Day 11. Busan. April 14, 2024

Woke to another sun shiny day in Busan. With a large picture window looking to the view of mountains beyond the city.

We are in another Lotte hotel here is Busan, on the 20th floor this time. Pretty flash.

So happy today! We headed over the bridge.

Alex did his research re: Sky Capsule at Haeundae and snagged us some tickets. The website yesterday indicated both days were totally booked. This was an Insta find that I wanted to do. He did good.

Fabulous views along the coastline back towards city. Cute little multi- coloured capsules and saw into gardens and construction of a new skywalk – massive barge crane building it. The water is quite clear and shallow. Saw a couple of divers – we guess getting seaweed or something else. Alex says there is no diving/snorkelling which I think is a missed opportunity.
The capsules and a train basically run along an abandoned rail line a la Rail Trail. The line was first opened in 1935, between Pohang and Busan, constructed during the Japanese colonial period. It was utilized for the exploitation of resources and the Japanese tourists who visited Haeundae for sightseeing.
Following Korea’s liberation, this single-track railway was used for a long time as the main section of Donghae Nambu Line, the public transportation connecting Pohang, Gyeongju, Ulsan, and Busan. But due to the expansion of the downtown area and narrow terrains, the old track was difficult to electrify and transform into a double track in the original route.

On December 2, 2013, the main line of the Donghae Nambu Line was rerouted through the tunnel in Jangsan Mountain, which closed the former route.

After the closure of this section, considered one of the most beautiful railways along the shoreline, various ways to revitalize it were considered, including transformation into a hiking trail, a railbike park, a bicycle path, and a streetcar rail.

Despite thinking the capsule was a bit twee we all really enjoyed it.

Next stop Yonggunsa Temple along with the hoards of tourists. One of the newer Buddhist temples. Rebuilt in 1971. This one is located right on the coast as a point of distinction. Think of a local church with small congregation, sensational views and they capitalise on it. That’s what this is from what I can decipher.
Next on our agenda was Haeundae ‘half half’ market for lunch and a look. Half modern, half traditional.

The trees here are manicured and shaped like bonsai. Some with bottles of something being injected. Many stakes, braces, ropes, wires, bandages etc. Treecare here is next level!

Hyundai-coo (coo = suburb) is similar to Gangnam (upmarket)
Dumplings for lunch at market – Steamed large – pork and veg and shrimp and pork to share. Alex had kimchi dumplings.

Found a bit of Aussie wine and a gin or two in Happy Bottle bottle shop.

We then walked Haeundae Beach – think Surfers Paradise-ish. On the way, he saw a group of girls all dressed up for a tick-tock video. They had a photographer and who had the gear set up. There is so much of a selfie, it’s all about me vibe here amongst the young people.

They were prepping for a sand sculpture festival in May. Some were swimming.

Dongbaekseom Island was next stop – a tiny little Island park now joined to mainland due to sedimentation. It is the location of APEC House, site of 2015 APEC Summit. You may remember little Johnny Howard in his long blue Hanbok outfit. Also George Bush and Putin.

This island actually had more birds than we have seen. Blue heron, Great Egret, Intermediate Egret, Little Egret ( so Apple tells me) nesting in the top of the cypressy pines, with young in the next, very odd/harsh call. Hard to photograph but I was happy after reviewing the shots.

Also saw some more Venous-throated Parottbills (juvenile we reckon)

A circular route along the coast and around the island has views of statues in the harbour – shipping Markers indicating danger submerged. Also a mermaid similar to Copenhagen. City scapes and a random fisherman and cat. We’ve seen a few Korean men sleeping in the oddest places too.

Next and last stop (after some debate re Skywalk) is not on the itinerary but a recommendation from Jackie is the UN War Cemetery. This was really very emotional. As we entered the last post was played. Lucky to time it I think.

We found the Australian section almost immediately (281 Aussies lost their lives in the Korean War)

One of the Australian graves I saw had an additional little plaque that brought us undone. Tears were shed.

So many graves, and lovely memorials. Of particular note was the NZ one. They were one of the first countries to respond to the call. At their memorial carved in Māori – representing the tattoos of the women chins that signify adulthood as an indication that the bearer is able to bear pain and take on responsibilities. The sides of the memorial have 45 notches representing the 45 NZ lives lost. Then to make it even sadder, the flowers in front must have been left today by the family of Roy Hills who served in Korea in 50/51 and died in August 2021. We reckon they must have left this today as the flowers weren’t wilted in tribute of his service and connection to the South Korean people. Very moving. It all was.

Here’s some info from the brochure:
The United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea (UNMCK) is the only UN memorial cemetery in the world, and is the sacred, final resting place of the UN forces who served during the Korean War.

The Cemetery was first established by the UN Command in 1951. In 1959, the United Nations and the Republic of Korea signed the ‘Agreement Between the United Nations and the Republic of Korea for the Establishment and Maintenance of a United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea”. The United Nations maintained the Cemetery until 1974. Today, the Commission for the UNMCK, consisting of 11 member nations that have their fallen interred in the Cemetery, oversees the overall operations of the UNMCK.

There are over 2,300 persons from 13 countries interred in the Cemetery. We hope our visitors can look back on the history, feel the significance of peace and freedom, as well as give thought to what we can do together to prevent wars from happening on this peninsula.

The final story for me was that of the youngest soldier to make the ultimate sacrifice at 17 years of age. An Aussie.

Home to hotel, finally we made it early – about 5:30. We went downstairs to check out Lotte Department store and ate tea in the Food court. Tried some delicious beef wrapped things, some mandarin juice from Jeju Island they were promoting in the supermarket 3 for KRW10,000! Then Suzie and I shared a spicy bulgogi rice dish and Susie had some dumplings.

Then a little time looking at the store and home to pack, as pick up time tomorrow is 8am as we fly to Jeju Island.

The cake shop in hotel has some stunning products.

However, the day wasn’t done with us yet.

Here’s the hoot that is our room service water delivery via robot AGAIN . It has so tickled our funny bones. Sorry for video spam. I was chasing mine in my shorty PJs. 🤣
Then Susie M ordered hers. We are kids in a candy store. Just listen to the videos.

SORRY ALL IVE GOTTA DO SOME HOMEWORK ON VIDEO SIZE REDUCTION BEFORE I CAN POST.