KMK: Haeundae Beach

On the subway the first thing you notice is that Busan has only three lines, which is noticeably different from the labyrinthine maze that is Seoul’s subway system. While you might think it makes getting around easier it turns out that the subway tracks are like fingers extending throughout the city which leads to constant back tracking to get where you want to go. Still, it goes by pretty quickly.

When we arrived at Haeundae station we stepped out into an area crammed with hotels, restaurants, and convenience stores. Since we neglected to make reservations our first order of business was to secure a place to sleep. When it comes to bedding down Haeundae has something for everyone. If you want to lay your head among fluffy mint laden pillows at a five star luxury hotel then your wish can be fulfilled. And if you want to hunker down in a big sleeping room and cuddle with a group of snoring Korean guys in their jammies then fear not you can find that too. We roamed the streets for awhile and eventually opted to stay at the Castle Beach Motel.
It was a typical motel with not much to offer except a faux castle theme. Unfortunately the room cost us 80,000won, but at that point I just wanted to throw our bags down and check out the beach scene. For a Friday night the streets seemed unusually deserted. We wandered to the Haeundae fish market which proved to be a great primer for Jagalchi Market. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then hit the beach.

A few couples were out strolling but for the most part there weren’t many people. Still Haeundae at night is a sight to see. We walked around for awhile enjoying the night sea breeze and eventually turned in.

The next morning we returned to the beach after a coffee jumpstart. In the daylight Haeundae proved to be even more beautiful with clean white sand and deep blue green water. The weather was still a bit blustery but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the folks out romping on the beach
A family, or perhaps a school, raced in mini games. Frisbees were tossed. Dogs scampered about. We strolled along the side and headed for rocky area near the Westin Chosun Hotel.

Here you can follow the wooden walkway around shoreline to circumvent the hotel. This leads to a little mini harbor which I’ll write about in my next Busan installment!