These were some of my all-time favorites after living in Busan for two months.

In the summer of 2024, I had an incredible opportunity thanks to the US Department of State: I won a Critical Language Scholarship and was able to study in Busan, South Korea, for two months. This program was fully funded, and it meant I was going to have the chance to formally study Korean again after six years of not being able to.

When I left my home in mid-June, I had no idea what to expect. I knew my Korean was actually kind of terrible for what it was, but here I was leaving home for a grand big adventure. I had also only ever been to Seoul, which meant that I was having the opportunity to explore an entirely new city.

Busan was a dream. It really was. I had the opportunity to go to Seoul, Gyeongju, and Jeju during my time there, but I loved Busan and its people from the bottom of my heart. Having lived in both Seoul and Busan now, I can see how people were so much more kinder in Busan. It was a vibe, too, going to the beach at night and seeing the world lit up around us.

That said, these are some of my favorite spots from my time in Busan. I hope you, too, are able to go there one day and experience them for yourself.

Beomeosa is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in South Korea.

On one of my first weekends in Busan, my language partner, Min-ji, and I ventured up to Beomeosa from Pusan National University. We took a bus from PNU that was about 20 minutes, then got on another 10 minute bus that dropped us off at the base of the temple. We then had to walk up a little hill, but were then greeted with the sprawling complex of Beomeosa.

This temple was established in the 600s, and remains one of the most famous and oldest Buddhist temples in South Korea. Throughout the grounds, there are many different shrine rooms and people praying. We stayed out of those for respect, and I tried not to photograph them.

However, this was such a nice spot to walk around and take in. The architecture here is beautiful, and because it is on the mountain, the breeze is crisp and nice. People were confused seeing me, a foreigner, there so early in the morning, but it was a good learning experience overall.

Hwangnyeongsan offers one of the most beautiful views of the city.

It was on the last week of our program that I decided I wanted to go to Hwangnyeongsan, and then roped two of my friends from the program into going with me. I had read online it was an easy hike, but because night was falling, it did not end up being easy. Don’t be like us: there’s a car drop-off right near the top.

If you go another time though, like the day, this can be such a nice hike with some trails. It took us about an hour to scale the mountain, and we reached the top at around 7:45 PM. We had left PNU at 6:10 PM for some added context.

But once we got up there, it’s such a gorgeous view of the entire city. There are free binoculars where you can look at the mountains and all the twinkling lights. We were able to spot the Gwangalli Bridge and Haeundae from there.

After wandering the observation deck, we went into the cafe. It was about 7,000 won for a drink, but it overlooks the gorgeous view. We spent a lot of time chatting before we got an Uber to get 12 AM barbecue before our curfews.

Gwangalli is one of the most hip areas in all of Busan.

The two most famous beaches in Busan are Haeundae (the most famous one) and Gwangalli. Most foreigners tend to go to Haeundae, but when we were there, all the Korean college students told us that the locals preferred Gwangalli.

I went to Gwangalli a grand total of six times before I had to go back home to the United States. I wish we didn’t have a curfew, and that it wasn’t a pain to get back to PNU, because the bars and restaurant scene here are so nice to see at night. It really comes alive here when the sun sets.

You can’t swim in the water at Gwangalli, but the view of the bridge at night is worth venturing out for alone. You can catch some really beautiful sunsets while you’re here, and on the weekends they have a drone show. Go to a pocha or BBQ after for some great eats, too.

The Songdo Cable Cars are like a dream.

We did this on our last weekend, but a group of friends, my roommate, and someone’s language partner all made plans to go to the Songdo Cable Cars. A friend and I grabbed Thai food for lunch, then ventured from the PNU station all the way down to Jagalchi, where we met up with the rest of the crew.

From there, we transferred onto a bus where you get the cable cars. We decided to get a clear bottom cable car, which cost 22,000 won per person in August 2024. The clear bottom line was also a lot shorter than the regular one on both sides of the cable cars—the regular car line was actually kind of massive when we were coming back.

The cable car itself was so scenic to look out of. It goes over the ocean, and it’s a pretty blue and crystal clear ocean in this part of Busan. It takes you to another part of the city, which we explored for a bit before heading back.

All in all, I totally say this one is worth the money!

Hocheon Culture Village was an unexpected gem.

I went to Hocheon spontaneously with my language partner, which was kind of insane because we decided to have a long day right before it. We managed to get a bus that took us right to the top, and that’s where we found the bar that was featured in the Korean drama Fight My Way.

There was a little cute patio where someone could just sit and enjoy the view. This was a village built onto the mountain, so at night it offered an insanely good view for what it was—a hidden gem that no one really knew about.

We then decided to walk down the entire mountain to get to the train station home, which took a good 30 minutes. We really got our exercise in, but I was fascinated by all the cramped little homes packed right on top of one another. Busan has quite a few of these villages, which is where refugees happened to gather during the Korean War.