Korea-Busan Apr’19: Gamcheon Culture Village & Taejongdae Resort Park

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Hello Chewy friends! As mentioned in our previous post, we spent 2D1N in Busan and this post covers what we did on the second day, before we board the Korail back to Seoul.

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From our place of accommodation, we took a bus which brought us to the foot of Busan Gamcheon Culture Village (부산 감천문화마을). Little did we know that there is a shuttle bus service so we actually hiked up the crazily steep slope. It was definitely a good morning workout for us LOL.

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As we entered the village, we could see that the place is very vibrant, colorful, and full of positive vibes.

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It didn’t take long for us to locate the perfect spot for photos. Gamcheon Culture Village is also known as “Machu Picchu of Busan”, as it is formed by houses built in a staircase-fashion on the foothills of a coastal mountain. The houses are so colorful and looking at them from a distance made us feel as though we were admiring a piece of art. It was certainly very uplifting to be there in person to witness the beauty of Gamcheon Culture Village.

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These are not just empty houses but there are residents staying at Gamcheon Culture Village! We saw a granny hanging up her clothes to dry at her balcony.

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While strolling along the alleys, we also passed by a number of shops and cafes.

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Busan Gamcheon Culture Village (부산 감천문화마을)

Address: 203, Gamnae 2-ro, Saha-gu, Busan
부산광역시 사하구 감내2로 203 (감천동)

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We spent the next hour travelling to Taejongdae Resort Park (태종대유원지(부산)). Designated as a Busan monument, along with Oryukdo Island, Taejongdae represents Busan, and is especially famous for its rock beach. To be honest, there were other places that we wanted to visit in Busan but due to time constraints, it was quite impossible if we wanted to cover each place in detail. This is a model of the Danubi Train which is no longer in operation but can still be found at the park for photo-taking purposes.

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Taejongdae Park is really huge and while it is possible to cover by foot, we definitely would not recommend it! Admission is free but there is a charge of 3000 Korean won for the Danubi train. It is worth taking the train to save your legs energy for the long climbs later on.

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There is a train number printed on the ticket so you can only board when your number is being flashed on the screen. We waited for about 15 to 20 minutes as there was a large crowd that day.

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Danubi Train Course:

Platform → Taejongsa Temple → Observatory → Yeongdo Lighthouse → Gumyeongsa Temple → Taewon Jagal Madang → Platform

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Out of all the stops, we only visited two, the first one being the Observatory.

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If you haven’t been to Yeongdo Lighthouse, you can’t really say that you have visited Taejongdae Park because it is the main highlight, so don’t miss it!

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The views from the top were breathtaking and spectacular.

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My legs were already protesting given my poor choice of footwear and I nearly gave up mid descent because the thought of having to climb all the way back up was scary enough.

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The hubs didn’t force me but he sure had his subtle ways of encouraging me to keep taking another step forward. Oh my god just look at the view. And of course, we knew that lunch was waiting for us and that definitely kept me going.

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PHEW! Finally! We reached the bottom of Yeongdo Lighthouse and thankfully, there was an unoccupied table. I realised we forgot to take photos of the ahjummas selling a wide array of freshly caught seafood. We were too fascinated by this whole thing of sitting on the table and eating fresh seafood by the sea, just like what we had seen in Korean dramas!

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There’s a sheltered tent right next to us but we were crazy enough to sit under the sun because we felt that it was a better way to soak up the experience!

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We had difficulty identifying the types of seafood and did not know how to converse with the ahjummas. So one of them asked, “Sashimi?” And misterchewy replied, “Ah sashimi? Ok!” Done deal. LOL! Of course we ordered beer too!

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Not quite what we were expecting but the raw fish was superb when dipped in gochujang sauce!

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It was all worth it!

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After lunch, we decided to linger around the cliffs to take some photos as the view looked amazing! What do you think?

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Taejongdae Resort Park (태종대유원지(부산))

Address: 24, Jeonmang-ro, Yeongdo-gu, Busan
부산광역시 영도구 전망로 24 (동삼동)

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We have come to the end of Day Four in Korea/Busan! Keep watching this page for more updates! 🙂

Korea-Busan Apr’19: Haeundae Beach, Haedong Yonggungsa Temple & Wild Wave Brewing Co.

