secluded enough from the port but within close vicinity to provide labor. So you can see the view of the port from here and these are the stacked houses but what makes this also interesting is the alleyways as well as the type of stair that they've got. Can you, is it even safe? So I think many of the residents here fled during Korean war as well. It's interesting right because how I wish I would be able to see or meet one of those people and just hear their stories. It must be so terrifying. We're just exploring all of these alleyways to get a better sense of this area. Oh look at that! All the alleyways are so tiny and there's no real sign to say where they're going except for the big road so I think it's just fun to explore. So we are standing in front of this random shop that sells traditional Korean beef soup and we haven't been feeling the best. We thought of eating straight away because the photos looks very inviting and it says one of popular Korean traditional healthy food that revitalize one's strength and overall health. We're sold for that and I think it's called Gomtang. So we were given a menu that also has an English translation which means that there are quite a bit of tourists coming in. In many traditional Korean eateries you'll be given side dish. Kimchi, a bit of onion, that's green pepper and that's a radish kimchi and free water. How good is that? So I think what they're selling is basically clear broth soup with beef served in the clay pot. Looks good already from the photo. Excited! One beef bon soup and deluxe beef in clear type. I think what I like about Korean food is that most of the time they are soupy like thick broth or even clear broth really but flavorful. Oh my goodness, sorry it's just... Do you know that feeling when you need something and we haven't been feeling the best because we've been just so tired from working all the time. This comes in perfect timing. I think we truly need this. Our buddy will thank us for this. It's really flavorful, it's really nice. You should try the batter. Because it's like slightly creamy. So we have just checked out. We are hoping to store our luggage for a few hours because we've got probably what six hours until the train leaves. Over eight hours actually. Yeah so why not? I was just saying that certain countries would have a right lane for you to actually walk. I feel like in Busan there is no rules whatsoever so I keep bumping into each other like other people. Oh yeah there, luggage storage. Tucked in the alleyway but it's so handy. It says luggage storage. So just next to the luggage storage there is Somyeon Market which seems to be very popular among locals as well. Oh my god there are so many queues at different restaurants. Look at this queue. I think this shop is selling pork soup with rice. I'm sure the local loves this. I always love markets. Oh look this shop has got a long queue. People like eating out here as part of communal activity but just the amount of fresh food made by the locals. Ah look at this. Just like hole in the wall. There's no system. I need to figure out how to order this. So I think the idea is that you just eat while standing. It's part of like street food culture and obviously there are seating inside of this eateries but it's packed. How do you eat this? Sorry, where do you get this? Ah okay thank you. So I was given the tong. Kimbap which is basically rice rolls with seaweed to go with this tteokbokki which is spicy rice cakes that is very popular in Korea. Rice cake is so inviting and calling me. Do you see the wiggly bit? But I love seeing everyone just embracing the street food culture. I think the best way to enjoy food is to ask locals. I'm just going to try it. Sorry, can you recommend me what to try? Your favorite to go with this. This one? Squid? Okay squid and what's your favorite? Egg. Okay I'll go with egg and squid. Okay thank you. And then one squid and then thank you. So we've got fried squid and fried egg recommended by two locals. So I think it was half fried and they fried it again and the way to go with this is actually dip that dip it into the gochujang sauce. I think this sauce goes well with anything that you dip your food into. Wow look at this busy crossroad trying to get through this maze of people. The charm of a city like Busan is actually the vibe the ambience of this young people. You see so many young adults and it feels like the city has got this youthful energy. We took a quick break at Jeonpo cafe street, a trendy spot popular among young people in Busan. We then took the metro heading to Busan's most famous stretch of sun at Dadaepo beach to catch sunset. So we got out of the metro already and we're hoping to get to Dadaepo beach because it's less popular. They say Busan is good. Is Busan good? So far it's very good. So far it's very good indeed. I think the coastal area of Busan is one of the must-do lists as well because not all cities in South Korea has got beach. So nice to see all the locals are enjoying the beach as well especially with this hilly side of the beach. It looks pretty. Cities can require draining due to the sensory overload and just the fact that you're able to go to the beach, enjoying yourself, relaxing in nature without even spending a penny. It's a luxury these days, isn't it? I'm trying to be brave and we'll step into the water slightly. It feels a bit chilly to be honest. Oh it's all right. I mean it's a bit... oh my toes! It wasn't cold the first second then suddenly it just seeps in into your body. These locals walking as if it's not cold. How do they do that? We've just arrived at Busan station. We are waiting to get onto our train because the train departs in about 20 minutes. So we bought the ticket yesterday and it cost us 59,000 won. We can see our train coming up on platform number eight. We're just going to get in because we can't wait to experience fast train in South Korea. So it's so exciting. The train is actually already here. I think we are allowed to depart. Sorry, bored now. We've got this section to actually put our luggage in. First, I can just... shall we get in? Let's go. I think ours is number 14C. Taking high-speed train to Seoul is not only convenient but fast, which only takes a couple of hours. We highly recommend buying train tickets directly from the station to avoid paying double online. Construction on this line began in 1992 and it launched in 2004. We unfortunately arrived in Seoul past midnight feeling extremely exhausted and slightly sick. Good morning from Seoul. My husband and I were planning to create a travel video from Seoul separately initially. However, as soon as we got here, we got problems into checking our Airbnb that we had to cancel that and switch to a last booking at 2 a.m with minus two degrees. So we have just been sick actually and do nothing but resting. Thank you for watching the entire travel series from East Asia, from Japan, Taiwan, all the way to South Korea. I hope that you enjoy all of these attempts of showing what these countries look like. Let us know what you think down in the comment section below. It would be so lovely to read what you think of the video and what you would like to see more from the channel. I can't wait to see you again on the next video and saying goodbye from Seoul. Bye!