Busan, South Korea 55 F pouring rain
Busan had the most miserable weather so far on this cruise, for a visit. We arrived in rain and left in rain. There were no breaks in the rain and as the day passed, the rain only increased in intensity. No one controls the weather so you continue on but at the end of the day, no matter what you had on, it was soaked.
Busan was the place to be for cherry blossoms – even in the gray day and pounding rain, the blossoms were everywhere. With the weather, most of the outdoor pictures take on a black/white/gray spectrum but the blossoms were out. Quite lovely in a waterlogged way.
South Korea certainly has a very long and diverse history. China, Japan and Korea were at times allies and then foes during their history. If you weren’t being invaded, you were invading someone. From the early 1900’s, Japan occupied Korea until the end of WW II when returning Korea was part of the surrender agreement.
Surrendering Korea however was met with the division of the Korean peninsula along the 38th parallel. North Korea was supported by Russia and China. South Korea, supported by the United States and the UN. Reunification of the 2 halves was the original goal after a few years of supervision but as we all know, that has never transpired.
In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea in the Korean War. Busan was 1 of 2 South Korean cities that were not occupied during the war. This war is noted to have the most causalities of a modern war, surpassing WW II or the Vietnam war. Most of the casualties were civilian. The war was ended in 1953 with the signing of a peace armistice. The South Korea government declined to sign the agreement so officially the 2 countries are still at war. Both Koreas claim sovereignty over the whole of Korea to this day. The Korean war produced the 'mutual defense' pact between the US and South Korea which has benefited both countries.
Our tour guide answered a few questions about Korean relations and Japan. But the Asian culture is non-confrontational and generally not willing to speak out in negative or political ways. She did discuss that at the beginning of the North / South division, families were split geographically but had the ability to visit with each other even if at prescribed times throughout the years. For some time that option no longer exists, and families have been kept apart.
In regard to the occupation of Japan, her explanation was that on a civilian level, they realize Japan is a good neighbor and will accept each other in business and society. On a political level the tensions remain because Japan has never ‘formally apologized’ for their actions in occupying Korea.
After the Korean war, North Korea became ‘military first’ even to the detriment of their population’s health and education. The South Korean government broadcast a speech in which it was accepted that Korea has little to no natural resources., other than the citizens. That started a broad education and cultural program that everyone must work as hard as possible and accomplish as much as possible. It would be the only way to improve their situation.
Today South Korea is seen as a leading example of democracy. They have focused on the need for education as the solution to a highly skilled workforce as a support for their economy. South Korea is listed among the highest educated countries in the world. However, the intense expectation of succeeding for family honor has led to many of the mental health issues seen in other Asian countries with the same pressures.
Their ability to import needed resources and export products has produced such companies such as LG, Samsung, automobile industry and computer technology. South Korea was one of the few countries to avoid recession during the 2007-2008 global financial crisis.
South Korea is also riding the ‘K wave’ . From K-Pop ( BTS ), K-Drama (films/movie industry), K cosmetics (products as well as cosmetic procedures), South Korea benefits from such lucrative world recognized areas. Just in case you are in the market, the newest cosmetic surgery is a lip procedure that provides a subtle permanent smile.
In the drive to succeed by working hard, South Korea is now facing an aging population. Their birth rate is quite low and in the past few years the death rate has exceeded the birth rate. They do not have any population restrictions such as the 1 baby policy in China (recently rescinded as they also face population issues). This is simply attributed to their cultural responsibility to succeed in business, education etc. for their country. No one talks about a work / life balance.
The waterlogged day started at the Beomeosa Temple, one the 3 major Buddhist Temples in South Korea. People can actually pay to stay somewhere on the temple grounds, eat the same food as the monks and experience their routine. The temple was established in 678 AD but as usual fires and wars has affected the temple and is has been remodeled and refurbished along the way. They do have some stonework and other treasures that have survived from the 1500’s.
