Busan, South Korea

During the night, we sailed through the East China Sea en route to Busan (pronounced Pusan by the Koreans). Busan is located in the southeastern-most tip of South Korea and is Korea’s largest port city. There is evidence of settlements in Korea from as early as 4000 BC.

A large group of Korean women, dressed in their traditional garb, greeted us as we left the ship. The immigration and customs employees were immaculately dressed in black suits and were very polite. We were impressed with the greetings we received.

Korean Greeter

The shuttle bus ride into the center of town was long enough for us to see a lot of the city. The area was very clean and attractive—even the silos along the way had been painted blue with sunflowers and sea gulls on the side.

Busan is the location of the only cemetery in the world maintained by the United Nations. It is the final-resting place of soldiers from over 16 nations killed in the Korean War. We were sorry that we didn’t have enough time in Busan for us to visit it.

John and I once had the pleasure of being invited to a reunion dinner of George Company, Third Battalion, First Marine Division, whose members had fought in Korea during the coldest winter there in one hundred years. Since the Royal Marines had fought with that company, John was representing the Royal Marines Association. The Marines had been surrounded by the communists Chinese at Chosin Reservoir, fought their way out, and managed to travel over 70 miles to the coast--taking with them their dead comrades and all of their equipment. It was a remarkable feat and an even more remarkable group of men.

With thoughts of the war still with us, we looked out to see the USS Stennis, a very large aircraft carrier docked in the harbor. With everything we are hearing about world events in the news, it doesn’t surprise us that we are seeing a naval presence in the various ports we visit.

Later we ran into a couple of sailors from the ship coming out of one of the malls. They politely listened to our Navy stories as we used to do when veterans approached us.

Busan is now a bustling modern city filled with parks, temples, churches, and lots of stores. It also has an excellent public transportation system. We took the shuttle to the center of the city and went in search of an ATM machine to draw out some South Korean money. After trying unsuccessfully to figure out the system, which was totally in Korean, we finally found someone in the bank who pointed us to a global ATM that had an English language option. Without someone around who can speak English, at times you can really feel at a loss how to do something.

Armed with money, we went in search of a post office so we could get some Korean stamps. It seems our task in every location is to find a post office. A Korean woman, noticing us studying a map, told us to follow her and guided us to a post office down an alleyway. The people have been like that. After looking hard to find a post office, we seemed to see them on nearly ever corner.

Visiting Yongdusan Park was at the top of our list of things to see in Busan. It sits on a high hill in the center of this mountainous city. You can either take the steps to the top or use the four sets of escalators to get there. We chose the three escalators (one was out of order, so we had to walk a quarter of the way up). We were huffing and puffing when we got there, even with having to climb that portion. A plaza at the top contained a statue of General Yi Sun-sin, a 16^th century naval war hero, who protected Korea from a Japanese invasion. History keeps repeating itself.

The plaza also contained the 385-foot high Busan Tower, which provides views of the entire area, and an ancient bell. After we wandered around the park and took pictures, we had the task of walking the steep stairs, without handrails, down from the hill. Next time we’ll admire it from afar.

Busan Tower

Ancient Bell

Our travels around the city took us past many of the sights. We went looking for the Jagalchi Fish Market, which is Korea’s largest seafood market and a real tourist attraction. There you can pick out the fish you want and they will cook it on the upper level of the market and serve it to you for lunch. We ended up at the Jagalchi Dried Fish Market, not quite what we were looking for and quite smelly.

Statue Outside Building

Later in the afternoon, we toured the Busan Maritime Museum, which had an ancient Korean junk, interesting exhibits on early naval explorers, and a small but fabulous aquarium. The fish tank was designed in such a way that we could walk into it and see fish swimming above, besides, and below us. It was fabulous and almost as good as observing fish while snorkeling—without getting wet.

Busan Maritime Museum

Fish Tank

When we began to feel that our legs wouldn’t carry us much further, we returned to the ship. As I rubbed my aching ankles, John had the temerity to say that we should keep our age in mind when we venture out on such adventures. I haven’t decided at what point I’ll start speaking to him again.

A little bit of trivia: One-third of the world’s top 100 women golfers are South Korean.

After an enjoyable day in Busan (and I could walk again), we stood on the deck and enjoyed hearing the Korean band on the dock and seeing people wave goodbye. The colorful lights flashing from the Busanhangdaegyo Bridge was the last sight we had of Busan.