2025 Busan Four-Day Trip

Stayed two nights at the VOCO Hotel near Myeongdong in Seoul. The outlets in the hotel support flat two-prong plugs used in China, so no adapter needed, and there are also two USB charging cables for charging other devices. However, there is no electric kettle in the room. If breakfast is not included, the hotel also has a restaurant on the first floor that opens around 7 a.m., making it convenient to dine. Nearby subway, buses, and taxis are all very convenient. The room faces the road, but the soundproofing is good; basically no outside noise is heard when sleeping at night. Maybe the quality of Koreans is also a factor, unlike some drivers in China who like to honk wildly on the road.

On the first afternoon, we went to Cheongwadae. According to the guide, you need to reserve a free visit on the official website. When we arrived, we found that you could enter Cheongwadae just with your passport, which was very convenient. However, the restrooms inside require a long walk.

On the second day, we went to Everland. If you don't buy the ticket + transportation package online, you can take the subway to Gangnam-gu (you can search on Baidu for specifics) and then take a bus to the amusement park. It wasn't a weekend, so there weren't many people. After swiping our cards to enter, we took the enclosed cable car (to the European Adventure zone) and the open cable car (directly to the animal area). Since we didn't reserve the Panda House on our phones, we had to queue from 2 p.m. to visit, and the wait wasn't long. Notes: (1) Some restaurants inside require ordering on machines, and if there are many visitors, you have to queue. To save time, bring your own food. (2) The souvenir shops have nice stuff, and we also found a Pokémon store with various clothes, pants, and bags. (3) There is a drink shop next to the Panda House, but it has few seats, only for children. So if you're very tired, you have to sit on the stone foundation nearby because there are no seats around the pavilion. On the way back, we took the same bus back to Gangnam and then the subway back to the hotel.

On the third day, we checked out and took the KTX train to Busan (no one checked tickets on the train; everyone's quality is quite good). The hotel we booked was the nearby Ramada Hotel. The room was small, and the outlets were all Korean style, so our own adapter finally came in handy. The room was next to the elevator on the 11th floor, but fortunately, it was quiet enough for a good night's sleep. Originally, we planned to go to Haeundae for pufferfish cuisine, but later changed to beef stone pot set meal.

Busan Mipo Capsule Train.

Then we took a bus to Mipo to experience the popular attraction "Capsule Train." We booked tickets in advance on the official website, queued for 10 minutes, and got on the train. The ride took half an hour, moving very slowly along the elevated railway, with the sea on one side—perfect for girls to take photos. The one running on the ground is the "Coastal Train." Make sure to read carefully when buying tickets. Note: It was fine to wear a T-shirt and shirt in the city, but by the seaside, a fleece jacket is recommended because the sea breeze is still cold. We got off at Cheongsapo, took photos at the "Little Kamakura" spot, then walked along the wooden boardwalk back to Mipo. It was just sunset, with the sea beside us, and the scenery was beautiful.

On the fourth morning, there was heavy fog on the mountain near Busan Station. By the way, there is a Starbucks downstairs from the hotel, making breakfast very convenient because many restaurants open late in the morning.

In the morning, we took a taxi from the hotel (the pickup point is right across the street) to Gamcheon Culture Village (the fare was about 7,500 won). The village is not big. We didn’t follow the guide or get a map at the visitor center to stamp; we just walked around. There were Little Prince motifs and photo spots everywhere, some with long queues. After a short walk, we took a taxi and went to a café near Taejongdae by the sea to rest. We also stopped by a convenience store to top up our transportation cards.

We took a bus back to Busan Station. Then we found a marinated crab restaurant and had a big meal—after all, it was our last proper meal in Korea. After that, we took the subway to Gimhae Airport.

Other notes:

You can use Didi Chuxing in Korea. We tried it in Seoul; a driver accepted the order, but the car never reached the hotel entrance. In the end, we just hailed a taxi on the street. Uber should work, but I didn't have international roaming, so I rented a Wi-Fi device at the airport. Since I couldn't receive verification codes via SMS on my phone, I didn't use it either.

The Tmoney card works well for subway and bus, but not many restaurants accept it for payment.