Korean Crossroads: Busan for Chuseok: Part 1

While I look at the hundreds of pictures from Busan last weekend (no seriously, we took 338) I am struck with two thoughts. We take alot of pictures. We can really cram culture into a trip. Even though the rain tried its best to put a damper on our trip, we were able to cross off everything on our to-do-list. From Friday night to Monday afternoon we were away from work and in one of the most beautiful cities in Korea. It is safe to say we made the most of it.

Friday

American beers

After arriving in Busan a bit later than expected (11pm) we were hard pressed to find a restaurant other than Burger King or a Korean shop that was open. While Burger King sure is great and Korean food delicious, it just wasn't what we were looking for. We ended up at the foreigner favorite, Fuzzy Navel, for a few American beers and nachos (the only thing on the menu.) The music was loud and the place was packed with foreigners who were gathered from every city in Korea to enjoy this long Chuseok holiday. We enjoyed our little taste of America, strolled around the beach and then back to our hotel for some sleep.

Now for my long-time readers, you already know what I did last year for Chuseok from last years posts and a general idea of what it is. For my newer readers, Chuseok is basically the Korean version of American Thanksgiving. They spend time with their families. Eat traditional Korean food. Do not work for two days. During Chuseok, the streets are emptied and most restaurants or stores aren't open. Thankfully I had the foresight to get a few foodstuffs last week before leaving for Busan or I would have been one hungry girl when I got home.

Saturday

After sleeping in a bit longer than anticipated, we were finally out the door and ready for lunch at around 1pm. With all of Busan's foreigner food available to us it was hard to choose just what we would indulge in first. We chose TGI Fridays for our first lunch. While it was one of the most delicious (chicken quesadillas) it was by far the most expensive of our trip with the bill being around $60. I guess we got a bit carried away in our search for all things American.

A bit overly excited about the guacamole and sour cream

After lunch we decided to get out of our food coma and head to the popular "Centum City" via the subway system. That's right folks. We navigated the subway system all by ourselves and I am proud to say that not ONCE did we accidentally go the wrong way. We were able (for $3.50 a day) to travel to all the parts of Busan we wanted to and never once have to ask for directions. I credit alot of this to our handy dandy Busan Travel Guide and to Dan for always double checking where we wanted to go instead of doing the patented Jenn "oh i'm sure this is it" way.

Our first stop was right off the subway and one of the biggest landmarks in Busan. It is called Shinsengae Centumcity Department Store and is in the Guinness World Book of Records as being the largest department store in the world.

No really, it is.

Included in this monstrosity is a department store, a mall (with the same clothing from the department store), an ice rink, multiple food courts, art gallery, book store, movie theater, park located on the roof and so much more. We walked around for hours enjoying everything there was to see and do. We quietly made fun of Korean clothing (do men really need glitter on their baseball hats?), watched children attempt to ice skate (we know it's not nice to laugh when they fall), peruse the books in the book store so much more. If you are ever in Busan and are looking to kill some time, take a few hours out of your day and head to Centum City. You won't be disappointed.

The view from the 1st floor all the way to the top

After taking a few pictures outside with the random sculptures they had and the rose garden, we were on our way to the heart of the shopping district which included our must-see,

Busan Tower.

Our last stop of the day was Busan Tower, a must-see for tourists. It is situated 120 meters above the ground and gives you a birds eye view of the city, complete with bright city lights and the ocean off in the distance. After hearing it was most beautiful at night, we decided to do just that.