Busan (부산) is a ‘must-visit’ for all travelers to South Korea! Mouth watering seafood, historic temples, picturesque landscapes and plenty of options for relaxing beach time. Busan is located on the southeastern tip of South Korea, but thanks to the country’s high-speed rail (KTX) infrastructure it is easily accessible. Busan is South Korea’s 2nd largest city, with over 3.5 million inhabitants. It is also South Korea’s busiest port, and actually the 5th busiest port in the world! Yet, Busan manages to maintain a relaxed, laid back atmosphere. This makes it the perfect spot to wind down, especially after spending a few days exploring Seoul! Here are the top spots you shouldn’t miss on your visit to Busan!
#1 Eat Seafood. Eat all the Seafood!
Busan is a port city, and the local seafood options are out of this world! You won’t have to go far to find incredible, mouth-water meals when you visit Busan. Here are a few places to start.
Obok Miyeok (머펙미역)
A meal at Obok Miyeok is warm and fresh. Flavorful and comforting. And, just plain beautiful. Obok Miyeok specializes in bowls of steaming seaweed soup loaded with a variety of seafood options. You can choose from abalone, flounder, shellfish or even beef. The broth is slightly salty, and each bite is packed with flavor. This was the perfect meal to slow down and relax after a week of sightseeing. If you’re new to traveling in South Korea, don’t forget that your meal will come with banchan, or an array of small side dishes. The crunchy spice of kimchi and the cool, vinegary cucumbers are a perfect compliment to Obok Miyeok’s bowls of steaming soup.
Obok Miyeok is conveniently located in Nampo-dong, Busan’s central business and shopping district. Full disclosure, this is not a local spot as there are multiple locations in Busan and throughout South Korea. Yet, it was so good it still made my top food list.
Address: 4, Gudeok-ro 34beon-gil, Jung-gu, Busan (Nampodong 2-ga 도로명: 부산 중구 구덕로34번길 4 (남포동2가, 쏠레마빌딩)
Visit Jagalchi Fish Market
Jagalchi is the largest fish market in South Korea and definitely worth a visit! You’ll find any variety of local seafood that you could imagine! The indoor market has multiple floors. The first level houses vendors selling fresh fish, live eels, crabs & more. A visit to Jagalchi Fish Market doesn’t have to just be for browsing and photos. Go when you’re getting hungry and pick out your lunch right there. Choose your meal, and head up to the 2nd floor to have it cooked fresh! Note that there is a charge of KRW 4,000 (about ~$3.5) per person to eat there. (But, that includes small side dishes!)
Tip: Make sure to wear shoes that can get wet and can be rinsed off after leaving.
Walk along the narrow streets just outside the main building to see more rows of vendors selling fresh seafood! Wandering through local seafood markets are definitely one of the most memorable experiences of visiting Busan!
Cheongsapo (청사포) - Best Barbecued Shellfish in Busan
If you’re a seafood lover, you can’t leave Busan without a visit to Cheongsapo fishing port! Honestly, even if you don’t love seafood, you should should still visit because a meal in Cheongsapo may change your mind. A short taxi ride from Haeundae Beach, Cheongsapo is best visited in the afternoon. If it’s a nice, sunny day walk along the fishing pier and to see Cheongsapo’s two lighthouses looking out over the Sea of Japan.
Head to Noran Mahura (노란마후라) for a lunch or dinner of barbecued shellfish that is to die for! The vibe is super casual, and you can enjoy a table looking right out onto the water! There’s a grill in the middle of the table, and you actually barbecue the meal right there in front of you. Choose from clams, oysters, shrimp, muscles and more. This is an especially great option for groups!
Address: 60 Cheongsapo-ro 128beon-gil, Jung-dong, Haeundae-gu, Busan (부산광역시 해운대구 청사포로128번길 60)
Barbecued with a mixture of butter, onion, carrots and mushrooms over an open flame. Noran Mahura was one of the best meals we had in South Korea!
#2 Relax on Haeundae Beach (해운대해수욕장)
Haeundea is South Korea’s most famous beach. It’s proximity to the city center and public transportation make Haeundae Beach an easy and fun destination for visitors to Busan. This is a perfect spot to catch some sun, play in the water and enjoy quality people watching. Spending an afternoon laying on the beach was the perfect activity after a few days of non-stop sightseeing and travel.
