Haeundae Sand Festival

This is a Busan Ex-Pat City Guide post. Check out the rest of my list here.

“Just another manic Monday – wish it was Sunday.”

Nope, nope, nope – not today. I woke up this morning in an absolutely chipper mood. Why, you ask? Oh, just a casual Monday morning field trip to the beach for the Haeundae Sand Festival, that’s all!

The Haeundae Sand Festival happens every year on Busan’s largest beach, Haeundae. Despite Busan’s reputation as a coastal town and playing host to five major beaches, this is the South Korea’s only festival based on appreciation for sand (huh?!) Given that it only lasts for three days, my head teacher had to amend the regularly designated field trip day (Friday) in favour of Monday morning. However, this was the best possible outcome since the field trip took me from “totally zonked out” to “z0mg look at all of this energy, I’m the best teacher in the world!”

We arrived at Haeundae Beach mid-morning. I rode with my homeroom students – Aiden, Grace, and Sa-Yeon of Happiness Class. After informing the students of the “beach rules”, (“no eating sand”, “no throwing sand”, no drowning, etc.), we were off to look at the various sculptures scattered across the sand.

The theme of the 2014 Haeundae Sand Festival felt slightly garbled. Featuring Tarzen and Jane as the main players, the festival was (aptly?) named “Through the Sand Jungle”. While there were important elements of environmental awareness and protection throughout (Tarzan and Jane end up saving the beach through sand restoration – yay!), the entire backstory felt like it had been written by one of my fourth-graders and didn’t really add much to the beautiful scenery. I’m all for motifs, but in this case, the backstory was completely unnecessary; methinks a simple “here’s a sand sculpture of a gorilla” would have sufficed.

It’s always so refreshing to see the looks of wonder and excitement on the faces of five year olds. They absolutely marvelled at the giant sculptures featuring lions, rhinoceroses, and other jungle imagery. One of the cooler elements of the Sand Festival was the large sand hill at the end of the beach, towards Marine City. At any given moment, hordes of children could be seen clambering to its peak, only to be unsuspectingly yanked down the hill on a sand board by  their parents. Other (admittedly unexplored) elements of the festival included a “sand theatre” where visitors could view short films and documentaries, a sand exploration hall containing seven differently themed rooms, and a sand maze. I silently wept upon learning that the sand maze was not on our itinerary for the day. I do love a good labyrinth!

Towards the end of our time at the beach, the kids were allowed to flex their creative muscles, (something seriously lacking from Korea’s hagwon system, in my opinion), by building sand sculptures and castles, themselves. After dozens of references to Elsa’s ice palace in Frozen, too many pockets filled with seashells, and wails of “teacher, there is sand in my eye!”, it was almost time to leave. My head teacher did allow the children to strip off their socks, sandals, and in my case, leather loafers, to run in and splash about ankle-deep in the ocean. Very wet, much fun, so smiles!

While I’ve heard rumours that this year’s festival was significantly less ostentatious than in year’s past, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Haeundae Sand Festival is one-stop shopping for the millennial soul – one can marvel at the beautiful sand sculptures at one end of the beach before moving to the opposite end to enjoy a day in the sun. Sand, sightseeing, and sunbathing – Busan’s tried and true recipe for an amazing summer!

Directions
To get to Haeundae Beach, take the Green Line on the Busan Subway (Line 2) to Haeundae Station (stop 203). Go out either exit 3 or 5 and walk straight until you hit the beach (this takes approximately 10 minutes). The Haeundae Sand Festival happens every June for approximately 3 days during the first or second week of June. The 2014 Festival took place from June 6th to the 9th.

Oryukdo Island Cruise

This is a Busan Ex-Pat City Guide post. Check out the rest of my list here.

Multiple trips this year (to Bijindo, to Boracay, to Samgwangsa Temple) have really transformed my simple appreciation for sunsets into a genuine love for sunsets. Beyond the “nice Camera Reel, br0” aspect, sunsets give me exactly what I need, no matter what mood I’m in. If I’m having a bad day, the setting sun is a reminder that tomorrow is new day. If I’m feeling insecure, it reminds me that night will cover things like a blanket and provide some anonymity. If I’m in a good mood, sunsets push me over the precipice into a free fall of total bliss.

