Top 4 Places Recommended for The Seniors and Families in Busan, Korea

by - Sunday, December 31, 2017

I rekindled my love for Busan when I brought my parents to Korea this time around. Too much K-drama I presume has made everyone romanticize about this country. And so I "warned" my parents about the realities of Korea. More about that in a later post.

Now, I present you 5 must-visit places when travelling with families/parents if you have at least 2 to 3 days which will be more than suffice. I have covered all there is to see in Busan and will not be returning again.

Here's our itinerary for Busan which may also suit you if you are intending to bring your older folks on a free-and-easy trip:




1st Day
Arrived in Afternoon from Jeju.
Walked around Jalgalchi Market, Gwangbok-dong Fashion/Shopping Street
BIFF, Gykje Market (closes at night)

2nd day
Haedong Yonggunsa Temple
Haeundae Beach, Haeundae Market
Shinsaegae/Centrum
Seomyeon Underground Shopping Centre

3rd Day
Taejongdae
Lotte Mall Gwangbok
Busan Firework Festival
(In replacement, I suggest catching the rising of Yeongdodaegyo Bridge at 2pm daily, Heading to Gwangalli Beach near sunset, Gamcheon Culture Village which is not exactly senior-friendly, Oryukdo Walkway (if you really have the time to spend on travelling)


1. Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

I was deciding against Haedong and Bomesa Temple as we had limited time and could not possibly go both. After some searching on Instagram, it turns out that there were many more beautiful pictures of Haedong Yonggungsa than Bomesa.

The prime spot for photo taking is at this observatory deck towards the left after you have descended the steps. More below. 

From the Main Entrance


The Blessings

The Haedong temple draws many devotees who give thanks to legendary spirits for blessings. Among the many goddesses worshipped at this temple is the Big Belly Buddha who blessed women with sons; the merciful Guanyin etc. These gorgeous, scenic temple faces the East Sea and is perched up on a cliff. Believers or not will find yourselves drawn to this life painting. Many snacks stalls lie along the way.

You can just imagine how many hands have rubbed the Buddha's tummy going by the rubbed off paint on the Buddha.


Step-It-Up (Down)

Though the temple is not located in the mountains, be aware there are 108-steps of stairways leading to the main temple that everyone has to go through. This may not be the most elderly-friendly obstacle. Take my dad, for example, who had to walk those enduring steps with his kneecap problems. But since we were already there all the way,  my strong and positive-thinking Dad made it through. And mind you, it was both ways up and down. A total of 316 steps.
Phew.



Blessings for studies.

The Stunning Scenery

But of course, what will greet you will be the imposing temple envelope around the sea and cliffs when you reach the end of it all.
Gorgeous and breathtaking.


Hello Sunshine

Haeundae Temple by the sea on cliffs stretches out in the horizon against the rising sun. 

The location where the golden Buddha is makes for a good photo point.

Entering The Temple

After taking in the gorgeous landscape and much snapping of the camera, cross the bridge towards the temple premises.

Throw a coin and make a wish behind the 16 Luo Han statues similar to what Chinese are familiar with.




The main hall




A very glowing and sparkling Big Buddha statue greets devotees.

Climb up the rocky steps to the top of the for a bird-eye's view and greeted with the Guanyin Statue.


Bird's Eye View of  Haedong Yonggungsa Temple


How to Get There:

Take the subway to Haeundae Station, exit 7. You can take 181 and alight when you spot the temple's entrance signage. As the bus drops on the main road, you will need to walk uphill for another 20 minutes or so to reach the main entrance/parking space. 

We took a taxi after exiting from the station so it was less tedious for my parents to walk. Turned out to be the best choice ever. The journey in from the main road was no joke and I was afraid there may be no seats on the bus for them. 


Along the way, leaves began to change in accordance with Autumn but were not in full force.


Exiting:
We were advised by the locals to actually walked along the coast, after crossing this red bridge which was where the outdoor golden statue was. Along the way, you can enter the Fisheries Science Museum ( No. 1 on the map below) for free and route out to the main road. But few will take that route I guess, as more walking was required (as highlighted in Yellow on the map below). Most people enter and exit by climbing up the steps back to its starting point at the carpark.



2. Haeundae Beach

The beautiful Haeundae Beach retains its appeal even during Autumn season. Despite the lack of beach umbrellas or tanning babes and hunks, many were still out by the sea and beach enjoying the sunshine's warmth. If you happen to be in Busan during the BIFF ( around Sept/Oct) there will even be movie screenings at the beach too. Come feed the seagulls.






