Welcome back to the blog! Last we left off we were in Fukuoka, Japan. This blog will be about our one month in South Korea, including a few days in Busan and then the majority of time in Seoul. From Fukuoka, Japan, we booked the ferry to get to Busan. There were previously two companies that ran ferries, one which was faster. However, at the time we booked, they only had the one running.
I booked tickets through Direct Ferries which was easy. The Camellia Line ferry runs 6 days a week and leaves at 12:30 PM, arriving in Busan at 6:30 PM. The ride wasn’t the most comfortable but it wasn’t terrible. It’s definitely better than flying.
Two Tips: When traveling in South Korea, download Naver and Kakao maps. We found Naver to be more user-friendly and had more English, but to be honest, both were a little annoying to use. If you’re going to use taxis, you can also download K Ride, which is a more foreigner-friendly option than Kakao taxi, but Uber also worked for us. The second is to get a T-Money card. This can be purchased at the main subway stations or at any convenience store. This card will be the main way to use public transportation. You can even use it to pay at certain places.
Busan, South Korea
Busan was beautiful, but seeing as we were there in December, many of the businesses around the beaches were closed and it was not the weather to enjoy the beach. Still, it’s a beautiful city and worth a visit in you’re in South Korea. We preferred Busan to Seoul.
Gamcheon Culture Village
Gamcheon Culture Village was originally a settlement for refugees during the Korean War. Now, it’s a tourist attraction because of its narrow alleyways and colorful houses. There are all sorts of art installations, murals, and cute cafes. It’s definitely an Instagrammer’s dream. We heard about a cafe called Coffee It House, which had a great view of the village without all the crowds. We grabbed coffees and headed up the roof. It was a bit chilly, but we had a great view of the colored houses all to ourselves.
Then we walked around the streets, did some souvenir shopping, and grabbed some street food. One of the first things we tried being hotteok (a fried, sweet pancake like item filled with brown sugar filling and nuts) – definitely one of a favorite snacks in South Korea! We had hotteok multiple times.
While there you can also check out the famous Little Prince statue with a great view of the village. But the line tends to be long for pictures, so we skipped it and instead grabbed pictures on the way past.
Songdo Sky Park
After Gamcheon Culture Village, we took the bus to Songdo Bay Station to get the cable car over the water. We easily purchased tickets there, but you may want to book ahead if you’re there during peak season. The price for a round trip in the regular cabin was 17,000 won (~$12 USD) per person. It’s a beautiful trip over the water with a great view of the city. Once on the other side, you can check out the suspension bridge or walk around Amnam Park.
BIFF Square Busan, South Korea
BIFF Square is like the Korean version of the Walk of Fame in Hollywood – it pays homage to Korean cinema. It’s also full of street food in the evening. This is a great area to do some shopping and get some delicious street food. You’ll see many of the same things being offered, mainly hotteok, tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), and meat skewers. We tried tteokbokki here, but unfortunately, it’s just not something we find that enjoyable. It’s fine, but neither of us would go out of our way for it. I know it’s really popular in South Korea, though.
From BIFF Square, you can also walk to Busan Tower. Try to go here at night as they project a fireworks display on the windows of the observation deck. The fee to visit the tower is 12,000 won (~$8 USD) per adult.
Haeundae Beach and Blueline Park
Haeundae Beach is one of the most popular beaches in South Korea. Of course, in December, there wasn’t much going on, but they had some art installations on the beach, and the area looked beautiful during the day. From there, we walked to Blueline Park to take the sky capsule. This is probably the most popular thing to do in Busan, South Korea. It’s a small tram that holds maybe up to 4 people. The cost for a one-way trip was 40,000 won (~$27.50 USD). It’s a really relaxing ride. We rode it from Mipo Station to Cheongsapo Station, so you get a better view of the water without the cars on the other side blocking your view.
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple
From the sky capsule, we walked for about 30 minutes to get a bus to Yonggungsa Temple. The temple was originally built in 1376 but was destroyed during the Japanese invasions of Korea in the late 16th century. The temple today is a reconstruction that was completed in 1970. The magnificent thing about this temple is that it’s built on the coast, overlooking the sea. It’s free to enter and definitely worth a visit! Though it can be difficult to get there, unless you have your own car. You would need to take a bus ride for almost an hour from the main center of Busan.
Somang Stairs Monorail
This is a bit of an out there recommendation. If you have the time, check out the Somang Stairs Monorail. It’s a cute little monorail that is meant to take the locals up and down the steep stairs. It was very unique and we’ve never seen another like it. The stairs are also painted and the area has murals all around. It was pretty cool to see, but we had to take a bit of a bus ride to get to it.
Seoul, South Korea
After our three days in Busan, we took the bullet train from Busan Station to Seoul. Very easy trip and no zombies in sight. I would recommend booking tickets directly from the KTX website if you’re not going to get them at the station. The cost was cheaper on the direct website than other sites selling the tickets like Rail Ninja.
Gwanghwamun Gate and Gyeongbokgung Palace: Gyeongbokgung Palace is one of the top sites in Seoul. It was built in 1395 as the official palace of the Joseon dynasty. The price to enter is 3,000 won (~$2 USD) per person, but you can enter for free if you’re dressed in a traditional Hanbok. Sean and I avoid doing these types of things as we feel it comes off as cultural appropriation (for us, at least).
Not sure if this is something that is done year round, but during the evening while we were there in December, they put on a light show on the Gwanghwamun Gate. This was free to watch. From the Palace you can also pretty easily walk to Bukchon Hanok Village.
Cheonggyecheon Stream: The Cheonggyecheon Stream is a 6.8-mile (10.9 km) long public space. It’s a great walk, and at different times of the year, they have light displays. While we were there, it was the lantern festival, which had tons of LED lights and lanterns made of traditional Korean paper.
Myeongdong and Hongdae: Myeongdong and Hongdae areas in Seoul, South Korea, are highly popular, especially for street food, trendy cafes, and shopping.
Starfield Coex Mall: This area has the famous Gangnam hand statue. The mall itself is huge and has an Instagram-worthy library.
Lotte World in Seoul, South Korea
Lotte World is like a Disney rip-off but for a fraction of the price. It’s not a huge park, but it’s totally worth it. It’s mostly indoors, so it can be enjoyed all year round. You can get tickets from Klook for about $26 USD. This amusement park was not very crowded and had all sorts of rides, including an outdoor section with rollercoasters and other thrill rides. Be sure not to miss Fantasy Dream if you want your nightmares haunted or Pharaoh’s Fury if you want an Indiana Jones knock-off!
DMZ Tour from Seoul, South Korea
I would recommend this tour to learn a bit about the Korean Peninsula. We booked tickets on Klook (again) for around $34 USD per person. They will pick you up from Seoul and drive you to Imjingak Park, the Third Infiltration Tunnel, and the DMZ Exhibition Hall. When we went (December 2024), the observation deck at the Exhibition Hall was closed due to tensions between North and South Korea. But we were able to view North Korea from inside the hall. No pictures or videos are allowed to be taken of the NK side.
The Painters Show
We did a show called The Painters, which was a K-pop art show. The artists were very talented and it’s a fun experienced. The tickets are pretty inexpensive at around $17 USD per person and the show is maybe an hour long. It’s enjoyable if you’re looking for some time to kill but not a must-do. Great for kids.