I started walking towards Busan Station along the harbour. These statues are emblematic of the many Korean refugees who fled to Busan during the Korean War when the troops of the North surrounded the allied forces on a 230km perimeter surrounding Busan.
It's hard to imagine it now, but the country was in ruins at the end of the war in 1953. Technically, it's not over, as no peace treaty was signed, only a ceasefire.
Several bridges join the island of Yeongdo with the main peninsula but must allow boats to enter the harbour.
The second bridge.
At this point I spent more than an hour shopping in the Lotte building so the next shot is in the vicinity of the station.
This is the impressive façade of the station.
There is a fountain in front. I think the discs are giant replicas of the Korean coins.
It being Saturday, people were taking their ease in the pleasant day.
The hills of Busan can be seen in the background.
The other side of the station is less scenic, consisting of tracks and undeveloped harbour front. There is not much further south as Busan is the terminus of the main high-speed KTX Gyeongbu Line.
Probably they had some plans for the empty land.
In the distance was what seemed to some kind of exhibition centre, with ocean liners for backdrop.
The station itself was spacious. I bought my train tickets to Jeonju for Monday.
Back to the front of the station, the fountains were finally working.
Maybe I should have come back at night to see it.
Jagalchi is a huge multistorey fish market. By fish of course the Koreans include all kinds of edible sea denizen, including some that other cultures might hesitate to eat.
This is just one aisle, on the ground floor only mind you.
And another.
There is an outside section too.
A semi-covered section.
Piles of shellfish in this section.
Octopuses. I thought the 국산 on the sign means octopus but a translator tells me it just means domestic. As opposed to imported, I suppose.
Looks like they are ordered by tentacle length.
Bigger ones.
I couldn't resist dropping in on a restaurant to have another serve of jeonbokjuk (abalone porridge). As usual, lots of side dishes accompanied.
I have a feeling the flat strips closest to the camera are seaweed. I should have taken notes.
Another look indoors.
The harbour view outside the market.
And a wire sculpture emblematic of the market.
I started walking back towards central station, and the story continues in the next post.
The hotel owners were very kind to me, the wife always had a small treat like a sweet or a small bottle of yogurt when I went out exploring. So it was a little sad to leave. I always bear in mind: I will not pass this way again, i.e. any people I meet or places I see will be just the once.
I took the 600 bus back to the airport. By now I knew where the stop was, where I should have hopped off on arrival. It was pouring throughout the trip. Lots of margin to check in, but the flight was delayed and I only reached Busan late afternoon. Then I had to tackle the public transport, which involved first a short overhead light rail system, transferring to the metro system.
The worst was yet to come. The hotel was in the middle of the nightlife district, so the area was thick with signs. The GPS location from the booking site was wrong, but I didn't know it. I wasted time looking around in case the coordinates were slightly off. In the end I used the location from Google Maps and this turned out to be correct.
After dinner I explored the district. These chequered flats caught my fancy.
Koreans like big shopping edifices like this.
This was a little sidewalk market selling trinkets.
The room was very comfy, even if the fittings were a little worn. There was little street noise, the airconditioning worked, and the WiFi was fast. The shower was strange. The bathtub drained onto the bathroom floor where the floor outlet carried the water out.
About 20 km west of Seogwipo is this tourism complex. It's basically a cluster of hotels and amusement attractions. I caught the 600 bus, the same one that I took from the airport and about 45 minutes later, I was passing the hotels again. By chance I got off at the Hyatt Regency, which is on the shore.
From the seafront of the hotel, there is a view of the coast, albeit misty due to the drizzling weather. The Jeju Olle walking trail actually runs through this small park.
A couple of colourful horses for a dull day.
The beach, not particularly outstanding, but better in season apparently.
The tiers of the Hyatt.
Back towards the main road is this restaurant complex, a bit forlorn, even though there were tourists, mainly Chinese, from the buses.
A local resident.
A more colourful one.
One of the garish museums.
The K-Pop Museum. K-Pop is the Korean flavour of pop music.
There is a botanical garden but the weather wasn't conducive to tarrying, so I returned to Seogwipo.
Wandering through town looking for dinner, I came across the Olle Market, which is where the locals buy their produce, but is open late into the evening. As you can see it sells all kinds of stuff, not just fruits and vegetables, but also clothing.
Another one of the alleys, with seafood vendors.
This one was selling ready to eat food, possibly an assortment of side dishes.
An eatery with exotic looking sea denizen to be ordered.
Somebody was going to make a feast of this large crab.
I ate some street snacks here, along with the locals.
Seogwipo has not one but two waterfalls within walking distance from downtown. The second is Cheonjiyeon waterfall which I visited before sundown. Unlike Jeongbang waterfall, there is room for a landscaped path to the falls.
On the way there is a row of hareubang, looking like mini-Easter island statues, stone-faced and impassive.
A walkway connects the two banks of the stream.
It's a good spot for photos.
Some locals.
Mini-falls before the main spectacle.
And here it is. As you can see, there are many tour groups. Their buses were in the sizable park at the entrance.
Dusk was falling as I returned to the entrance. Apparently it's a romantic spot at night.
I think they put more lights on display for special events.
A dragon and pearl sculpture in the park.
I walked back to the city to search for dinner.
I took the 600 bus back to the airport. By now I knew where the stop was, where I should have hopped off on arrival. It was pouring throughout the trip. Lots of margin to check in, but the flight was delayed and I only reached Busan late afternoon. Then I had to tackle the public transport, which involved first a short overhead light rail system, transferring to the metro system.
After dinner I explored the district. These chequered flats caught my fancy.
Koreans like big shopping edifices like this.
This was a little sidewalk market selling trinkets.