Haeundae Beach in Busan, South Korea. Photograph from Flickr; author StephNurnberg; license of cc by 2.0.No matter the time, it’s always Selfie O’Clock at Haeundae. Bring your selfie stick or your tripod and pose next to one of the public art installations.
Tip: During the summer it can get very busy, and if the weather’s hot and sunny be prepared for crowds. If you’re looking peace and quiet, Haeundae may not be the beach for you.
After you’ve spent some time relaxing, walk west along Haeundae Beach to Dongbaek Island Park. Now Dongbaek is technically more of a peninsula than an island since it was connected to the mainland. There is a pathway around Dongbaek Park that will take about an hour to circle, providing great views of Haeundea Beach with Busan’s urban landscape behind.
#3 Eat Some More! Indulge in Busan's Streetfood Scene!
Head to Gukje Market Food Street or make your way to BIFF Square to enjoy the best of Busan’s streetfood! There are so many delicious options, but my two favorites are: tteokbokki & hotteok.
Tteokbokki (떡볶이) - Soft, Spicy Rice Cakes in Gochujang
Planning a visit to Busan? Tteokbokki is a must-try for any visitors to South Korea! Sometimes I wake up from dreaming about eating endless servings of tteokbokki. Warm, spicy delicious-ness best enjoyed while walking along the street of Busan! Tteokbokki is a Korean staple: soft rice cakes simmered in a curried mixture of gochujang paste (Korean red pepper paste that is spicy, sweet and tangy all-in-one), green onions, dried anchovies, kelp and a little sugar. You’ll often find hard boiled egg as well alongside the rice cakes.
Want more tteokbokki? Check out South Korea’s tteokbokki buffet chain Dookki 두끼떡볶이! All you can eat rice cakes, fish cakes and veggies with a variety of sauces you can choose from. Each person or couple makes their own sauce right at the table in a hot-pot style. Create your own perfect spicy / sweet balance! Dookki is a franchise model, and there are locations throughout South Korea and abroad! If you search in English, you’re most likely to find the locations in Singapore or Vietnam. Search using the hanguel characters to find a Dookki location near you in Busan.
Hotteok (호떡)
Sweet, warm & fried. mmmhhmmm. A fried wheat dough pancake filled with spices, peanuts and/or sesame seeds and brown sugar, hotteok is the perfect treat for a winter visit to Busan! Although, I can tell you from experience that is also a perfect treat for summer. There are plenty more street food options to enjoy on your trip to Busan, but make sure not to miss these two!
Add Incheon to your trip planning agenda for another South Korean city with delicious food, plenty of history and lots of fun!
#4 Templestay at Beomeosa Temple (범어사)
Even wondered what life would be like for a Buddhist monk in South Korea? Participate in a Beomeosa Templestay for an immersive look into monastic life at one of South Korea’s most famous urban temples. You can easily visit Beomeosa as a day trip from Busan, but I highly recommend building a templestay into your itinerary. Originally constructed in 678, Beomeosa Temple has been a part of Busan’s history for over 1,000 years! The original temple was lost during the Imjin War, but in the early 1600s the temple was restored to its current form.
Beomeosa sits at the edge of Geumjeongsan Mountain, providing picturesque views of South Korea’s natural beauty. Touring the temple and hiking around Beomeosa are definitely on the list of top things to do in Busan!
I highly recommending booking an overnight templestay on your visit to Busan. There are various options to choose from, and there are some experiences that are consistent across templestays. During my visit to Beomeosa I arrived in the afternoon, and our stay started with an overview of temple rituals and manners followed by a tour. Our templestay group was about 20 people, a mixture of both foreign tourists and local Koreans!
I was worried that the experience would be inauthentic and heavily catering to visitors from abroad. I couldn't have been more wrong! Yes, there was an English translator for all of the activities, but many South Koreans also join templestays as a way to learn about their local culture or to deepen their own connection with Buddhism and to seek inner peace.
As part of the templestay you will eat a traditional monastic dinner. Make sure not to take more than you can eat! No one will go hungry, but it is respectful to eat all the food you put in your bowl. During the templestay you will also have time for guided meditation and opportunity for reflection.
There are various templestay itinerary options depending on the experience you’re looking for. On my templestay we ended with a morning hike up to Godangbong Peak, the highest point of Geumjeongsan. At just over 800 meters, the view is beautiful and worth the hike!