This was the case last weekend when the girls and I packed up our things after an afternoon on Haeundae Beach to ride a ferry around the Oryukdo Islands at sunset. While we had a nice day crisping in the sun, we were all individually in weird places due to external circumstances. We really needed to close the weekend out on a high note, y’all.

We reached the Mipo Ferry Terminal at the end of the beach, and purchased a ticket aboard the 6:30PM ferry. We had about 40 minutes to kill, so we ate, drank, derped, and were merry in the ferry terminal, (a true testament to the “Bumnaegol 3”). Afterwards, we boarded the vessel with about a dozen others, ready and raring to see Busan’s coasts, islands, and of course, the sunset.

The Oryukdo Islands are (depending on the time of day) five or six rock islands, proudly protruding from Busan’s choppy waters. They are pretty famous throughout the city because these are typically the first masses that people see when sailing into Busan. They are pretty clearly uninhabited given that they are literally mossy rocks offering little to no shelter, with the exception of “Lighthouse Island”. If you haven’t already guessed, this rock houses a large white lighthouse with a series of winding stairs and observatories (we unfortunately didn’t make a pit stop here). The islands are a pretty random thing to be so widely admired, admittedly, but with the sun peeking out from behind them, I began to see why people enjoy them.

I’ve seen my fair share of sunsets on Busan’s coasts and beaches, but it was such an experience watching it from the water. At one point, the sun was hovering over Busan’s famed Marine City, casting shadows of the iPark, Zenith, and Exordium buildings over the water. We had incredible views of Diamond Bridge, Gwangalli Beach, and Igidae Park – it was basically a (boat) trip down memory lane of all the things I’ve seen and experienced in Busan.

After the boat made it around the Oryukdo Islands, the winds began to pick up. The other passengers opted to descend to the lower decks, but Mary, Steph, and I wrapped ourselves in our beach towels and blankets to continue watching the (now hazy) skies and sights. I huddled for warmth with my arms wrapped around my girls and felt so blessed with life in Busan.

The entire trip back to the ferry terminal was a practice in the very real phenomenon known as “sunset gratitude”. This is where my friends and I repeatedly tell each other how happy we are to have met one another and how lucky we are to be living in such a peninsular paradise. It’s basically like a drunken heart-to-heart, without the alcohol.

The 70 minute Oryukdo Island Cruise is certainly worth the price for the views of Haeundae and Gwangan. I recommend you take an evening ferry on the weekend, since they run more often than during the week. Get out there and practice some “sunset gratitude” of your own!

Directions
To get to the Mipo Ferry Terminal, take the Green Line on the Busan Subway (Line 2) to Haeundae Station (stop 203). Take exit 3 or 5 and walk straight out until you reach the beach. Turn left and walk along the beach ends. Continue down the road and the ferry terminal will be on your right. The Oryukdo Island Cruise costs ₩22,000. More information can be found here.

Busan Tower and Yongdusan Park

This is a Busan Ex-Pat City Guide post. Check out the rest of my list here.

My first thought while researching Yongdusan Park was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I’m not exactly positive why, but I assume it has something to do with the etymology of the park’s name. “Yongdusan” translates to “dragon’s head mountain” and somehow this reminded me of Harry retrieving the Golden Egg from the Hungarian Horntail during the Triwizard Tournament. A non-sequitur if I’ve ever heard one, but YOLO.

My visit to Yongdusan Park, which is also home to Busan Tower, happened on a busy Saturday in Nampo (Steph and I had already visited Jagalchi Market and the Let’s Eat Alley earlier that day). Shortly after, we met Mary at Nampo Station, and headed up the escalator into the park.

Yongdusan Park boasts two pavilions, (one of which houses an aquarium), a statue of the famed Joseon Dynasty General Yi Sun-shin, a bronze dragon called Cheongdongyongtap (no doubt an homage to the “dragon’s head mountain”), and multiple stone monuments to literary figures and anti-government protestors. The park itself offered great bursts of colour, from the pavilion to the various gardens, and this was my first indication that spring was indeed on its way.