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Annyeonghaseyo~ Here’s a wefie of misterchewy and I on the Korail en route to Busan on the third day of our Korea trip! Visiting Busan had not crossed our minds as we initially thought that 7 nights in Korea might be barely sufficient. Well, for some reason, we finally decided to set aside 2D1N right smack in the middle of our itinerary since we had already booked our air tix to return from Seoul.

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We purchased our Korea Rail Pass via Klook as we felt that the Korail website seemed a little confusing and we certainly didn’t want to risk making a mistake of getting the wrong passes or tickets. We got the Flexible Days Pass (Savers Pass) which is only offered to groups of 2 to 5 people travelling together on the same itinerary.

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After grabbing a quick bite at the super crowded McD, it was time to catch our 9am train to Busan! It was a pretty uneventful 3-hour ride, with no zombies whatsoever lol.

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Since it was around lunch time, we stopped by the famous Choryang Milmyeon (초량밀면), which is just opposite Busan station, before checking into our hotel. Business looked brisk! Definitely approved by locals!

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We just couldn’t get enough of Korean cold noodles. So refreshing in any kind of weather!

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We also decided to try some steamed Mandus and these totally packed a punch! Full of yummy meaty goodness!

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Choryang Milmyeon (초량밀면)

Address: 225 Jungang-daero, Choryang 2(i)-dong, Dong-gu, Busan, South Korea

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Do you know that Busan is famous for eomok (fish cakes)? There is even a fish cake museum!

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As it wasn’t time to check into our hotel yet, we left our baggage with the staff and grabbed a Einspänner coffee. First time having one and it tasted so creamy and silky smooth!

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Took a fairly long bus ride and finally reached Haeundae Beach (해운대해수욕장)! It was kinda crazy to visit the beach in such chilly weather and we froze whenever it got windy.

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Even though we were kinda shivering in the cold, we took our time to snap some photos and admire the view.

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Haeundae Beach (해운대해수욕장)

Address: 264, Haeundaehaebyeon-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan
부산광역시 해운대구 해운대해변로 264 (우동)

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Busan is also famous for its Dwaeji Gukbap (pork soup with rice). We were only feeling cold but not very hungry, so we stopped by a restaurant and shared a piping hot bowl of dwaeji gukbap. It was really comforting and heartwarming eating this in cold weather.

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Took a bus from Haeundae and alighted at the foot of Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. It was a steep walk up and my poor choice of footwear made things worse but it was all worth it!

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Temples are typically constructed on mountains but Haedong Yonggungsa Temple (해동 용궁사) is located by the sea. The view is especially magnificent in the evening just when the sun is about to set.

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Besides the beautiful view, misterchewy and I enjoyed the calming sounds of the waves and cool sea breeze blowing gently on our faces.

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Haedong Yonggungsa Temple (해동 용궁사)

Address: 86, Yonggung-gil, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan
부산광역시 기장군 기장읍 용궁길 86

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There are a handful of popular craft beer bars and breweries in Busan and we included Wild Wave Brewing Co (와일드웨이브 브루잉) as it is located in Haeundae area. We had been following their Instagram for a while and were enticed by their brews!

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There were as many as 16 different beers on tap and we wanted to try everything which is obviously impossible so we ordered a beer flight.

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We weren’t exactly very hungry so we shared a meat platter to go along with the beers.

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Loved the beers of course and the ambience pretty chill and relaxing. A pity the brewery isn’t open to public.

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Wild Wave Brewing Co (와일드웨이브 브루잉)

Address: 부산광역시 해운대구 송정중앙로5번길 106-1 106-1 Songjeongjungang-ro 5beon-gil, Haeundae, Busan

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Here’s our accommodation for our one-night stay in Busan! Location is superb (one minute walk from the train station) and many kinds of amenities are provided in the room.

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Hotel Gray

Address: 3-2, Jungang-daero 286beon-gil, Dong-gu, Dong-Gu, 48730 Busan, South Korea

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We have come to the end of Day Three in Korea/Busan! Keep watching this page for more updates! 🙂