Uncover the stunning historical past behind Busan’s must-visit spot

At his ramshackle boutique on Gamnae-ro, Hwa Deuk-heun — in any other case identified by his creative deal with of Parasolmann — is tough at work at his stitching machine. His retailer is busy with clients, who’ve come from throughout Korea to buy one among his trademark shoulder baggage, that are decked out in day-glo colors and emblazoned with logos from Coca-Cola, Chupa Chups, Toyota and Korean manufacturers. Handmade and waterproof, Hwa’s baggage are additionally eco-friendly: they’re normal from recycled seashore umbrellas and have proved a giant hit on social media.

“I was shocked by all the abandoned umbrellas on Haeundae Beach [an urban beach in east Busan] and thought what a waste, there has to be a way to use these,” says Hwa, operating a hand by way of his shaggy silver locks. Every yr, round 2,000 baggage fly out of his store in Gamcheon, a well-liked neighbourhood in Busan’s south — not unhealthy for a self-taught businessman in Korea’s second metropolis.

Around half-hour from Gyeongju by practice, Busan is a few 260 miles south of the capital however solely three hours from Seoul because of the KTX service. Home to virtually three-and-a-half-million folks and sprawled throughout a sequence of bays alongside the southeast coast, it’s a high-rise metropolis with shades of a Korean Hong Kong. Tower blocks cloak the hillsides, metal bridges hyperlink the scattered islands, and cranes and container ships fill the port — South Korea’s busiest. But there’s a artistic underbelly to Busan, too.

Gamcheon is one among a number of ‘culture villages’ within the metropolis — former slums reinvented as artist-friendly neighbourhoods. With its vibrant homes and precipitously pitched streets, the enclave has been dubbed South Korea’s Machu Picchu by locals — however Rio’s favelas can be a extra correct comparability. Just a number of a long time in the past, Gamcheon was a infamous shanty city, constructed by refugees after the Korean War, racked by poverty, poor sanitation and crime.

In 2009, metropolis authorities started a undertaking to assist locals rebuild the neighbourhood, specializing in supporting younger artists and creatives to be taught new expertise and begin companies. It’s proved vastly profitable, particularly because of social media. As I stroll alongside Gamcheon’s major avenue, I go gelato shops, coffeeshops, craft beer bars and studios — to not point out crowds of younger Koreans snapping selfies at viewpoints overlooking town. Over 1,000,000 folks now go to Gamcheon a yr, serving to to fund additional renovation.

Jung Kyung-ae is one other artist who’s benefited from Gamcheon’s renaissance. I meet her inside her little studio, the Rainbow Atelier, the place she paints placing, vibrant artworks impressed by Korean folklore: prowling tigers, winged dragons, birds, butterflies. Her approach employs conventional pigmented minerals and he or she at all times makes use of handmade Korean rice paper for her canvas.

“Many of my artworks are inspired by things I’ve seen in temples, monasteries and museums,” she says. “But of course I reinterpret them in my own style. My art is a mix of old and new. A little bit like Gamcheon.”

Five basic Busan experiences:

1. Jagalchi Fish Market

As South Korea’s busiest port, it’s no shock seafood is excessive on the menu in Busan — particularly on the metropolis’s chaotic fish market. Browse the squirming squid, sea squirts, spoon worms, dwell octopuses and pulsing abalone, earlier than settling at a desk inside the marketplace for a meal. If the wriggly stuff feels a bit confronting, strive a sashimi platter or seafood stew.

2. Busan’s seashores

For most Koreans, the principle cause to go to Busan is the possibility to relax out on the seashore and paddle within the surf. There are seven massive public seashores alongside the shoreline: Haeundae and Gwangalli are the largest, whereas these farther from town centre, like Songjeong, Ilgwang and Imrang, are significantly quieter and widespread with surfers.

3. Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

Located beside the coast in northeast Busan, that is one among solely a handful of ‘water temples’ in South Korea, devoted to Haesu Gwaneum Daebul, the Sea Goddess Buddha of Mercy. The temple is believed so far again to the 14th century, however was partly rebuilt within the Seventies, which explains its unusually vibrant shrines, ornate statues and concrete walkways. For fewer crowds, head inland to the mountain temple of Beomeosa.

4. Songdo Marine Cable Car

The Korean tackle seaside sightseeing: clamber right into a glass-floored pod and swing out alongside the coast for a mile from Songnim Park on the east facet of Songdo Beach to Amnam Park. This was the nation’s first cable-car, launched in 1964, and stays a well-liked attraction.

5. Take a street-food tour

Busan is a food-loving metropolis, so a snacking tour ought to be excessive on the agenda. A couple of native delicacies to strive embrace bibim dangmyeon (spicy glass noodles), haemul bindaetteok (seafood mung bean pancake), tteokbokki (spicy rice desserts) and ssiat hotteok (stuffed candy pancake). The metropolis’s markets are nice for avenue meals: strive Haeundae Traditional Market or Gukje Market, or head for the pojangmacha (coated meals stalls) alongside Gwangbokdong Food Street or Nampo-Dong.