We stopped briefly when we came across a traditional fish throwing festival taking place in the centre of the park. [Note: Upon further research, I have learned that this occurs every Saturday at 3PM!] We watched as the large congregation of men and women, equipped with nets and baskets, swayed in unison to the sounds of a resounding drum-line. I’m still not totally clear on the significance of the ceremony, but I’m always interested in the unexpected, especially in Korea.

We made friends with a Korean gentleman at an elevated lookout containing a wall of “love locks”, a la Paris. After he snapped a few photos of the girls, he insisted on sending them to Steph via e-mail. Lo and behold, 72h later Steph received the photos. The kindness of strangers, right?

After checking out Yongdusan Park, we were ready for Busan Tower. We paid the admission fee, boarded the elevator, and ascended the 120m tall tower. When the doors opened and our ears finished popping, we were ushered into a quaint, albeit meagre, cafe. The Busan Tower has two floors at its crest – the first playing host to this cafe and sitting area, and the second housing an observation deck. Both floors have wraparound windows, offering somewhat mediocre views of Nampo-dong. I did find the views of Nampo Port and Yongdu Mountain nice, but found myself questioning why the tower wasn’t erected in an area with more to see.

One interesting feature of the tower is that each windowpane enlightens visitors as to what Busan sites they are looking at given their position in the tower (i.e. If you look out this window, you’ll catch sight of the Oryukdo Islands, Democracy Park, etc.). Again, Busan Tower is located in an area of Busan great for commercial shopping but less renowned for dazzling sightseeing. My personal opinion is that the tower would have been better suited to an area like Centum City, but alas, I am no urban planner.

While Busan Tower doesn’t offer the most spectacular views that the city has to offer, it’s worth a trip to visit Yongdusan Park during the warm months. At the very least, you’re five minutes away from Nampo’s premier restaurant, Arun Thai.

Directions
To get to Busan Tower and Yongdusan Park, take the Orange Line on the Busan Subway (Line 1) to Nampo-dong Station (stop 111). Go out exit 7 and turn left onto Gwangbokro Street. Proceed straight for about five minutes and you’ll come across the Yongdusan Park escalator (on the right side of the street). Entrance to the park is free, and admission to Busan Tower is W4,000.

Jagalchi Market

This is a Busan Ex-Pat City Guide post. Check out the rest of my list here.

I am not a seafood person. Serve me any farmyard animal and I’ll scarf it down so fast that you won’t even remember that Old McDonald had a farm. Give me (most types of) fish, crustaceans, mollusks, echinoderms, or roe and I’m going to sit pouting at the dinner table until my meal is cold.

Despite my aversion to all of the things that frolic about the sea, I was eager to explore Busan’s iconic Jagalchi Market. The market, located on the edge of Nampo Port, is famed as the largest seafood market in all of Korea.

Steph and I visited Jagalchi at around midday on a Saturday. The market had already been abuzz for several hours and didn’t show any signs of slowing down. Equipped with our Nikon D90 and iPhone 5C, respectively, Steph and I made our way through the alleyway, and eventually emerged at Nampo Port. We watched a group of middle-aged men who appeared to be gambling near the dried fish racks before heading back into Jagalchi’s main strip, lined with colourful and holey umbrellas. We inspected baskets of fish and crustaceans that were pretty to look at, but not particularly palatable and tried to be as respectful as we possibly could when snapping photos, so as not to upset the ajummas working the stalls. [Note: We have both encountered situations where ajummas have gotten angry when we took their pictures. It’s better to err on the side of caution and ask first.]

The Jagalchi experience can be overwhelming. There is a constant barrage of shoppers pushing past you. The narrow alleys of the market are lined by booths selling every type of seafood you could imagine. There is water splashing, knives slicing, and grills sizzling. There are walls of tanks containing crabs and eerie fish, and buckets containing slithering eels and octopi. There are elderly Korean men frying mackerel on a hot plate and ajummas gutting fish and adding them to already towering piles. No matter where you go in Jagalchi, the market is alive with the sounds, sights, and smells of the sea. It sort of makes you forget the farm, if only for a second.

Directions
To get to Jagalchi Market, take the Orange Line on the Busan Subway (Line 1) to Jagalchi Station (stop 110). Go out exit 10, and take your first right at Jagalchi 3(sam)-gil Street. Walk straight for five minutes and the market will be on your left-hand side.