Seagulls in Haeundae beach

Slowly, a stressful life becomes your daily routine! Is it impossible to find the motivation to study or work? Then it`s high time to leave your bustling and busy life and buy a ticket to Busan. Once you reach Busan, you will not regret it, trust me.

Busan is South Korea`s second-largest metropolitan city with a population of over 3.5 million. Busan has a lot of seaside’s, the best among them is indisputably Haeundae Beach and its surroundings. Just enter the Kobus.co.kr website, buy a ticket and travel to Busan. It is highly recommended that you start your day early, that way you can accomplish many activities and enjoy your trip. I bought a bus ticket for a 7.30 a.m. departure, (prices: economy -24,200 won; excellent- 36,000 and premium-46,800won) and I arrived around 11.30 a.m. at Busan, Nopo station. To open a new adventurous page in my life, I came directly to Haeundae beach where I could find a harmony of the noisy and peaceful life, an isolated village next to Haeundae. It took an hour by subway to reach Haeundae. After having a quick meal in one of the local restaurants, I headed off to start this new adventure. 

Cafes, burger houses and coffee shops in the Dalmaji-gil road

One of the must-visit spots in Haeundae is Dalmaji-Gil and the Moontan road. Dalmaji is a village of many unique apartment buildings unlike the usual tower blocks that dominate the housing estates in other parts of Busan and there are also a few independent houses with beautiful gardens. What makes Dalmaji unique is its position on a hill that overlooks the ocean, affording many of its residents with a superb view unavailable to many others who live in the busy metropolis of Busan. The entrance fee is free and works 24 hours.

A bridge on which the Dalmaji-Gil road runs

From Haeundae beach, turn east and walk along the seashore, turn left by the new skyscraper apartment buildings, the latest edition by LCT, and then at the top of that street turn right onto the Moontan Road, the start of Dalmaji-gil. During spring, people come from all over South Korea to enjoy the cherry blossoms that line the road all the way to Songjeong. The trees on the sidewalks will turn different shades of pink and bloom for only a short period, attracting many hundreds of visitors to catch a glimpse of this very beautiful time of the year. Do not worry if you cannot make it for spring, there is plenty to see and do throughout the year in this cosmopolitan suburb of Busan. 

If you travel to Haeundae by metro and arrive at Haeundae station, take exit 7 and then local bus number 39, 200, 100, or 141 where you will get off after 4 stops, at Mipo. The entrance to the Moontan road will be approximately 80m back from the stop. Once you start your trip, and after approximately 700 meters, you are provided three routes – either straight through Dalmaji-Gil which lets you view some of these unique apartment buildings and houses. The Moontan road that is a long steep climb up the hill on a road and footpath that winds its way to Songjeong beach or the Moontan forest path which takes you along the coast, affording you some beautiful sights of trees, black squirrels and plenty of birds and trees. I took this route for its beauty and to avoid a long and steep climb on the road which can be quite exhausting. 

Haewoljeong Pavilion in Dalmaji-gil road

Moontan road path, pine tree forest

Dalmaji-Gil road

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Cheongsapo Red and white lighthouses

After walking through the forest for about an hour, I reached Cheongsapo, a quiet, isolated and perfect place to provide rest from an exhausted brain and distract you from the hustle and bustle of city life. Have some free space in your camera to take photos of the beautiful Cheongsapo lighthouse which is comprised of two red and white lighthouses facing each other.

Cheongsapo seafood town, a view from the bridge

Cheongsapo is renowned for shellfish barbeque and, in the summer, the town is packed with tourists who come at all times to enjoy a superb feast of many different dishes from giant mussels to small clams, prawns, eels, etc. all cooked in many different ways but all on the charcoal stove. There are numerous coffee shops and restaurants all with their own unique view, each of which offers a variety of tasty seafood dishes and for a very affordable price. After breathing fresh sea air and filling my phone`s memory with amazing photos, I continued my walk along the seaside until I reached a two-storey building where the second floor is the local tourist information center. From there, I was able to exit the side of the building and find the now-closed Donghae Nambu railway which used to connect Busan to Pohang. This now unsused railway is a popular tourist attraction and has been turned into a walking path connecting Haeundae to SongJeong via Cheongsapo.

