BUSAN, KOREA

A sad Busan story was recounted to MB by tour guide Mr Suyang Chang in recent days, concerning a fisherman, a mermaid and a dragon.

The fisherman caught a mermaid Princess in his net and soon love blossomed, as one would expect. The Princess asked her father, the underwater King, for permission to marry the dryland fisherman but the King refused. After many tears and protestations from the Princess, the king finally agreed to the marriage, on one condition: if the Princess stayed in the underwater cave for 1,000 days, the king would bless the wedding. The Princess willingly entered the cave intent on staying for the specified 1,000 days and the fisherman waited faithfully (don’t all men say that?!).

Anyway, on day 999, suddenly, a dangerous dragon entered the cave and the Princess was forced to swim from the cave to save her life. Perhaps the King organised the dragon visit, but this is only a suspicion and is not known for sure. The King immediately announced that the Princess had not kept her promise and therefore the wedding would not take place. The fisherman exploded in anger, chased and attacked the dragon but the dragon showed no mercy and killed the fisherman. The Princess was distraught and requested the King to use his magic powers to bring the fisherman back to life. The King pleaded that his powers in such matters did not extend to a drylander and the best he could do was to make the dead fisherman into a small island, where the Princess could live, and in that way, the couple could be together forever. Sort of.

The end.

MB wondered what the moral of the story was? Maybe it’s a good story to tell children so they will know that in real life not all stories have happy endings. Maybe it should be on the curriculum for all 4 to 6 year-olds?! In any event, MB visited the island and saw for himself the statues of the fisherman and the Princess, both with tears of sadness in their eyes.

Incidentally, one can see a Japanese island in the distance from that island (weather permitting), and if one wishes, one can take a ferry to the Japanese island (passport in hand of course) which is a 50-minutes ride away. Many Busan locals do so for occasional shopping trips.

There’s an area in Busan called the Cultural Village which is full of small two-storey houses cramped together which were initially constructed (illegally) by displaced war refugees during Korean War times. Over time, the Government decided to try to make the area into a tourist attraction (rather than demolish it), funding the paint for anyone who would paint the outside of their houses with the specified colours. The government also put in funding to start small tourism businesses that locals could own and thereby share the profits. It’s been a qualified success and has saved the area for the moment. Unfortunately, however, most of the inhabitants are elderly, their children much preferring to head to the bright lights of Seoul and elsewhere. The elderly inhabitants are not as energetic as a younger generation might be in the area of business start-ups, but many cafes and tourist shops are operating successfully. However, at nighttime, there are many dwellings with no lights, signifying that those buildings are now abandoned. Most of the buildings do not have toilets and inhabitants have to use government-built communal toilets. So, the future of the Cultural Village is far from assured.

The largest fish market in Asia is the Busan fish market. It’s a must-visit spot if you are ever visiting the city. There’s a fish auction at 5.30am every morning as the fish-catches are sold to the fish traders, who then sell the fish to the public from the hundreds of market stalls that dot the streets of the locality. The Korean Thanksgiving Festival is almost upon us and the traditional fish that honours the occasion is octopus, hence lots of octopus was on sale during MB’s walk-about. Boats from Russia load king prawn (which Koreans are not so keen on) in the harbour and take it back to their their homeland. Chinese boats are also present and take other varieties of fish to theirs.

Food. Food is everywhere in Busan, and in Korea more generally. A local said to MB yesterday that it’s not possible to travel more than 10m in Korea without encountering some eatery of some description. And MB would concur with that statement. It’s an offence to display food for sale signs outside any restaurant without also displaying the price of that food. Heavy financial penalties are imposed by the authorities for breaches. Everything’s worth trying, but the traditional Korean BBQ restaurants are generally superb.

MB must give special mention to the Hurshimchung Hot Water Spa facility that was attached to his hotel, and entry was free if one was staying in said hotel. The spa had Magnesium and Himalayan Salt hot baths and waterfalls and saunas and jacuzzies and a host of other relaxation facilities within, and MB spent an hour or two there each day to destress from the other daily activities that were part of MB’s short trip. Temperatures ranged from 40C to 85C and the pressure from the hot waterfalls on the body was intense, so the facility is not for the faint hearted. Clothes of any description are also forbidden so if your are prudish in that regard, then maybe it’s not for you. MB has visited a Turkish hammam in Istanbul in the past which was superb, but it is as nothing compared to the Korean version.

MB2 (daughter of MB) is attending the vast Busan National University, which is a huge sprawling complex with every type of facility, as MB witnessed in recent days, and all goes well for MB2. The 1am curfew is proving a challenge however!

If followers are ever down Busan way, MB can highly recommend tour guide Mr Suyang Change on Tel +82-10-2649-5174 and email chasuy01@gmail.com.

Anyung hasseeoo Busan!