Korea Day 7 Finale: Busan [[Haedong Yonggungsa Temple + Haeundae Beach + Gukbap Alley + Gamcheon Culture Village]]

Directions: Train + Bus ride - Busan Station to Haeundae (Line 1, transit at Seomyoen to Line 2, 22 stops, ~48min, ~1400won)  Haeundae Station, Exit 7. Take Bus 181 and get off at Yonggungsa Temple.
Opening hours/admission:  from 04:00 am – 19:00 pm everyday of the year.

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple is a Buddhist temple situated north-east of Busan. This beautiful temple was built on rocks facing the sea! How nice does this sound? oh well, it is as nice as it sounds! The really long journey to the temple was justifiable for the amazing sights seen around and within the temple! :)


Once within the compound, we were greeted by the 12 zodiac animal  stone sculptures that lined the side of the pathway.

Also, scattered around the temple are different statues, sculptures and stone pagoda.

 

 

A stroll down the 108 steps, one will be greeted with the calming sounds of waves and the sight of the majestic temple's external structure! Mr Kwek and I were both stunted by how beautiful this temple is!   

 

After exploring the area, Mr Kwek and I try our luck at the lucky coin divination pond. We were so closed to throwing our coin into the middle bowl but failed to get it in even after some ten tries? :X It was pretty fun though!

We left the temple and make our way back to Haeundae station where we walked for five minutes from exit 5, straight, before reaching  Haeundae Beach.  Haeundae Beach is supposingly the most famous beach in Korea! Often recognizable by the colourful beach umbrellas during summer, Haeundae Beach is famous for the various cultural events and festivals held round the year.

Unfortunately, when we were there, there were no events! Oh well, the 1.5km long beach was still as clean and beautiful as it can be! :)

Shortly after, we met up with Mr Kwek's Korean friend, Ms A, and headed for lunch. Ms A brought us to the nearby Haeundae Market’s Gukbap Alley to try out Busan’s signature dish of dwaeji gukbap, or often known as pork/beef and rice soup.
Just 4 minutes walk from Haeundae Beach, the two most famous shops are Kim Hee-dae Halmae Wonjo Gamasot Gukbap (Granny Kim Hee-dae’s Original Cauldron Gukbap), under a yellow sign at the end of the row; and 48-nyeon Jeontong Haeundae Wonjo Halmae Gukbap (The Original 48-year-old Traditional Haeundae Granny Gukbap) just next door under the red sign.
We headed for the latter and oh boy, the Gukbap tasted really delicious! Each Gukbap came with a Yakult drink and unlimited servings of kimchi side.

We concluded our trip with a trip to the lovely Gamcheon Culture Village. I have no idea how to get there as Ms A showed us the way. There were two bus stops leading to the entrance of the Village. One was at the bottom of the village while the other was at the top. We were fortunate that Ms A brought us to take the bus up the winding road leading to the top of the village. As the village was situated atop a hill, it is best to start your exploration from top down than from bottom up!

Once we alighted from the bus, we were immediately greeted with the cheerful color-filled little houses around us! After purchasing the map at the entrance, we started strolling through the beautifully colored cultural village, cam-whoring like nobody's business!

As the village is situated atop the hill facing the city and sea, every corners and narrow allies were brightly sun-bathed. It was an enjoyable stroll, getting lost within the village, exploring every part of the village!

The village was so huge, after a three hour stroll, we only managed probably half the village. It was unfortunate that we had to end our exploration so abruptly as we had a train to catch back to Seoul for our night flight back to Singapore.

Ms A brought us to a nearby eatery to have famous korea cold noodles often known as Naengmyeon. Oh boy, was it good! Just looking at the picture now makes me drool! The hand made noodles is served in a large stainless-steel bowl with a starchy iced broth, stredded cucumbers, a boiled egg  and slices of cold boiled beef. Topped with spicy mustard sauce and vinegar, we were given a scissor to cut the noodles before consumption.

After the fulfilling dinner, with much reluctance, we bid farewell to Ms A as we trained back to Seoul to catch our flight back home! Korea had developed and changed a lot since 10 years ago when I went! It has been a fun-filling 7 days in Korea! So much love for Korea now! We hope to be back soon! 

Hope you have enjoyed reading about our seven days adventure in Korea! :) 

Korea Day 1: Seoul [[Ewha Woman University + N Seoul Tower + Namdaemun]]

Korea Day 2: Seoul [[Gyeongbokgung Palace + Tosokchon + Buckchon Hanok Village + Insadong + Myeong Dong Kyoja]]

Korea Day 3: Seoul [[Nami Island + Petite France + Red Sun Budae-jjigae + Dongdaemum]]

Korea Day 4: Seoul [[Panmunjom JSA + DMZ + 3rd Tunnel Tour+Gwangjang Market]]

Korea Day 5: [[Suwon Hwaseong Fortress+ Folk Village + Walnut cake+ Lotteria + Haha Restaurant Pal Ja Mak Chang]]

Korea Day 6: Busan [[Nampodong Street + Yongdusan Park + Busan Tower + Gwangbok-dong Cultural & Fashion Street + Jagalchi Market + Gwangalli beach]]