A not so secret South Korean sun spot: Haeundae Beach
Hiding from the sun
The most stand out memory from my recent trip to South Korea, was the heat. Traveling in mid August meant it was the peak of the summer temperatures. Currently living in a tropical climate, I thought I would be use to it. Not true, in Thailand my day usually involves going from one air conditioned environment to another. Which does nothing to prepare you for the actual real life outside world.
So in honour of where to go when it's hot, I thought I'd share with you my time on the beach in Busan, the place to be in the peak of summer in Korea. Busan is a 2.5 hour bullet train ride away from the capital, hitting speeds of 299 km/Hr it's the fastest train I've been on, it terminates in the middle of a very busy shipping port in the city. From there it took 45 minutes on a bus to get to the beach town area of Haeundae.
My first thoughts were, this looks a lot like the Lundy's Lane area of Niagara Falls in Canada, or Old Orchard Beach in Maine. In short, a lot of lights, a lot of restaurants, and all of the action a few steps away from where you were standing, wherever you were standing.
We had booked into the standard accommodation found in this area, a large motel that was about 3 blocks away from the beach. After settling into to our neon green 90's themed room we headed out to see the main focus of this town: the most famous beach in South Korea, Haeundae. A five minute walk away and we found 500,000 people who already had the same idea. We also found the ocean, but could barely see the sand. The place was a sea of umbrellas, inner tubes, and people. Words can describe, but this moment really needs a video, to actually understand. The busiest beach I've ever seen:
People, umbrellas, and inner tubes, all that the eye can see. Everyone likes the water, but seems to be hiding from the sun. Haeundae is clearly not for the sun worshipers, as the main goal here appears to hide from it. From little kids to seniors, everyone seems to be under an umbrella, a lot of clothes or even buried in the sand.
So if you're looking for a quiet beach, it's not here. Looking for a crazy Korean experience? This is your place. It doesn't get more Korean then this. The perfect South Korean beach experience: Haeundae Beach.