How to Get there:
5 Minutes walk from Haeundae Station

2.1 Haeundae Market

You should be hungry by then. Head on across the street from the beach towards the Haeundae Market. An alley of fresh seafood stores. Prices are mainly about the same every store and the variety pretty much the same as well. We just randomly chose one eatery.



Grilled Shrimps 30,000Won


Grilled Fish 20,000Won






Sideline: Shinsegae Department Store (Not recommended)

We went to Shinsegae, Lotte store but found nothing in particular to shop. So unless you have something in mind, I suggest you skip coming here.
P.S: I tried searching for the Busan Cinema Centre, when outdoors everywhere but couldn't find it.
The BEXCO is just across the street but really, is just an exhibition centre with nothing much to do there.

How to Get There
Centum City Station Exit 6, 8


Spotted Mr Homles Bakehouse and tried their much-raved Cruffin.

Nothing much to shout out about though. 
It was plainly croissant with cranberry cream inside, to be honest. 

3. Nampo Dong, Gwangbok-dong Street.

If there is an area I will recommend you to stay, this will be it. Centrally located to the shopping and markets, there is plenty to do come night time
Jalgalchi Market will always be a symbol of Busan, along with its yearly Busan International Film Festival.

The fishing port view behind Jalgachi. My folks looking so cute here. 

At Gwangbok Ro Street look out for the many bronze statues.



 Yongdusan Park 

Look out for Etude House along the street and just across is the escalator entrance to Yongdusan Park (Busan Tower)10-15 mins walk from Napo Station you will spot this escalator up to 
A note, the escalator only carries you up. To exit, you have to walk the steps. Yes, steps againNot the most perfect for the seniors


You can pay to head up to the deck of the tower but we did not.

 Be entertained by seniors dancing and singing.


The Bird's-eye view from the top.


Descending from the tower and back to the main Gwangbok-ro Street.


Different from 5 years ago, when I was there, I spotted the only Kakao Friends shop throughout my trip to Gwangbok-ro. Not even in Seoul. Head on in, really adorable stuff awaits. 
Kakao is the Korea's version of Whatsapp/Line/Wechat and cute mascots were created along with it. 







As you continue to walk along the shopping street, there will be eateries and such and you will be able to reach BIFF Square.



BIFF Square

These overhead loops mark the BIFF Square.

And of course the famous must-eat is the Ssiat Hotteok right in the square, there are at least 3 stalls selling the same stuff. But the original one has to be Ssiat, look out for the signage below.

These Hotteok are sweet Korean Pancakes stuffed with a variety of seeds. They are sweet and savoury and now cost 1200won per piece. 
  
So we went searching for more other food to fill our tummies along the alleys of Gwangbok-ro and BIFF. 

Fired noodles 5,500Won


For Gimbap, I strongly recommend. Teacher Kim 김선생
They have a huge variety of fusion Gimbaps, which are more expensive compared to traditional ones but I believe really worth the price for its huge portion and fusion mixes. 

Teacher Kim serves really taebak portions of Gimbap at affordable prices of just 4,500won. We ordered the spicy pork wrapped Gimbap and it came with so many services such as soup and a bottle of tea of each of us, we were definitely overwhelmed by their wonderful service. 
It was too bad we could not order more as we were full.














While you are in the area do visit Lotte Gwangbok Brunch. I discovered this was the only Lotte Mall I came across during the entire trip that sells affordable snacks. There are other branches in Seoul i.e. in Seoul Station. On the other hand, Shinsaegae's supermart did not offer a huge variety of snacks or discounts. 

As of Oct 2017, A new Artbox has also opened within the mall. Which I didn't know till I left Busan.

How to Get to Gwangbok-Ro Fashion Street:

Metro Line 1 Jagalchi Station (Exit 7) ( For BIFF Square, Gukje Market, Gwangbok-Ro Fashion Street )
Metro Line 1 Jagalchi Station (Exit 10) 

4. Taejongdae Resort Park

I have shifted it to another post as this post is getting too long.

So there, 4 locations in Busan I personally felt is relatively worthy to bring your families/seniors around when in Busan, Korea. Have a great time there!

PIN FOR LATER~
Looking for places for the older folks/families when in Busan, Korea? Read my recommendations for these places worth travelling to.



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