After a refreshing lunch, we went shopping in Nampo-dong. After enjoying Amgachon Culture Village to the fullest, we took a taxi to the International Market. It was quite hot that day, so we were craving something cold and decided to try “Milmyeon,” a Busan specialty cold noodle dish made with wheat flour. It was my first time trying milmyeon. I’d heard the noodles were smooth and made with wheat flour, but they actually felt closer to regular cold noodles than I expected. As we ate together, we all remarked that it reminded us of Japanese “hiyashi chuka.” The version with green chili peppers was quite spicy, and since the cold milmyeon can chill your stomach a bit, they served us a complimentary warm beef consommé. This beef consommé had a subtle hint of cinnamon and a flavor that seemed to invigorate the stomach. The combination of beef bone consommé and cinnamon created a somewhat unique flavor—it was a truly addictive dish. From there, we took a short walk to explore the streets of Nampo-dong. Since it’s known as a shopping district, we first stopped by “ARTBOX” to buy a souvenir for my niece. They sold all kinds of colorful knick-knacks and toys; I thought to myself that bringing a child here would be like taking them to heaven. After successfully picking up the souvenir and doing a little shopping for myself, I took a cool break at Lotte Department Store. The basement level had a typical department store food hall vibe with rows of delicious-looking sweets, so I bought some cookies and butter cake at “Nampodan.” Then, I had tea at “BLACK UP COFFEE,” a café in the basement of Lotte Department Store. We each ordered something different: a salted cream coffee, an American coffee for me, and a hot café latte. And this blueberry rare cheesecake—the cream was rich and absolutely delicious! I also took a sip of the salted cream coffee; the salty flavor combined with the smooth, rich cream was an unexpected yet delightful combination. Iced coffee is a part of Japanese culture that you don’t often see overseas, but Korea has firmly adopted European coffee culture—if you want cold coffee, you’ll order an iced Americano. I thoroughly enjoyed Korea’s sophisticated café culture. After satisfying my sweet tooth, I took a short walk through Yongdusan Park and then took the subway back to the hotel.
On the last day, I enjoyed the Seomyeon area near the hotel. Then, on my final morning before returning to Japan, I went to “Wan-tuk Sundubu,” right next to the hotel, to eat sundubu jjigae. As expected, the dish featured mainly seafood ingredients, so I ordered the oyster sundubu. I was also curious about the milt sundubu, so I swapped a few ingredients with a friend who ordered that, allowing us to enjoy both flavors. I often saw cod roe and milt, so I wonder if cod is commonly eaten in Korea. The tofu wasn’t square but slightly rounded, and it was smooth and very easy to eat. At this restaurant, the rice is served in a traditional earthenware pot. I tried making a little crust at the bottom, pouring the soup into the pot, and then scraping the rice off the crust to eat it. Doing this made it easy to scrape off, and the flavor was nicely absorbed into the crust, making it delicious. After a hearty breakfast, I headed to a gift shop I’d been curious about. Since the shop didn’t open until 11:00 a.m., I stopped by the café “Pascucci Centro Seomyeon” for a coffee break while waiting for it to open. Although it’s a chain, the spacious interior spans both the first and second floors, and this particular location had a very luxurious atmosphere—it was a pleasant place to spend some time. Then, near the uni yukhoe restaurant from Day 1, I finally arrived at the gift shop “Avivere by Love Actually,” which had caught my eye ever since I first passed by. When I stepped inside, it was incredibly cute. I almost went on a shopping spree, but I ended up just buying some mint tablets there as souvenirs. Time flew by as I enjoyed shopping, so before heading back to the hotel, I stopped at “COFFEE ROMAN” to rehydrate with some watermelon juice. It seemed like watermelon juice shops were all the rage in Seomyeon. I eagerly transferred my purchases to my suitcase at the hotel and took a taxi to the airport. My return flight was on Korean Air, and since they serve a meal on board, I had a light meal at the airport before boarding. My three-day trip to Busan flew by in the blink of an eye, but I was really impressed by how much less crowded it was compared to Seoul—it allowed for a much more relaxed pace for shopping and sightseeing. And of course, the seafood was delicious! With its natural beauty and great shopping, it was a thoroughly satisfying trip to Korea. I’ve been to Seoul about five times—it might be the better choice if you’re looking for a big-city vibe and want to enjoy brands and shopping unique to Korea—but if you want to enjoy nature and food, I think Busan is the place to go. Seoul is great for a girls’ trip, but Busan seems like a place you could enjoy even with family or a male companion. This time, with a fun group of friends, we laughed nonstop every day and enjoyed our trip to Korea to the absolute limit of our stamina. We ate a lot, but perhaps because Korean food is healthy, I didn’t feel bloated at all and felt light on my feet the whole time. I used to always go to Seoul whenever I visited Korea, but I’ve come to love Busan so much that I think I might become a “Busan fan” from now on. If you haven’t been to Busan yet and want to discover a new side of Korea, I highly recommend giving it a try.
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