Accommodation
Busan has plenty of choice at the top end of the accommodation range. The five-stars are almost all in Haeundae, the beach district far to the east of the centre that’s by far the most interesting place to stay; here you’ll also be able to find simple guesthouses that are dirt-cheap for most of the year, but raise their prices for the summer season. There are cheap motels all over the city; if you want to go out at night you’re best basing yourself in Seomyeon or around the university drinking areas, whereas sightseers should head for the cheap areas around the train station or ferry terminal. There are now a few hostels kicking around – more often than not, merely regular apartments kitted out for backpacker use. If you really want to save cash you can get a night’s sleep for less than W10,000 in a jjimjilbang.
Busan festivals
Busan hosts an incredible number of festivals, and many of them are quite incredibly bad – those dedicated to anchovy-rubbing or egg-rolling might sound comical, but they’re really not worth the effort. However, there are a number of good ones – the most popular is BIFF, the Busan International Film Festival (wwww.biff.kr), which takes place over a week or so each October. One of the biggest such events in Asia, it draws the cream of the continent’s talent, and has recently expanded its scope to please non-mainstreamers too. Most of the action takes place around Nampodong and Haeundae, with the latter a great place to star-spot – you could even find yourself pitching ideas to a director over soju. Also interesting are the Busan Biennale (wwww.busanbiennale.org), a festival of contemporary art that takes place on even-numbered years, though in seemingly random months, and the International Rock Festival (wrockfestival.co.kr), which takes place in early August on Dadaepo Beach. The Polar Bear Swim Contest sees participants splash through the cold Haeundae waters each January, and is followed by the Straw-Heap Burning Festival, an event that does what it says, ostensibly to ward off evil. Worth mentioning for the name alone is the Mass-Media Cutting-Edge Marine Fireworks Festival, an event that sees things go bang over Gwangalli Beach each November.
Eating
Busan’s cosmopolitan nature is reflected in its culinary options. One of the most interesting eating areas is opposite the train station – no five-star paradise, but rather a motley crew of snack bars catering to sailors and assorted night-crawlers. Here, “Shanghai Street” provides a wealth of safe but relatively expensive Chinese restaurants, before merging effortlessly into “Texas Street”, home to a lower-key choice of outlets; despite the American name, the most appealing food here lies in the cheap, cheerful Filipino snack-halls. The area running from the station to Jagalchi Fish Market is uninspired, though Korean staples are easy to track down, while the student areas are predictably cheap – take your pick from innumerable meat houses or izakaya-style Japanese restaurant-bars. If you’re looking for something a little classier head to one of the five-star hotels around Haeundae beach.
Haeundae
On the eastern side of Busan, and about 25 minutes away by subway, HAEUNDAE (해운대) is without a doubt the most popular beach in Korea. Whether it’s the best or not is open to question – in the summer it draws in families, teens and bronzed beach bums by the bucketload, though at only 2km in length, space here is tighter than a Brazilian’s Speedos, while the sand gradually becomes a composite of cigarette butts, firework ash and other debris. Like it or not, it’s an interesting place – Haeundae is not just the name of the beach, but also its surrounding area, one that attracts all sorts throughout the year. The Pusan Film Festival, one of the biggest in Asia, rolls into town each October with a cast of directors, actors, wannabes and hangers-on; the super-fit come to splash and dash out a triathlon course each October; hungry Koreans come to chow down on raw fish and throw back a few bottles of soju from the comfort of a plastic chair; affluent expats, trendy locals and the international convention crowd populate the many luxury apartments and five-star hotels, while youngsters come from all over the country to spend a starry night on the beach. If you catch it at the right time, Haeundae can be quite magical.