Korea-Busan Apr’19: Gamcheon Culture Village & Taejongdae Resort Park

Hello Chewy friends! As mentioned in our previous post, we spent 2D1N in Busan and this post covers what we did on the second day, before we board the Korail back to Seoul.

From our place of accommodation, we took a bus which brought us to the foot of Busan Gamcheon Culture Village (부산 감천문화마을). Little did we know that there is a shuttle bus service so we actually hiked up the crazily steep slope. It was definitely a good morning workout for us LOL.

As we entered the village, we could see that the place is very vibrant, colorful, and full of positive vibes.

It didn’t take long for us to locate the perfect spot for photos. Gamcheon Culture Village is also known as “Machu Picchu of Busan”, as it is formed by houses built in a staircase-fashion on the foothills of a coastal mountain. The houses are so colorful and looking at them from a distance made us feel as though we were admiring a piece of art. It was certainly very uplifting to be there in person to witness the beauty of Gamcheon Culture Village.

These are not just empty houses but there are residents staying at Gamcheon Culture Village! We saw a granny hanging up her clothes to dry at her balcony.

While strolling along the alleys, we also passed by a number of shops and cafes.

Busan Gamcheon Culture Village (부산 감천문화마을)

Address: 203, Gamnae 2-ro, Saha-gu, Busan
부산광역시 사하구 감내2로 203 (감천동)

We spent the next hour travelling to Taejongdae Resort Park (태종대유원지(부산)). Designated as a Busan monument, along with Oryukdo Island, Taejongdae represents Busan, and is especially famous for its rock beach. To be honest, there were other places that we wanted to visit in Busan but due to time constraints, it was quite impossible if we wanted to cover each place in detail. This is a model of the Danubi Train which is no longer in operation but can still be found at the park for photo-taking purposes.

Taejongdae Park is really huge and while it is possible to cover by foot, we definitely would not recommend it! Admission is free but there is a charge of 3000 Korean won for the Danubi train. It is worth taking the train to save your legs energy for the long climbs later on.

There is a train number printed on the ticket so you can only board when your number is being flashed on the screen. We waited for about 15 to 20 minutes as there was a large crowd that day.

Danubi Train Course:

Platform → Taejongsa Temple → Observatory → Yeongdo Lighthouse → Gumyeongsa Temple → Taewon Jagal Madang → Platform

Out of all the stops, we only visited two, the first one being the Observatory.

If you haven’t been to Yeongdo Lighthouse, you can’t really say that you have visited Taejongdae Park because it is the main highlight, so don’t miss it!

The views from the top were breathtaking and spectacular.

My legs were already protesting given my poor choice of footwear and I nearly gave up mid descent because the thought of having to climb all the way back up was scary enough.

The hubs didn’t force me but he sure had his subtle ways of encouraging me to keep taking another step forward. Oh my god just look at the view. And of course, we knew that lunch was waiting for us and that definitely kept me going.

PHEW! Finally! We reached the bottom of Yeongdo Lighthouse and thankfully, there was an unoccupied table. I realised we forgot to take photos of the ahjummas selling a wide array of freshly caught seafood. We were too fascinated by this whole thing of sitting on the table and eating fresh seafood by the sea, just like what we had seen in Korean dramas!

There’s a sheltered tent right next to us but we were crazy enough to sit under the sun because we felt that it was a better way to soak up the experience!

We had difficulty identifying the types of seafood and did not know how to converse with the ahjummas. So one of them asked, “Sashimi?” And misterchewy replied, “Ah sashimi? Ok!” Done deal. LOL! Of course we ordered beer too!