Busan travel guide

48 Hours in Busan: A Park Hyatt Suite, Gamcheon Culture Village, and a Fear-Factor-Worthy Delicacy

Busan is South Korea's second largest city, and it offers a genuinely wide range in one visit: a luxury hotel stay, cheap and delicious street eats, and at least one local delicacy that felt like something out of a Fear Factor episode.

#2 largest City rank in Korea

56,000 won Market meal, 6 people

5 Days without boba (a record)

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Where we ate.

 Park Hyatt Busan Marina District 

Luxury hotel stay

Get: A marina-view suite

Possibly the fanciest hotel we'll ever stay in: a marina view surrounded by, in Lisa's words, "all these rich Busanians" and their boats, an in-room espresso machine, a proper bidet, and, most memorably, a TV built into the bathtub. We had cherry blossom tea in the room just to enjoy the view a little longer.

 Eonyang Bulgogi Haeundae, Busan 

Korean barbecue

Get: A family meal that came to about $143

This was the Haeundae restaurant where our family meal came to about $143. That price is a historical snapshot from our trip, not a current menu quote.

 Dohee-nae Haeundae, Busan 

Seafood and silkworms

Get: Seafood and silkworm pupae

The "straight out of a Fear Factor episode" stop of the trip: seafood and silkworm pupae at Dohee-nae in Haeundae. Lisa said the chewy, gelatinous bite tasted kind of like crickets. Not our favorite bite of the trip, but a genuine Busan experience, and we're told it's better fried than raw if you get the choice.

 Gamcheon Culture Village Gamcheon-dong 

Sightseeing, colorful hillside village

Get: A coffee shop with a marina view

Nicknamed "Busan's Santorini" for its stacked, colorfully painted houses. The neighborhood was originally settled by North Korean refugees during the Korean War and stayed one of the poorer parts of the city until the houses were painted to draw in visitors; now it's dotted with small coffee shops and touristy stores. We stopped at a coffee shop partway up the hill for the view alone.

 A local market stall Busan 

Rice, pork belly, and banchan

Get: Rice, pork belly, and scallion salad, plus three dipping sauces (curry, soybean powder, and a vinegar-based one)

A simple, well-built bite: pork belly, rice, and a scallion salad with three different dips on the side. The whole meal for the table ran 56,000 won, and after five days without boba on this trip (a personal record for us), we finally found some nearby too.

Good to know before you go

Not every food stall near the tourist spots is a fair deal; we got mildly overcharged at one stand and would recommend checking prices before you order if a spot feels touristy.
This was also our first time seeing pitch-black skin snack food, chewy and gelatinous, a specialty in the region worth trying at least once.

Questions people ask us about Busan.

Is the Park Hyatt Busan worth it?

For a splurge, yes. Our room had a marina view, an in-room espresso machine, and a TV built into the bathtub, genuinely one of the fanciest hotel stays we've had.

What is Gamcheon Culture Village?

A hillside neighborhood in Busan nicknamed "Busan's Santorini" for its colorful, stacked houses. It was originally settled by refugees during the Korean War and later painted to attract tourism; it now has small coffee shops and boutique stores worth a slow walk-through.

What's a must-try (if adventurous) food in Busan?

We tried seafood and silkworm pupae at Dohee-nae in Haeundae. The chewy, gelatinous bite tasted, to us, kind of like crickets. Not for everyone, but a genuine local specialty worth experiencing once, and reportedly better fried than raw.

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