The Temple is on a mountain. For day visitors, you park at the bottom of the access entrance and walk straight up. Of course, this was in the rain and on uneven, slippery pavers. In a walking boot, it may not have been the best choice. It didn’t help that after reaching the temple, it was mandatory that shoes had to be removed to enter and they had no idea what to do with my walking shoe. I peeked inside and started the long journey back. Probably the best option as going down was slower than up because the rain just got worse as the day continued.
This is maybe halfway up.
Very pretty stream and grounds accompanied the walk.
One passes through a series of gates before reaching the actual temple. This is the One Pillar gate, named because if you look at the gate from the side it appears that only 1 pillar is holding up the entire structure. The single pillar symbolizes the one true path to enlightenment, which supports the world.
The second gate contains 4 kings (statues) who guard the temple. Oops – forgot a picture.
The third and final gate symbolizes the concept that the realm of the Buddha and this world are the same.
Finally, the temple and one of the multiple other buildings on the grounds.
Next on the stop for the Busan National Museum. I’m not a fan of museums on a group tour as a short stop. There is no way to understand where exhibits are located for your interest. The tour guide gives a whirlwind walk through an exhibit of their choice and then a short time (15 min) for personal exploration. It was a lovely building, and the grounds were pretty even in the heavy rain.
Time for lunch. The restaurant was located in the Bupyeong Market. This is a local market filled with stalls of cooked food, vegetables, meat, clothes, shoes, personal items, everyday items. It covers multiple city blocks. Sometimes the stalls just are on the sidewalk. In this area of the market the streets are only for delivery trucks and are covered. Under cover there are aisles of stalls ,most fixed and some are carts people move from place to place.
Lunch was Korean beef – thin slices of beef marinated, cooked at the table and accompanied by multiple condiments and rice. There was also something similar to miso soup. It was actually quite good and nice to be inside and dry for a while.
We then had time to explore the market. Since this was a local market, there was no English anywhere but interesting just to watch and wander.
Market sign
Covered market - notice the items hanging from the ceiling. Artwork? decoration? dont know. It certainly appeared that people could be living above the market.
Vegetable stand
cooked food
Push carts and you can see non food items i nthe background - shoes , clothes, daily use items. It was an all purpose market that is really big.
Then we walked about 6 blocks (rain was just getting harder all day long) to the local fish market. This was in a large building. You could buy your live seafood and take it home or have it cooked for you in the upstairs restaurant. It was wet and smelly. There so many different stalls and many different fish, mollusks, octopus – I didn’t recognize many of the offerings. I don’t know how one chooses a vendor as everyone was selling the same things.
Throughout the day I took some pictures of the buildings and neighborhoods that we visited. Like all cities they have skyscrapers, wealthy neighborhoods and older sections such as the location of the local markets.
Wealthy area on the beach.
Coming into port
Residential area
Our last stop was a cultural village. During the Korean War, Busan received many, many refugees from the north as the city was never captured by North Korea. These refugees lived in this area of tiny shacks stepping up the side of the mountain. Over time this area has become more popular and has turned into an artist's enclave. With that popularity and interest by tourists it is full of restaurants, shops and refurbished residences. By the time we arrived, the rain was coming down in sheets. About 1/3 of the bus decided to remain on the bus - it simply wasn't fun anymore. In about 5 minutes, another 1/3 returned to the bus, drenched and decidedly not having fun. The very hardy last 1/3 completed their shopping and picture taking and returned more than drenched. I was in the first group so no pictures.
As we stepped back on the boat, we were offered towels to dry off. We could only laugh at how we all looked at the end of the day. I think the sauna was pretty busy that afternoon to help people warm up.
Even with the weather not cooperating at all, it is always interesting.
Annyeonghi gyeseyo !
PS – I am taking my time in getting some of these posts created. I was not in Taiwan when the earthquake struck on April 2. I thinkthat would be the date for you all as I am often a day ahead.
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