South Korea Trip 2013: Day 7 in Busan (Jagalchi Market, Gukje Market, Haeundae Beach, Seomyeon)

View of the port from top of Jagalchi Market building

It's been a week 'living' in South Korea and I think I can get used to some things Koreans do everyday here. Public transportation is a like a gift from the heavens (compared to KL's train and bus services) and the weather is fine on most days (unlike the unpredictable rain in KL). A quick check on the daily forecast to decide on how warm to dress is a habit I've adopted, and I sorely miss that ritual once I'm back in tropics.

Houses up the hill in the distance near Gukje Market

After a quick breakfast near the hotel, I ventured to Gukje Market to get some pots and pans to bring home. It's pretty much like Namdaemun Market in Seoul, but with far less hustle and bustle and variety merchandise for sale.

GM Music store in Gukje Market, arguably the cheapest shop to get your K-pop albums in Busan

I managed to find a gem in the middle of Gukje Market as I strolled along. In the middle of one of the main intersections of the market you'll see this K-pop CD store, GM Music. It's quite difficult to miss since they are the only shop selling CDs (I think) in this market. The prices here are also lower than that of CD shops in Seoul. I really regretted buying my CDs in Seoul and lugging it back all the way on the KTX...

Jagalchi Market, seafood haven

From Gukje Market, it's just a short walk passing BIFF Square before crossing over to Jagalchi Market. If you are a seafood lover, you must make a stop here when you are in Busan. Sea creatures, alive and dead, are for sale and also for on-the-spot consumption.

Ladies selling fresh catches from the sea outside the main Jagalchi Market building

Since I love seafood, I wanted to visit this place very much. But, I really dislike going to wet markets since young (bad experience, yo) and I really tried my best not to get my shoes wet. You can see ladies selling fresh seafood even outside the main Jagalchi Building.

Huge mussels on sale

I'm a huge of mussels and I see them selling huge nets of them! So tempted to buy but how would I cook or bring them home? Just walk past, just walk past...

Sea squirts

Wriggling live seafood are displayed for sale everywhere you look once you enter the first floor of Jagalchi Market.

Huge snow crabs

A Korean couple who manned a stall wanted to sell some snow crabs to my travel partners and I. Thinking we're from Hong Kong, they asked for a really high price for one snow crab. I think they mentioned around RM200+ for one snow crab, inclusive of cooking fee in their food stall upstairs. We waved them off, saying we'll look around. They were quite friendly even when we didn't make a purchase, and gave us their name card before we walked off.

Live abalones!

There were also abalones on sale, all wriggling away. I felt it was cruel to see them displayed for a customer to come and buy and send it for the cooking pot, yet I was fascinated to see a real live abalone for the first time. I'm a city girl at heart, no doubt!

Fresh huge scallops

I also saw these fresh and juicy scallops that really made me want to eat them on the spot. They were so huge I think I could only fit 2 of these on my palm.

Oops... here's the octopus!

And don't forget those huge octopus swimming in the tanks! The only octopus I see daily is those small and cute little ones sold at Japanese sushi joints in KL...

Oase Seafood Buffet at Jagalchi Market

Probably the most lunch I've ever eaten in South Korea is my buffet lunch at Oase Seafood Buffet at Level 5, Jagalchi Market. Some friends recommended this place to my travel partner since they had a bad experience with the seafood served by those small little stalls (Level 2) which cooked the seafood bought straight from the market (Level 1).

Lunch is served from 12pm to 2.30pm and since I went there on a weekend, I paid a higher price than for weekdays. The buffet lunch costs 37,500 won (approximately RM113) for adults, but for that price I get to taste all types of fresh seafood as opposed to only 1 type if I buy it straight from the marketplace downstairs.

Assortment of seafood and others served at Oase Seafood Buffet

The variety of food served is quite vast and better than most buffets I've been to KL. The seafood was very fresh, but apart from the sushi counter, other counters served the seafood cooked for hygiene and health purposes. Their kimchi variety was quite good, but still lacking in terms of taste compared to those served at traditional Korean restaurants.

Butter grilled abalones! Yums!

The chefs served the butter grilled abalones around 1pm, when most guests have had their fill of almost half of the variety served. Although most diners were full, there was still a long queue at the counter where they grilled the abalones on the spot. It's super yummy, so obviously people kept going back for more.

