Shannon’s mother, Shirley, came out to visit us at the end of October to celebrate Shannon’s birthday, which is October 28th. Shirley doesn’t travel a lot internationally, so we took her around to all the sites of Busan and had her stay at our apartment.
Korea can be a little challenging for travelers – It’s a highly developed economy that doesn’t rely on tourism for income and Korea uses it’s own unique script (hangeul, 한글) and language (Korean) that is only spoken on the Korean peninsula. English proficiency is growing but still low compared to other Asian countries.
Here’s Shannon at the Haedong Yongungsa Temple. We took her mom here and this is almost a required stop for out-of-town visitors.
Next, we went to Busan tower
Busan tower is a great stop for visitors as it allows them to get a great perspective on the vastness and beauty of Busan. The mountains, sea, fish market and major port (Busan is the 5th busiest port in the world) are all on display.
Around Busan tower is the Nampo-dong 남포동 area which has an expansive outdoor traditional market called Gukje 국제 market all through the streets.
Just across the street from Gukje market is Jagalchi 자갈치 fish market. This sprawling market on the water has just about every type of animal from the ocean on display and ready to be sold raw or cooked for a meal.
These pics are from the outdoor area that radiates from the main building
Here’s the entrance to Jagalchi area
In this view from Busan Tower, you can see the main Jagalchi seafood market building in the center (with the angled roof)
These pics are from the outdoor area that radiates from the main building