A Brisbane Student’s Journey from Seoul’s Chill to the Kindest Shores of Gwangalli

Singer Han Soo-sung and his wife (C) GET

I’m currently doing a 3 month program at Seoul national university but I only have 2 classes a week so I decided to visit Busan. Actually last year I visited Busan because I was living in a place called Sanyoonoda in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. There I had a friend who works as a guide for people from Busan coming by boat from shimonoseki and vice versa. I was very lucky to visit both Busan, Seoul and Daegu with my friend but it was a very short stay so I made sure to come back to Korea to fully enjoy and appreciate the country.

I arrived in Seoul around 3 weeks ago and have been exploring there, I live in Brisbane,Australia where the winter is about 20c so coming to Seoul in the start of march, the cold weather was the biggest shock for me. It’s starting to warm up now and it’s ever warmer in Busan. This morning I walked along Gwangali beach and I got too hot to wear my jacket. 

The flowers have also started blooming, not all of the trees but some have starting flowering and it’s so beautiful to see them.

      His wife Kwon Yeun-soon's dance moves  (C) GET

My classes are Monday and Thursday afternoon so I booked my ticket for 10:18am on Friday morning thinking I’d have plenty of time to catch the train, but I took too long getting ready and I arrived around 30 mins after my train departed. The ticket was about 57 thousand won and because I didn’t miss the train too long after the departure I managed to get a 13 thousand won refund but I still wasted a lot of money which was really annoying.

I had one friend in Busan from when I came last year. But she’s very busy and I knew she wouldn’t be able to have much time to hang out with me. So I was kind of worried Id have to travel everywhere alone. And I booked a place to stay luckily deciding not to pay until I got there because the place had 2 by k beds with a shared bathroom and 4 people staying in one room. I just wanted it because it was cheap.

While on the KTX I found out there are many guides in Busan, I was asking my friends if they knew anyone in Busan too and luckily they did. In particular my friend who owns a restaurant called cherry garden which serves delicious food, gave me the contact of her friends. A couple where the man was a famous singer named Han Soosung and the woman danced. They had a guesthouse extremely close to the beautiful gwangali beach and I didn’t even have to pay. 

Australian international student Nuke   (C) GET

The elderly couple also had their daughter and her husband and children living beside them. Everyone was so kind and they could even speak English. I was surprised by how well their children who were only 10 and 12 years old could already speak and they even thanked me for the opportunity for them to practise their English. 

On the night I arrived the elderly couples daughter introduced themselves, made me food without me even asking and said they would be more than happy to show me around Busan. 

First we went to gwangali where mr Han performed busking. I walked the whole stretch of the beach and listened to his performance. The beach was so beautiful at night with the neon lights and animations even on the bridge. It kind of reminded me of the Gold Coast in Australia, it’s the first time I visited a beach in Korea and I wasn’t disappointed.

Then we visited haeundae beach, Haeundae market and Dalmaji gil road and finally Hwannyeongsan mountain which I think was the most beautiful view I experienced the whole time I was in Busan, it was so fun getting to know the family while exploring all these places.

The next day I went to church with my friend I haven’t seen in so long, i went to church with her family and got to meet so many kind people and experience what a church was like in Korea. Then we went to the vibrant Seomyeon ate the famous Dwaejigukbal and strawberry Bingsu. 

                                   Busan Gwanandaegyo Drone Show    (C) GET   

I came back home after eating lunch with my friend and although I was tired I from getting up early for church I wanted to keep exploring. Again the family next to me offer to guide me around. We went to Oryukdo skywalk, the air was so fresh there and the sea and islands were so beautiful. We also visited Nampo dong, Seoul tower and watched a scenic drone show at gwangali beach. I’d never seen anything like it.

Yesterday I visited Haedong yonggusa temple and Gamcheon village, and Tombstone culture village with many old tombs and interesting history to see. Colourful buildings were so pretty and the most famous area whenever you google Busan did not disappoint. 

I also ate dinner and dessert with the family and I visited the studio that they use for work. It was my first time visiting a studio before and it was interesting to see how much technology was put into place to make everything work. The mr Hans son showed me the songs he had produced and I was really impressed, and then with his 10 year old son I played his favourite racing game and I had so much fun.

Today before leaving I said goodbye to the children before they left for school, the family made me breakfast and I wanted to see the beach one more time so I took a walk along Gwangali. 

I wrote this on the KTX back home and I’m just arriving in Seoul now. I’ll forever cherish the family’s kindness and the moments I had in Busan.