Grilled prawns and snow crabs

The grilled prawns and snow crab were just so-so compared to the abalones. I so did not regret for not buying the snow crab at the stall downstairs earlier. Imagine how much crab I would have to eat in a meal... and how many hours I would have spent eating!

For more information on Oase Seafood Buffet, do click on the link.

Exiting Jagalchi Market

After lunch, I left Jagalchi Market and walked across to BIFF Square. You can see it from the picture above. The umbrellas in the distance is where BIFF Square is from Jagalchi Market.

All types of octopus / squid ready to be grilled

My travel partner just must have her grilled octopus since we were in BIFF Square. A cup of grilled octopus like in the picture above costs 5000 won (approximately RM15) and it's really a great chewy snack as you stroll along people-watching or goods-buying!

Busan Tower in the background at Gwangbok Street

After BIFF Square we walked back heading towards our hotel, passing by Gwangbok Street. The street has a lot of upmarket brands and strolling along during the day is as exciting as during the night since all the shops are open for business. The prices here are quite high though, so I did not purchase anything here.

Charles & Keith store along Gwangbok Street

Even Singaporean brand Charles & Keith has a store on Gwangbok Street. It really is a 'global' street in terms of brands as they have a good mix of renowned local and foreign brands here.

From Gwangbok Street we took the subway to Haeundae Beach. It's a really really long ride during peak hour without seating the whole way! My travel partners and I were tired by the time we reached our destination.

The tagline says 'Sun & Fun' at Haeundae Beach, but there is none during autumn

And we realised that it's no 'Sun & Fun' at Haeundae Beach in the middle of autumn. But that doesn't stop us from visiting the famous beach to revel in all it's glory!

Haeundae Beach

Although summer is over and winter is on its way, there are still people lingering around on the beach. Locals and tourists like myself came just to get a glimpse of this famous beach. In autumn, one of the best activities is going shopping at the nearby Haeundae Market, sipping coffee at one of the many cafes facing the beach, or even try your luck at the casino at Paradise Hotel, as pictured in the background above.

Not sure what it is, but I guess it's Bbopki (caramel sweet)

I passed by a stall selling sweets carved into shapes, but there wasn't anyone manning the stall so I couldn't buy one. I guess it's called Bbopki? I'm not 100 percent sure but it looks pretty similar though.

Haeundae Market

Next up is shopping at Haeundae Market! My travel partner found some tin lunch boxes similar to the ones we had at Miss Lee Cafe for 5000 won (approximately RM15) each at a shop selling pots and pans. There are also many shops selling groceries, seafood and vegetables in the marketplace, as well as fried snacks to keep warm.

A replica of Trevi Fountain in Lotte Dept Stores, Seomyeon

From Haeundae Beach, I took the subway and decided to stop at Seomyeon for dinner before heading back to the hotel. If you take the subway, stop at Seomyeon Station and you'll be connected directly into Seomyeon Lotte Departmental Stores and Daehyun Underground Mall.

Youths relaxing while on their mobile phones near the Trevi Fountain

I realised that when Koreans do stop walking and take a rest, they'll definitely flip their phones out, scrolling away. They are really so into online surfing that I finally understand why they are such a fast-paced nation since information gets disseminated really quickly.

I didn't really buy anything at the Daehyun Underground Mall since I've done my fair bit of shopping (and the luggage bag looks like it's gonna burst already) but I managed to get a Hello Kitty tumbler at 12,000 won (approximately RM36) from Lotte Departmental Stores. It's quite a steal compared to those sold at the Hello Kitty Cafe in Hongdae, Seoul.

That ends my seventh day in Busan, South Korea and look out for more posts on my travels in the Land of the Morning Calm!

Read about my experience in Nampodong, BIFF Square and Gwangbok Street (Busan) here!

Read about my experience in Chungmuro, Namdaemun and Myeongdong here!

Read about my experience in Edae, Hongdae, D-Cube City and Dongdaemun here!

Read about my experience in N Seoul Tower, Namsangol Hanok Village, Garosugil and Go-To Mall here!

Read about my experience in Gyeongbukgung, Bukchon Hanok Village, Samcheongdong, Changdeokgung and Insadong here! 

Read about my experience in Busan (KTX and Busan City Night View Tour Bus) here! 

The author is already missing the daily Banana Milk and Chocopie she takes for breakfast, and is wondering when she'll be able to return to South Korea again.

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