Busan, Korea

Busan, with a population of 3.5 million, is the second largest city in South Korea. In the summer, the temperature can get as high as 35°C with 100% humidity. One of the main industries is shipbuilding, but it is also a major shipping container port. Dried seaweed is a specialty food of Busan. One of the national snacks is the Busan Fish Cake.
The view of the city as the ship approached was quite stunning and very modern looking. The first picture of the silver buildings is of the Haeundae I'Park, a 4.5 million sq. ft. complex of three skyscrapers and several minor buildings in Haeundae District, Busan, South Korea consisting of three residential towers and other office buildings. As of 2022, Tower 2 and Tower 1 are the eighth and 12th-tallest buildings in South Korea respectively. The neighboring hotel, Park Hyatt Busan by the Hyatt Hotels Corporation, is built in a similar style.
Our guide’s name today was Haley. She was 33 years old, had a master’s degree and had spent two years in Halifax. She explained that in Korea, they have a different way of calculating your age compared to the international system. In Korea, the day that you were born, you are automatically one year old and on New Year’s Day, you turn another year older. Haley was born on December 31 so, as she jokingly told us, on New Year’s, she became two according to the Korean system, so that would make her 35.
On the way to the temple, Haley described the two bridges in Busan. The first one we were approaching, she called the roller coaster bridge which is a magnificent upward curving bridge that does two enormous revolutions to get to the level of the highway on the other side. Since there were no security walls, the view was quite stunning. The other bridge is a double level bridge. On the way out we were on the lower level, but on the way back, we were on the top level.
Once off the bus and walking towards the temple, there was an eight story Pagoda for Korean people and foreign travelers " to visit and respect praying bless wish". Further along, there were twelve, 7ft. tall stone Zodiac figures along the way. It looks like Don is a sheep and Lee is a dog. There was also a 20 foot tall, Goddess of Mercy who receives many requests for successful exams by students at this time of year. There was even a Buddha with a very fat stomach that people could rub with the promise of being granted a son. It was insanely busy because this is the time of year for school outings. There were 108 steps down to the temple representing the 108 anguishes in the Buddhist life. The Haedong Yonggungsa temple is revered for its pagoda, and the Buddhist sanctum inside a cave. It is said that the great goddess Buddha lives in the sea, and appears on the back of a dragon. It was so crowded on the last pitch of stairs with no handrail that Don didn’t go down, but Lee did.
Following the temple visit, we went to a buffet lunch of Asian food that was probably the biggest buffet of any type that we have ever seen in our life. After lunch, we visited the modern glass and steel domed Nurimaru APEC ( Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation ) building where Busan hosted the 2005 and 2024 meeting of international leaders, including Canada. Nurimaru APEC House means "a house where the world summits gather together for an APEC meeting."
On our way back to the bus, we followed a path along the ocean. Along the way we saw the statue of Princess Hwangok that was restored in 1989 after being destroyed by hurricane Thelma. The bronze statue, reminiscent of the Little Mermaid in Denmark, is 8 ft. high and weighs 4 tons. The statue holds a tale that is both enchanting and bittersweet. Princess Hwangok, traveled across the sea from her homeland, Naranda—the mythical “mermaid country”—to marry King Eunhe of Mugung. Though her journey was one of love, she often felt the ache of homesickness. Legend has it that during each full moon, the Princess would gaze into her Hwangok, a topaz bead, to see the reflection of her distant country, finding a moment of comfort as she remembered the place she left behind.
Our last stop was to the Jagalichi Fish Market, the largest fish market in South Korea. There are six districts of different products. It was so large you couldn’t possibly see the end of the aisles in any direction. Every kind of crustacean and fish and eels and stuff we didn’t even know about, was available stall after stall after stall. We often saw the vendors picking up fish that had jumped out of the water containers and ended up on the floor.
Busan came as a surprise to us as we knew little about South Korea. A very modern port city. The people were very polite and helpful wherever we went. Again there was a feeling of cleanliness in such a large metropolis.
The entertainment tonight was a presentation of the music and cultures around the world.Baca lagi