24: Pusan

Pusan was so much fun. My train ride down was uneventful and quite quick. The scenery was pretty spectacular in spots. I can't wait to go on longer trips around the country! Once I arrived in Pusan, I very quickly took care of the ID card stuff I had to do there (still have to back in two weeks to pick it up), but then I was free to explore for as long as my money held out. Which wouldn't be long, really.

I set myself up for a night at a nice little hotel, or yeogwan as they're called here. It was cheap, clean and had air conditioning, a working TV, a private bathroom, a real shower with hot water, and appeared to be bug free. Thus, it was significantly more attractive than my apartment in Miryang which has none of the above amenities except cheapness and a private bathroom. I didn't spend much time in there, though, as I wanted to explore.

My first goal was to familiarize myself with the subway system. That was simple enough. What a great, clean, efficient system they have. It goes practically everywhere in city (which is huge), and is super cheap and easy to use. I especially like how certain stops have their own special song played as they announce the stop. I also liked how the subway cars were air conditioned. That's pretty sweet on a hot and humid day.

I took the subway to the Jagalchi/Nampo area in the south central area of town. It was full of stores and restaurants and such. Very much a shopping district. Also nearby was the Jagalchi fish market, which was, as the name implies, full of fish. I had decided upon leaving my hotel room that there was no way I could not look like a tourist, what with the Lonely Planet guide and camera, so I decided to go all out and be a tourist. I went up the Pusan Tower. It has a rather pretty park surrounding it and some ancient structure too, one of which contained the biggest bell I have ever seen. Anyway, the views from the tower were quite good and I got a really good idea of just how big this city is. I met a rather nice man named Peter, from Washington, DC, while up there. He was actually born in Korea, but his parents moved to the US when he was 6 or so. He speaks no Korean. He relayed to me how troublesome this can be. He looks Korean, so people assume he speaks it, and when he explains that he can't, they start to speak in Japanese to him. We talked for a good while about how we're enjoying it here and some of the little things that confuse of frustrate us, then he wandered off.

After this I hopped back on the subway and went up to the university area and wandered around there. That's a pretty hopping area. So much going on and so many people. I decided that it would be a good place to come back to that night for beer.

Before I did that though, I needed a nap. I was unbelievably tired. So, I made my way back to my room and passed out for 2-3 hours. I woke up hungry. I remembered seeing a sushi place up by the university, and that sounded good. Mmm, real sushi, with fish and such. I had been craving it for a good long time and now I would satisfy that craving. It was good. Not the best I've ever had, but certainly enough to dull the craving.

After that, it was time to search out a good place for beer. The Lonely Planet guided me to a place called Monk. It was a good place, and I happened to come in on a night where a band was playing. Sweet! They set up a few minutes after I arrived and as soon as the first chord was played I recognized it. Ends up they were an Alice in Chains cover band. They were really good. The singer managed to sound almost exactly like Layne Staley. I was impressed. Their set was pretty short though and the bar emptied out almost immediately afterwards. I had picked up an ad for a group of bars in the area though, and it had a map on the back. I decided to go to a place called Soul Trane. This was a good choice. As soon as I walked in I was welcomed by a pair of fellow North Americans, a girl from Toronto and a guy from Chicago. Their names are Tiffany and Jonathan, respectively. They were great. They introduced me to all their Korean friends, some of whom were in a punk cover band that would be playing later that night. Two bands in one night! Great! We sat and drank for a bit, Jonathan took me briefly over to another bar to meet some other people, then we came back to see the Astro Boys, as the punk band is called. They were amazing. They played a Ramones song, a bunch of Rancid, a Weezer song, and a Billy Joel song. Everything was done with great energy and the bass player was awesome.

I have criticized much of the music I've heard in Korea, and justifiably so. The stuff you hear everywhere is pure crap pop junk taken from the mould that American recording companies have created. But, after watching those two bands in Pusan, I see that there is hope for Korean music. Sure, they were cover bands, and yes they were still covering American music. But the energy they had and the skill with which they played their instruments and engaged the audience leads me to believe that it is only a matter of time before a true underground music scene develops here with original music being written and performed. For all I know, it already has and I haven't seen it yet. But I feel better about Korean music now.

Anyway, after the show I went back to my hotel. I missed the last subway (why does it stop running before midnight?) and had to take a taxi. It was pricier than expected, but nothing too exorbitant. I slept later than expected and woke up more hungover than expected, leading me to tally up my beer total from the night before. Turns out the hangover was not out of line. So, with my beer drinking and cab taking, my money was getting perilously low. But I still had enough to eat, do a couple of things, and catch my train back to Miryang (oh yeah, I finally have established the proper way to pronounce Miryang; it's Milyahng and should be spelled that way for stupid foreigners like me).

So, what to do? Well, first, I needed to eat. I went out for some naengmyun, which is cold, thin noodles in a broth of ice water and spices. It is sooooo good, especially on a hot day. After that, I decided that some mountain climbing was in order. Right in the middle of Pusan is a place called Kumgang Park. Its a massive mountainous park that used to be a fortress. It's completely surrounded by the city. Now, when I say mountains, I don't mean some hills that people have attached the word mountain to. These are true mountains, the tallest rising over 800m from sea level (and remember that Pusan is a port city, so is at sea level). The first part of the climb up was done by cable car. Its a great way to climb a mountain, for sure. It takes you the first 540m up, basically to the top of the first peak. According to the pamphlet I received, the cable car was built in 1967 and "is still receiving much love from residents of the city."

At the top of the cable car ride was a rather nice forest park area, which I think the pamphlet describes better than I can:

"The thick forest of pine trees at the top of the Mt. Kumjeong is the best rest place to make residents of the city feel naturally clean and at the same time becomes a field of natural learning to children."

Not being a resident of the city, I was exempt from this natural cleanliness and proceeded to explore the area, shamed by my foreign filth.

To say the park and the views from it were spectacular does not begin to do it justice. The old fortress that was built up there is an amazing thing in that they built a stone wall 17km around the tops of these mountains and some rather beautiful gates. I took many pictures which I hope to post eventually. My hike up the other mountains was long and exhausting and I ended up with a pretty nice sunburn, but it was worth it. The weathered granite rock formations jutting out of the mountain sides and surrounded by trees were simply awesome. The breeze at the peaks was extremely invigorating and the views completely astonished me. I love this place. I was hiking for a good 4 hours before I decided to make my way back down for some food. I never made it the top of the highest peak. As a matter of fact, I only made it about halfway through the park.

I was extremely sore and tired and dirty when I got to the bottom of the mountains and back into town. I forget what I ate, but I know I ate something then made my way back to the train station for the trek back to Miryang.

I love Pusan. There is still so much there that I want to explore, plus there is the potential for a much more active social life and the watching of live music. I'll be going back as often as I can.

Steave