South Korea Guide
Gyeongsang
Busan
Those who've visited Barcelona, Osaka, Marseille or Melbourne will know what to expect of BUSAN. A serious victim of second-city syndrome, a strange mix of inferiority and superiority complexes, Busan has emerged from the provincial shadows full of pep and character. By turns brackish, glamorous, clumsy and charismatic, it prides itself on simply being different from Seoul, and many travellers end up preferring it to the capital. Like the cities listed above, the locals alone make it worth a visit: more characterful than those from the capital, Busanites talk almost as fast as their city moves, spouting provincial slang in a distinctive staccato that many foreigners initially mistake for Japanese.
Busan is not just Korea's second-biggest city, but the fifth-largest container port in the world – its salty fringes tumble away into a colourful, confetti-like jumble of corrugated containers. This connection to the sea is evident at two of Busan's most visited areas – Haeundae, a beach area sprinkled with five-star hotels, and Jagalchi Fish Market, quite possibly the smelliest place on earth. Those with calories to burn will have temples and mountains to amble around, or you can shop till you drop at a variety of places from grimy markets to designer shopping malls. In the evenings, the setting sun throws the ships into cool silhouette on a sea of gold, and Busan's youth come out to paint the town red. While the nightlife here is second only to that in Seoul, for sheer verve there's no contest – Busan is the champion.
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