THE BUSAN BEAT (1ST ARTICLE)
Bio: Michael is a Canadian English professor, but traveller and trekker at heart. He has been living and working in Asia since 1997, having called Pusan his home for six of those years. When he is not binge watching television or eating out with Taiwanese wife, Carol, he is hiking in the beautiful mountains of Pusan or visiting one of the local markets.
Walks with Michael
The Jeonpo Cafe Street
and Antique Market Walk
by
Michael
Lesser
On a
typically crisp Pusan winter day in January, my friend and I took off walking
from the Seomyeon subway station towards Hwamyeong San (Mountain), along
Seo-Jeon Road. (Please note that if you aren't interested in the scenic
route, you can always get off at Jenpo Station or the Busan International
Finance Centre Stations on the Green Line #2). Along the way, you
can find the urban pipe markets, shoe cobblers, as well as
motor-boating engine stores. Quite an eclectic group of stores
and markets for such a short jaunt. Naturally, along this street,
you can find several Korean restaurants and coffee shops, of course, in case
you need a cappuccino or iced latte.
However, things take a turn for the better at
the first right turn on the route, at NC Department Store. This is the
beginning of the famed Jeonpo Cafe Street. This lane has several
international and local restaurants, coffee shops, as well as a very
interesting cultural center, further up on the right, which is for Pusan's
South East Asian community. They have many events, such as Vietnamese
Film Festivals. Even the government buildings in this area are orange and
yellow, which really gives life to this area. There is a great vibe to
this area, even in daylight hours. A little further along, is a
river. There is a nice walkway up above/beside the river, so it's well
worth it. Even though there was construction in the river (they were
laying pipe), since the river had been dammed, there were still many migratory
birds hanging about.
Originally,
the main purpose of my walk was to go from Seomyeon to Kwangali, along the
river, but then I discovered something wonderful. Well, wonderful to me,
anyhow. Maybe to someone else, it could look like a hoarder's worst
nightmare (or a hoarder's paradise). One block or so past the E-Mart
on the same street is a store on the left that appears to the naked eye as a
pure junk pile. However, upon closer inspection, we discovered a treasure
trove of antiques, ranging from 20 to 30 years old, to items that may well
venture into the Japanese occupation era and beyond. We found old
records, souvenirs from the Philippines, phones from the 1970s, farming
equipment that rightfully so, should be in a museum, ancient bells (I
bought one), school uniforms from the 1950s, plaques and awards for individual
people, and even American Civil War era replica guns. If you want to spruce up
your apt., can't think of what to get your significant other for an
anniversary, or would like to give your family a cool ancient relic from Korea,
this store is for you. For the more entrepreneurial minded, come
here, buy up all the goodies and sell them on E-Bay!
As I
wrote, it's a gigantic mess, but well worth a visit. We knew that if we
kept walking straight along the river, we'd eventually hit the sea at
Nampodong, which is not where I live, so we turned left
We kept
on walking, and less than half a block away on the opposite side of the street,
we found the coup des gras; the grand champion of antique stores in this
area. There were fully armoured knights' outfits, racy paintings, arts
and crafts of varying lengths, sizes, and girths, dolls, Choseun era swords,
top hats, religious paraphernalia, currencies/coins, statues, pots and pans,
lamps and bird's cages. There is also a Korean restaurant right next
door, serving up cheap soups and bimbimbap. Give it a try. Tell
them Michael sent you.
Bujeon
Market through the Citizen's Park to Children's Park
Once
again, you will get off at the Seomyeon Subway Station and walk North underground
towards the next station on the orange line, Bujeon Station. Along the
way, you are going to encounter Adjama. I use this term one onto itself.
If you have been here for longer than a few months to a few years, you will
understand, but for a newcomer, Adjama means a short curly haired gum smacking
woman with the physical strength of an NFL linebacker or All Black's rugby
player, who always manages to find a solar-plex to rest their shoulder
in. Adjama, will, however, give you the shirt off her back, or an
umbrella when it is raining, or a free shot of soju in a local market, so in
essence, they are the sweetest Korean babushkas you'll ever meet
(not).
Okay,
back to the point; you are walking in an underground mall devoted to
Adjama. Take your time; go over all the items; it's a treasure trove of
oddities, from wigs, to clothing that should only be worn by a clown, to
seamstresses. Once you make your way to Bujeon Station, get out at one of
the exits on your left. Meander through the Bujeon Market, which is, in
my opinion, the largest and friendliest local market for Koreans in
Busan. If you are lucky, you may chance upon an older gentleman wearing
red exercise clothes who ran in a marathon. He sells sunglasses, but is
really there to show you his laminated newspaper clipping from 1971 (or
was in 1982?) about his run and 15 minutes of fame. Once you are done
exploring the market, which could take several hours, make your way down to the
next subway station on the orange line, which is Yang-Jeon Station. Hang
a left up the next major intersection. You'll know if it's the right one
if you head under a train bridge about five minutes later. Then you'll
chance upon the entrance to Busan Citizen's Park.
It is
the park of the future, because right now, it ain't much. There are
little to few trees, but there are no scooters or cars, so it can be a good
place to jog, walk or get away. Sometimes there is art work, and at
times, an underground museum, which seems to have unusual hours. Just
beyond yonder, is an E-Mart Traders (the Korean COSTCO), if you'd like to buy
some groceries. The one saving grace of this grandiose park is that at
one time, it was a horse racing track during the Japanese Occupation era, and
it used to be U.S. Army Base Hialeah. You can see some reminents of this
base in a museum and in some barracks.
For
those of use that remember Pusan in the 1990s and early 2000s, take the exit
out of the park where The D (Dallas) Club and The Legion used to be, and head north
towards the Busan Grand Children's Park. Along the way, you'll pass
the Busan National Gugak Center. Once you reach
the end of the road, you'll hit a small roundabout. At the roundabout,
turn right and you'll be right inside the Pusan Grand Children's Park.
The name can be a little deceiving, because you'll see lots of seniors,
and very few children. There are multitudes of buildings where your
children can learn things, such as transportation education, and there is a zoo
there. Last I heard, there was a liger (a tiger lion) mix. There
are funny looking status and paintings for children to look at, and the lake is
okay, but the best part, in my opinion, is the walking and hiking.
If you head north, you can find the Guemjeong Mountain ridge
trail, which you can take all the way to Pomosa Temple, which takes about four
to six hours, depending on your level of fitness and how many times you stop. Enjoy this and the many walking tours of
Pusan to come in the following issues of the Busan Beat!!
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