The trip in Spring 2019 was my 9th trip to South Korea and 3rd visit to Busan! I always found Busan a charming city and wanted to bring my family there, and I'm glad I did! This time round, we stayed 3 nights in Busan, which was a bit short as there's so many places to visit! However there's even more places I wanted to bring the family to in the other parts of South Korea.
Reading the safety instructions on the ktx 😆
After staying one night in Seoul, we took the ktx to Busan the next morning. We took the 11am ktx which reached Busan at 1.42pm, giving us a bit of time before checking in at the hotel. We had a quick fishcake snack stop at Busan station before we took cabs (after much pain) to the hotel. Somehow most of the cab drivers "didn't know where the place is" or didn't want to go to Seomyeon because it's not in the "right direction". We stayed at home hotel in Seomyeon, and it was a good choice as there was underground shopping and lots of restaurant options nearby.
Bought strawberries from Lotte supermarket at Seoul station for the 3-hour ride to Busan
Opening hours: 5:00 ~ 24:00
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/qpixHvTMuLSVBSPt8
How to get there:
Yeonji-dong (Heading toward Busan National Gugak Center)
Take local bus No. 33, 44, 63, 83-1, or 179 and get off at Busan National Gugak Center Bus Stop.
Buam-dong (Heading toward Busam Intersection)
Take local bus No. 54, 81, 88, or 133 and get off at Buam Intersection or Busan Citizens Park Bus Stop
Bujeon-dong (Heading toward Song Sanghyeon Square)
Take local bus No. 1010, 31, 33, 62, 77, 87, 110-1, 129-1, 141, 5-1, 10, 20, 29, 43, 52, 57, 80, 86, 99, 103, 111, or 1002 and get off at Bujeon-dong
Or Take Metro Line No. 1 to Bujeon Station and leave by Exit No. 5 or 7.
Hanbang Grilled Eel (Unagi) 한방장어구이
Address: 부산광역시 부산진구 부전2동 서면로 27
Opening Hours: 11:00 ~ 24:00 (Daily)
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/KA7sHWQxPwdLo3fG9
Take local bus No. 33, 44, 63, 83-1, or 179 and get off at Busan National Gugak Center Bus Stop.
Buam-dong (Heading toward Busam Intersection)
Take local bus No. 54, 81, 88, or 133 and get off at Buam Intersection or Busan Citizens Park Bus Stop
Bujeon-dong (Heading toward Song Sanghyeon Square)
Take local bus No. 1010, 31, 33, 62, 77, 87, 110-1, 129-1, 141, 5-1, 10, 20, 29, 43, 52, 57, 80, 86, 99, 103, 111, or 1002 and get off at Bujeon-dong
Or Take Metro Line No. 1 to Bujeon Station and leave by Exit No. 5 or 7.
Our first stop was Busan Citizens Park as there was still some time before dinner. It was a bit chilly in the late afternoon even though it was already Spring! The park is very big so we only explored the area with canola flowers in bloom, and left after about an hour.
Address: 부산광역시 부산진구 부전2동 서면로 27
Opening Hours: 11:00 ~ 24:00 (Daily)
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/KA7sHWQxPwdLo3fG9
Dinner was grilled eel at Seomyeon and it was delicious!! Plus rice and non-spicy dishes work well for families with kids. We ordered a mixture of marinated and non-marinated eels (non-marinated eel for Miss Ting, though she didn't eat much of it in the end). There was plenty of side dishes and a super spicy eel stew which we didn't manage to stomach.
For the next day, we booked a trip via klook so that it was easier for the old and young and pregnant. Haha! I've been to most of the attractions before but it was still nice to visit them again with the family.
Our first stop was Haedong Yonggungsa Temple and the place was covered with cherry blossom trees in full bloom! Really pretty!! The temple has become so crowded after 5 years though. Read more about it here. There's lots of steps to handle so cater more time for the return trip back to the bus!
Hubby queuing up for yummy mozzarella cheese toast
Look at the generous amount of cheese!!
Miss Ting enjoyed it too!
The next attraction was Taejongdae (Read more about it here.) Again, it has become soooo crowded! For safety reasons they have also locked up the cliff areas which I was able to access in 2014.
This time round we took the Danubi train!
Selfie at the same spot I've been to!
After an hour's tour of Taejongdae, we were gathered for lunch time near Taejongdae. We wanted to try the famed jjajangmyeon but the queue was just too long and we didn't have time to wait (since we were on a tour and we were delayed by two tourists who were constantly late!!! So inconsiderate!!). Instead, we went to the restaurant next to it which had a variety of local dishes (kimchi stew, soybean paste stew, pork soup porridge (Busan specialty), grilled fish, etc.