If you’re interested in a templestay, definitely book in advance. (You can make reservations in English here.) An overnight templestay will usually cost anywhere between $30 to $60 per person. I recommend starting or ending your visit to Busan with a templestay to minimize carrying bags between hotels and navigating check-in / check-out times.
Getting to Beomeosa
Getting to Beomeosa is super easy, and you can take public transit the whole way! Take the Busan Metro Line one stop to the to Beomeosa stop, and use exit #5 or #7. Walk about 5 minutes to the #90 public bus stop. A short ride on this bus will take you right to the Beomeosa ticket counter. You’re sure to see plenty of other tourists and locals headed to Beomeosa to take in the temple’s beauty or enjoy a hike on the surrounding Geumjeong Mountain.
Pajeon - (파전) Scallion Pancake
On your way to Beomeosa, take a snack break for a pajeon, or scallion pancake, at one of the small shops near the bus stop. (Shoutout to Lonely Planet for the recommendation on this one!) They’re pretty big, so unless you’re really hungry get one to share!
#5 Book a Hotel with a View
Normally I don’t pay much attention to my hotel, but in Busan it’s worth it to book a hotel with a view of the port. In Busan, booking a room with a view doesn’t have to mean dishing out a lot of money!
We stayed a K Guesthouse Premium Nampo in an Ocean View Double Room. The location was fantastic, the room was very clean and we had a view right out onto the harbor. The room itself was pretty small, but it is fun to wake up looking out onto the bustling port below. The best part: our room was less than $50 a night through Booking.com!
Even if you don’t opt for an Ocean View room, there is a communal eating / sitting area where you can enjoy your breakfast with a view. This was our view waking up in the morning to the hustle and bustle of Busan’s port!
Bonus: Ben's Free Walking Tour
Ben’s Free Walking Tour should have made the Top 5 Things to Do in Busan list! But, due to health issues Ben’s tours are currently on hold. Ben is a Busan-native, and he, or a member of his ‘Crew’, offers free walking tours of Busan’s Nampo-dong. These tours last about 2.5 hours, and are a great way for first-time visitors to Busan to get their bearings in the city.
Ben is super friendly and he provides great insight into everyday life in Busan. On the tour you’ll visit a few of Busan’s major tourist spots, including BIFF Square, Jagalchi & Gukje Markets and Yongduson Park. Check out BensFreeTour.com before you head to Busan to see if tours are up and running again.
Getting To & Around Busan
There are 47 trains a day from from Seoul to Busan, and it’s less than a 3-hour trip! (Read more here.) Once you’re Busan, the metro is user-friendly. Also, you can use the same fare card throughout South Korea on the buses and subways! If this is your first visit to Busan, I recommend staying in central Nampo-dong so you can easily walk to many of the main attractions.
Download Kakao Maps
Pre-visit tip: Download Kakao Maps, the best navigation app for visiting South Korea. The app is free, and Kakao Maps made navigating Busan so much easier! Don’t try to rely on Google or Apple Maps. The information and directions are just not as reliable.
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Great photos and tips! Thank your for sharing such an adventure. You make me go to South Korea! 🙂
How amazing! So detailed and inspiring! I can’t wait to visit Busan now. It’s been on our list for a while and we hope to get there on our next visit to China and South Korea!
Thanks, Lauren! I hope you can make it to Busan, too. It is a really fantastic (and delicious!) place to visit!
This post made me hungry and I LOVED all the foodie tips! Pinned for hopefully future travels.
Thanks, Megs! Busan is such a foodie city! I hope you can make it there.
I was supposed to be visiting South Korea next month, obviously that’s postponed for now but this guide is so helpful, I had no idea you could do a templestay! Will definitely be incorporating it into my new itinerary for when I’m able to visit Busan!
Helena – I’m so sorry to hear your trip was thrown off! I hope you are able to still make it in the future. Definitely one of my favorite places I have ever visited! Beomeosa is a great templestay because it is very easy to get to from the city. But, there are other options throughout the country if you want to be more rural, too. Enjoy!
I sure could eat my way through that place with a side of scenery thrown in to separate the meals. 😆 Honestly you had me at the seafood bbq video.
I love your article! Thanks for the recommendations. We’ve been in South Korea several times but never to Busan. I’ll be adding a stop there on our next trip (if we are ever able to travel again that is). Your recommendations on seafood places really caught my eye. I love trying local cuisines whenever we travel so article that talk about where to get the best local food really are my favorite 🙂