A Weekend in Busan

I just got back from an awesome three days in Busan. Sarah joined me for an adventure to the coastal city of Busan. We left on Thursday morning and took a five hour train ride from Cheonan to Busan. It was great to see so much of the countryside on our way. When we got off the train we had to find our way through the Busan subway to our hostel.

When we were planning our weekend trip, Sarah found this hostel on the hostel website called Indy House. It was cheap and centrally located so we decided to make a reservation. The hostel was Indiana Jones themed (which was pretty sweet!) and was owned by these two knowledgable Koreans. They were very kind and made us feel at home. They also helped us find the places we wanted to see and gave us maps to our destinations. The hostel had two private rooms and one mass coed room that had about six bunk beds. Me and Sarah were the only girls in the coed room, which was definately a new experience. We met the guys in our room, and learned of their adventures. Mom, you were right, there are some really interesting people that you can meet at hostels. There were no Americans in the hostel besides me and Sarah, so it was great to meet so many people from around the world. In our room, there were four guys from Australia, one guy from Norway, and a guy from Italy. One of the Australians, Andrew, is here in Korea for five weeks to visit his Korean girlfriend. The guy from Norway, Allen, is on his way around the world. He started in Norway and is making his way based on what he wants to see next. He plans his next flight a few days before the flight. The guy from Italy, Matteo, is also on his way on a trip around the world. He took a trip from Alaska to Mexico a few years ago and after getting the approval of his girlfriend, he is on his way around the world. There were also two girls from Thailand on a break from school who were very funny. It was great to meet so many interesting people and to hear thier stories about their travels. It's nice to see that there are so many people that have the travel bug!

I have to admit, I'm hooked on hostels. They are very cheap and you meet so many people who share their travel experiences with you. They have so much more personality than a typical, closed in hotel. I love hotels, but hostels have so much character and they are so reasonable, it's hard to pass. Hopefully, this winter while I'm traveling around Asia, I will get the opportunity to stay in a few hostels to save some money and meet more people.

On Thursday afternoon, we went to the UN sculpture park. It is connected to the UN Korean War cemetery and memorial, but they were closed by the time we got there. The sculpture park has many different sculptures representing different emotions about the Korean War. What was really interesting was that there was one sculpture created by an artist from every country that fought for the UN in the Korean War. It was very fascinating to see so many different perspectives of feelings towards the war. After the sculpture park, we went to the beach for a pop concert. There was a free concert with up and coming Korean pop stars performing. The fact that it was on Haeundae beach in the middle of downtown Busan only made it more awesome!

On Friday, we got up in the morning to go hiking at Yigdae park. It is a protected area right next to the city. It is a penninsula that overlooks downtown Busan. We hiked to one of the peaks in the park and then walked along the coastline, overlooking the skyscrapers of Busan. It was absolutely beautiful. It was so much fun to explore the beaches and rocky coastline with the city as a backdrop. I was very surprised that there was such a beautiful untouched park so close to the downtown part of Busan. It really illustrates the importance that Koreans place on maintaining the old while progressing to become more modern. I think Korea really values its history and natural sites because they have been destroyed and taken away so many times by others. On our walk along the coastline, we met a group of Korean ladies who invited us to join them for their picnic. We visited and ate lots of homemade Korean food with them. Although they spoke very little English and we knew hardly any Korean, we were able to laugh and eat with them. I will never know why they were so welcoming and invited us to eat with them. My only solution is that they are like everyone else in Korea: warm and welcoming to anyone and everyone. I have never seen an entire country that is as kind and friendly as the people of Korea. They have shown me that even with such a tragic history, you can move on and refuse to allow that as an excuse to be bitter and angry.

On Friday night, we went to the International Fireworks Festival show. Every year, Busan hosts the International Fireworks Festival. It just so happened that this festival was this weekend. The show featured fireworks from all around the world. We went to Haeundae beach in downtown Busan to join over 1 million of our closest friends for the show. I think they have the Florissant fireworks show beat (but I still love the show at home). The fireworks were coordinated to music, creating an hour long music and light spectacular. The precision and coordination of the fireworks to the music was amazing. With the Busan bridge as a backdrop, I can't imagine a more perfect setting for such an awesome show.

This morning, we went to the UN cemetery and memorial. After the Korean War, the troops that were killed in the war, but did not have a grave in their homeland were buried here. There are about 2,000 men that are buried at this memorial cemetery. Most of them were from the UK or Turkey. I was surprised that there were not as many American troops buried here because of the large number of US casualties. One of the Korean men at the memorial said that the reason for this is that the US government made sure that the families received their loved one's body after the war. It was an emotional experience walking through that cemetery and seeing all of the men from around the world who fought to keep South Korea free.

One of the memorials at the cemetery was a Wall of Rememberence. It was two marble walls with the names of every man killed in the Korean war apart from the troops from South Korea. In the Korean War, over 40,000 men from over 40 different countries were killed. This does not include the South Korean casualties, which is higher than that number. Of the 40,000 international troops killed in the war, over 36,000 of them were from the USA. It was overwhelming seeing all those names. When you see a number, it does not have the same meaning as reading every single name. What was even more crushing was the point when it hit me that behind each of these names was a man who had hopes, dreams, families, frustrations, memories, and lives that were destroyed in this war. Many people call the Korean War the "Forgotten War," we must never forget this war that cost so much to maintain the freedom of South Korea. Without the sacrifice of these men, Asia would look very different, and I'm sure the rest of the world would not be the same as well.

I absolutely loved Busan. It was so beautiful with urban and natural splendor. I would love to go back because there is still so much to see.