The pork soup porridge looks really plain on its own, because you are supposed to add in the condiments below according to your liking.
I had soybean paste stew (doenjang jjigae) which was seafood based (because it's Busan) and delicious!
After lunch, it started raining heavily!! Ended up we didn't alight for the Songdo Skywalk or visit Gamcheon Cultural Village. Instead, we had a teabreak at a small cafe and then went for early dinner near Jalgichi Market, back to the restaurant hubby and I visited in 2012 when we were still dating!
Address: 부산 중구 남포동4가 41, Tel: 051-245-2280
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/5DtQk1iRBe7Civtf7
The restaurant was quite empty on the rainy evening, which meant we had the second level to ourselves! The staff asked how we knew about the restaurant, and I had a decent conversation with her in Korean 😊 She even gave us free seafood as service when she knew that I've blogged about them before! So nice!!
Since our parents don't eat sashimi and I can't eat sashimi 😭, the sashimi dish was changed to grilled fish for us! Just look at the generous amount of seafood on the table!! It's the most worthwhile dinner for our entire trip!
We ordered an extra side - grilled butter abalones, and ended up ordering again because it's sooooo good (and my baby likes it 😎 - I wasn't eating much since the start of my pregnancy, so if my baby likes it, it's good!)
Fish stew with noodles to mark the end of dinner
After dinner, we went to Apeach cafe for desserts and photo-taking! The cafe is really really cute!
The desserts and drinks were overpriced, but too cute to resist!!
Ending hug!
Beomeosa Temple (범어사)
Address: 부산광역시 금정구 청룡동 546 / 546, Cheongryong-dong, Geumjeong-gu, Busan-si
Address: 부산광역시 금정구 청룡동 546 / 546, Cheongryong-dong, Geumjeong-gu, Busan-si
Telephone: 051-508-3122
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/tPmKUTdw6VnucTPv5
This is my second visit to Beomeosa. My first visit was very rushed as my itinerary was too packed and I had to catch the ktx back to Seoul. This time round, we had one day free to visit Beomeosa and Gamcheon Cultural Village (which we missed the day before due to bad weather).
We took the subway to Beomeosa station and then bus to the temple, which took about an hour. The weather was really nice and clear that day, and again, we saw some cherry blossom trees!
For lunch, we had free vegetarian meal at the cafeteria. Yummy yummy! I think everyone enjoyed the food. There was a kind granny who gave Miss Ting two packets of seaweed so that she can eat with her rice! 😍
Next stop, and the place I really wanted to revisit - Gamcheon Cultural Village! Again again, the place was so crowded! When I visited it back in 2013, there was no one around to help me take a photo with the Little Prince! But now, you have to queue for about 20mins just to take a photo with the Little Prince 😨
Busan is famous for its fishcake. This was quite good as they heat up the fishcake for you.
Miss Ting got a cute duck cotton candy from her grandpa!
While I indulged in dark chocolate soft serve. Super yums!
Lovely shoe shot which you can only get in Spring
Address: 부산광역시 수영구 광안2동 3번지
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/Vr7yDxhJCpyrSQqc6
I wanted to bring the family to Gwangalli Beach to see the diamond bridge, so we chose a restaurant near the seaside. Ended up it was soooooo cold that we only spent a few minutes taking rushed welfies and retreated back to the warm subway station 😅 Dinner was at Bella Citta (Italian food) and it was delicious! Again, Miss Ting was given a free dessert at the end of dinner (how blessed she is)! The restaurant is very nicely decorated, and can be booked for wedding receptions. The restaurant was relatively empty on a weekday night. The only downside was the food took some time to be served, and they missed one of our orders.
Starters - warm bread
Salad
Fishcake pasta
Scallops pasta
Tenderloin steak
Address: 부산광역시 부산진구 부전1동 중앙대로783번길 23
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/1BTWgsZHZqrw49BL6
Our last stop in Busan was Bujeon Market, which was just one bus stop away from our hotel. We love visiting traditional markets whenever we travel, and this is no exception! As usual, we bought quite a lot of local produce 😋 - sesame oil, black beans, dried shrimps, etc).
Our funny encounter at the fishcake store. Fishcake is my dad's favourite, and we wanted to buy some as snacks. Not realising how cheap it was, we asked for 10,000krw worth of fishcakes, which could feed a kampong!! Ended up we asked for 1,000krw or 2,000krw worth only and there was already like more than 10 pieces 😂
All of us bought sesame oil made at the store, and yet again, Miss Ting was given a free yogurt drink!!! They really adore little kids!
And that marks the end of the Busan leg of the family trip!
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