Busan: South Korea's Second City — Beaches, Markets, and the Best Temple in the Country

Busan International Passenger Terminal is in the Jungang-dong district, a 5-minute walk from the Busan Station on KTX (Korea Train Express) and the Metro Line 1. The city is large (3.5 million people) but highly navigable — the subway reaches every main attraction for ₩1,500 ($1.10) per journey. The Jagalchi Fish Market is a 10-minute walk from the terminal. A T-money transportation card (available at convenience stores, ₩3,000 deposit) simplifies fares on Metro, bus, and taxi.

Metro Line 1 (orange line) runs the full length of the city from Busan Station (near the cruise terminal) through Seomyeon (commercial centre) to Nopo (northern end). Haeundae Beach is on Metro Line 2 (green line) — transfer at Seomyeon, 45 minutes total. Gamcheon Culture Village is served by Bus 2 from Toseong-dong station. Haedong Yonggungsa Temple is 45 minutes from Haeundae by taxi or bus 181. Taxis in Busan are metered and inexpensive; a ride from the pier to Haeundae costs ₩15,000–20,000 ($11–15).

Jagalchi Market is the largest seafood market in South Korea — the upper floors of the main building have restaurants where you buy raw fish on the ground floor and bring it up to be prepared (ask for hwe, raw fish). Gwangalli Beach has a line of restaurants and bars facing the Gwangan Bridge (illuminated at night). Seomyeon's underground shopping mall basement food court is excellent for Korean fast food — bibimbap, kimbap, sundubu jjigae. Busan is the origin of the fish cake (eomuk) sold from street stalls in a hot broth; the food vendors near Busan Station sell them for ₩500–1,000 ($0.40–0.75).

South Korea has no tipping culture. Do not leave money on the table at a restaurant — it may be seen as an insult or left for someone else. Service is included in the price. Card payments are accepted nearly everywhere, including street vendors with Samsung Pay/Kakao Pay readers. Cash from ATMs in convenience stores (CU, GS25) dispenses Korean won with foreign cards. The free public Wi-Fi in the Metro makes navigation easy; download Naver Maps before going ashore (Google Maps has incomplete Korean data for transit routing).