Autumn in Busan, Korea

Autumn in Korea: Busan

Friday, 5th January 2018

Makeup, shopping, massages, spas, samgyeopsal, kimchi, -7° temp, and 5 days.

I was invited on a trip to see Busan and Seoul with the Korea Tourism Organization a few weeks back. Since it was scheduled on the first week of December, it would technically be winter when we arrived. I’ve always wanted to experience autumn in Korea, so imagine my excitement when we were greeted with foliage in the most rich and brilliant of autumn colors everywhere-golds, ochres, oranges, and crimsons. Even the weather condition was perfect. The air was crisp, the temperature was cool, and the sky was always clear and blue—it made for such an effortlessly beautiful trip.

The gorgeous views from our hotel room at Lotte Hotel, Busan

Gamcheon Cultural Village

203, Gamnae 2-ro, Saha-gu, Busan
부산광역시 사하구 감내2로 203 (감천동)

Our first stop in Busan was the Gamcheon Cultural Village. I don’t know why I’ve never heard of it prior to visiting. It’s such a cute and whimsical place! It basically looks like Positano with the little establishments and houses built on the face of a mountain. I’d love to spend more time here just walking down the little alleys and checking out the numerous cafes, galleries, and shops. Interesting fact: the village was actually just a simple neighborhood for refugees after the Korean War. It was just turned into what it is now in 2009 by the government.

My new fave jumper from British brand Hades Wool. In case I ever forget my name.

The Little Prince lookout! One of the main points of interest there.

There are so many adorable cats just walking or sleeping about! Apologizing in advance for my abuse of the word cute and its synonyms in this post. Haha!

Gukje Market/ Nampodong International Market

Sinchang-dong 4-ga, Jung-gu, Busan
부산광역시 중구 신창로4가 일원

I didn’t get to take much photos there because I got a little too preoccupied with all the shopping! For clothes, I recommend shopping there than in Myeongdong because they have a lot of cool indie brands! You’ll get more unique buys that that you definitely won’t find back home. I found a new Korean brand called Indibrand (haha, i know)! I bought this really gorgeous brown winter coat and a cute brown scarf from there. You’ll see me wearing them in my Seoul blog post soon! The prices were not bad too! The coat cost me around P3707 and it was a really thick and long coat type of coat. So much cheaper than in Manila. Also, the atmosphere is a lot more calm and less packed with people than in Myeongdong.

Lunch at Yungane Sintoburi Bossam

35, Gunam-ro 29beon-gil, Haeundae-gu, Busan
부산광역시 해운대구 구남로29번길 35 (중동)

Ugh. Just seeing these photos now makes me so hungry. We were treated to the most delicious Korean feast. Everything was simply so so good. Their specialty is home-style food and bossam (pork wrapped with lettuce and cabbage).

Shinsegae Centum City (신세계 센텀시티)

35, Centum nam-daero, Haeundae-gu, Busan
부산광역시 해운대구 센텀남대로 35 (우동)

Shinsegae is actually in the Guiness World Records as the biggest department store in the world. It has mainly luxury brands so we just mostly window-shopped there.

Right outside Shinsegae is a gorgeous park. Felt like we stepped into a Korean postcard.

Spa Land

Spa Land is one of the biggest spas I’ve ever visited and it’s just right inside Shinsegae, so you can imagine just how big Shinsegae really is. It has every kind of relaxing activity you can think of! There are 22 spas (all fed by hot springs pumped underground), an open-air foot spa, and 13 jjimjil-bang (public Korean bathhouses)-themed saunas! We couldn’t take much photos there because there are areas where people are required to be completely naked in order to go in.