Busan is quite a beautiful city with hills and sea settings, and the city spreads itself around the geography and it's impossible to see everything from one vantage point. Change is in the air. A huge building is coming up and I took the time to go to the site to see for myself .. not much yet though.

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0911.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0912.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0909.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0913.jpg

Too bad the weather wasn't so good. Next time I'm in Korea I might head back if the weather is good.

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0914.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0916.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0922.jpg

I walked north from the Lotte site towards the international ferry terminals, where there is regular service to Japan, which isn't so far actually. I believe the ride to Fukuoka is only about 2-3 hours. Fellow HK forumer InitialD18 suggested I should've gone for a day trip. Breakfast in Busan, ramen in Fukuoka for lunch, and dinner in Busan again. :)

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0924.jpg

While there are these tour buses that ply the city, I opted to do a bit of exploring on my own instead, although I did consult their itinerary to make sure I covered most of what they had.

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0920.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0928.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0927.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0929.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0934.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0936.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0939.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0941.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0937.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0931.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0945.jpg

Need directions? I'm at the bottom right quadrant.

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0947.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0948.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0950.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0952.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0957.jpg

I walked back inland and went to the Busan Modern History Museum, where I understood how deeply engrained the resentment towards the Japanese colonial rulers remained. The tone was very strong, at times overdone, but the Koreans have done a very good job educating their young on that part of history, amidst a wave of nationalism and whitewash attempts that have plagued Japan of late. I doubt the Japanese young are as aware of what happened in their parents' and grandparents' generations.

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0960.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0961.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0969.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0971.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0974.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0975.jpg

The exhibition also includes a lot of photos showing Busan of the past. What a change it has been.

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0976-s.jpghttp://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0977-s.jpghttp://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0978-s.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0979-s.jpghttp://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0980-s.jpghttp://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0982-s.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0985-s.jpghttp://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0984-s.jpghttp://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0988-s.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0990-s.jpghttp://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0992-s.jpghttp://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0993-s.jpg

Gukje Market is just around the corner from the museum. It's a huge web of many street markets that sell everything from clothes to metal pipes. The scale is very staggering, and Busan is a very lively city at the street level.

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_0999.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1005.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1007.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1008.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1012.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1009.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1013.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1017.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1014.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1016.jpg

I didn't think KFC were in the street vendor business. :)

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1020.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1025.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1030.jpg

Being a foreigner with very little Korean language abilities, bargaining in this setting was a challenge. But in the end I did buy a few t-shirts.

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1028.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1031.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1032.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1029.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1026.jpg

There are a lot of food stalls along this particular street. It's interesting to watch, but I wasn't brave enough to try until a bit later in the day.

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1034.jpg

By the way, the seaweed rolls above are quite good. :)

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1035.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1036.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1037.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1045.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/southkorea/20070602/IMG_1041.jpg

This market is just way too big! More in the next part, or you can check out my website if you can't wait.

Part 4 - http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=556061

Nice pix. the tour bus looks cool.