Advertisement
Published: August 2nd 2015
Haeundae Beach
Start of the summer vacation peak period, and the crowds are starting to roll in.And after the quick look at Daegu, it was a short train ride southeastwards to the my final destination in Korea, the port city of Busan, also the second largest city after Seoul.
Geographically almost exactly at diagonally opposite ends of the country vis-a-vis the capital Seoul, Busan nevertheless has much importance of its own to boast of. It was pretty much the only large city standing after the initial wave of attacks from the North during the Korean War, and it was using Busan as the military base that the Southern and allied UN forces were able to eventually beat back the Northern troops, retake Seoul, and in fact even temporarily capture Pyeongyang, before a Chinese-backed counter-offensive eventually pushed forces back to the infamous 38th parallel, leading to an uneasy armistice stalemate that still remains today. Apart from its significance as South Korea's second city, it has, in its own right, the second largest transhipment container port in the world (incidentally, the largest is that of my home country Singapore), and of course the more moderate weather and famous beaches seem to lend a more relaxed manner to its people compared to its "northern" counterparts at Seoul.
Apart
Yongdusan Park
Those locks again. from checking out the famous Haeundae and Gwanggali beaches and the Jagalchi fish market, this being my final stop in Korea, I took the opportunity to reflect over my impressions from this two-plus weeks first visit to the country. Despite its geographical proximity to mainland China, I've seen a people much friendlier, certainly more service-oriented and polite than the Chinese, and an impressively wired-up country, with wifi and cashless payment systems everywhere, even in small mom-and-pop shops and restaurants. I've seen a country with a history of resigned acceptance of colonial rule (most notably twice by the Japanese, with other occasional invasions by Mongols and Chinese), without seemingly bearing any vindictive ill-will, showing instead a seeming preference to let bygones be bygones, and to indulge in the fantastic variety of their food. On a quirkier note, I've noticed an almost obsessive arms race in competing modern cafe franchises, shaved ice dessert shops, cosmetic retailers, and a somewhat dubious ubiquity of neon-lit love motels, that nevertheless work out well as an additional option for budget-conscious travellers like myself!
Korea, the first time has been a blast, and I'm sure I'll see you again soon!
Stayed at Motel Cine.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.075s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 17; qc: 29; dbt: 0.0461s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