Cheongsapo Daritdol Observatory

The transparent floor at the skywalk

A few minutes later I reached another must-go tourist spot, the Cheongsapo Darditol Observatory which was opened to the public in August 2017. The name comes from the observatory’s resemblance to a row of stepping stones, in Korean (다릿돌). Its shape also resembles a blue dragon. The observatory is 20 meters tall and 72.5 meters long. The transparent floor at the end of a half-moon shaped skywalk gave a fabulous feeling as if I was flying above the sea. Visitors can enjoy either the sunset or the sunrise while taking in the impressive scenery. This tourist attraction is free and open to everyone from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the off season and in the summer season, June~August: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. It should be noted that the schedule is subject to change due to weather conditions.

Now-closed Donghae Nambu railway

After visiting the observatory, I walked back along the railroad and took the number 2 bus in front of the Cheongsapo lighthouses. If you want to enjoy another breathtaking part of the area, you should get off after two stops at Haewoljeongsa bus stop, in front there is a bridge on which the Dalmaji-Gil road runs, I went up to the bridge and walked in the direction towards where I started my trip. It took me around 15 mins to reach Haewoljeong Pavilion (the two-floor pavilion boasts the best moon-viewing vantage point in the nation) on my left side which has several photo zones. Koreans make wishes during Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day, celebrated in September) upon the whole moon as it`s a Korean tradition. Once I have observed the beauty of this amazing place, I came back to the Haeundae beach side again to check into the hotel.

That’s not all, the night lights and the moonlight make Haeundae beach more attractive and stunning. After enjoying dinner nearby, I recommend having a cup of coffee near Haeundae beach to enjoy the moonlight and night beauty.

Cheongsapo Daritdol(stepping stone) Observatory

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A view from outside, seaside rooms

Close your eyes and imagine you are lying on a soft bed and looking into the far horizon, enjoying the relaxing scenery. You don`t feel any barrier or distance between you and the sea and the sky, this can be a way of meditation and can help to refresh the mind to study and work with more energy.

Reception desk

This was the feeling I had when I stayed in the Mipo seaside hotel. As Helen Keller said “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all”, I left my busy student life to recharge my mind and body and feel myself light like a feather. The amazing scenery of the bare horizon, the sound of waves, seagulls on the beach, tasty raw fish, accessibility of a pocket friendly hotel with a great view of the ocean that fit my budget of less than 100,000 won, close to local restaurants and within easy access of the town enabling me to walk around; drew me to the Mipo seaside hotel located in the east side of Haeundae beach.

Once I reached my hotel area, I was glad to have the opportunity to visit this part of Korea in Haeundae. It`s quite easy to book the hotel, you can either call them directly or use the internet to book online. The hotel is listed on major sites such as www.booking.com and www.hotels.com. I booked using the hotel`s official website www.mipohotel.com, as it occasionally gives out discounts. Available are 4 types of rooms with all the usual facilities one can expect from a modern hotel; toiletries, bathrobes and plenty of towels, the cost of rooms may range from 60,000won like the one I stayed in or up to 77,000won for an ocean view.

A set of accessories

Soft double beds

Reaching the Hotel is also extremely easy. If you travel to Haeundae by metro and arrive at Haeundae station, take exit 5 and walk towards Haeundae beach, then walk to the east approximately 10mins across the coastline. The hotel is located on the third floor of a four-storey building with the hotel parking lot underground. The hotel has a total of 28 rooms, 15 of them have an ocean view. The rooms are standard-sized but provide all the usual amenities you would expect. The beds are softer than most other hotels I have stayed at. The hotel provides free wi-fi, a TV in the room (offering a wide range of channels), a set of cosmetics, a hairdryer, a phone to call the front desk, a mini refrigerator, and tea and coffee. The staff were helpful and friendly, available 24 hours.

Bathroom with toiletries

The bathroom provides a shower with the usual towels and toiletries. The hotel`s location is very convenient (the east side of Haeundae beach) from the hotel you can easily walk to any tourist attraction. The nearby tourist spots include Dalmaji-Gil Road, Moontan road, Busan Aquarium, Nurimaru APEC House, the Haeundae Market, and lots of restaurants and bars some of which provide beer brewed at some of the new micro-breweries that have started to open in Busan.

The first and second floors of the building offer a selection of raw fish restaurants such as Swellfish restaurant; on the second floor there is Mipo Manne Sushi Restaurant and on the 4th floor there is a rooftop viewing area that guests can access to get a great view of Haeundae beach. Haeundae Oktap (해운대옥탑) is open from 5pm to 2am. There, the traveler can find a wide range of foods, barbeque pork and beef dishes, beer, a variety of other alcohols as well as red and white wine.

Hotel lobby

Overall the hotel and surroundings are impressive and a relaxing an opportunity not to be missed.