Haeundae Beach: The Land of Sea and Clouds

I will never forget the first day I was introduced to beautiful Haeundae Beach, South Korea’s most popular beach. The first time I ever set foot on the sand and I saw the view of Busan at night in all its glory. The beach lit up from the city lights shining down. The reflection in the water was beautiful and, not only was the sight breathtaking, but it was so serene, peaceful, and quiet.

Now fast-forward two months and my initial impression of Haeundae Beach has changed a slight bit. It is just mid May and Haeundae beach, haeun meaning sea and clouds, is jam packed with people from the wee hours of the morning on the weekends through to the evening. The beach itself is almost like a city within a city as it is so packed with people from all over.

It has been quite the cultural experience spending the few afternoons that I have at Haeundae beach. People flock from all over South Korea; you have your foreigners working as English teachers looking for some down time from teaching the Korean rugrats, backpackers and travel connoisseurs, and then you have locals in search of soaking up some rays…or rather some shade under monstrous umbrellas.

The one thing I first noticed to be drastically different from western culture’s idea of a day at the beach was the bathing or beach attire. As a Canadian growing up spending each warm day at the beach in a bathing suit with the option of waterskiing and swimming, I found it different to notice many Koreans fully clothed on the beach huddled under large umbrellas. The so-called relaxing strolls or lounge on the beach that I look forward to in Canada during the summer months is not so common here. There are heaps of people from the west craving to meet fellow foreigners and natives of the English language to share their travel stories and daily lives as English teachers.

There are also people from various other areas of the world such as Australia and Europe who are teaching, on business, or permanently residing in Busan. There has not been a day on the beach on which I have not struck up a conversation with at least a handful of people living in the area. Though Busan may not be the most diverse city in the world, the beach is definitely a multi-cultural venue. The coastline remains gorgeous with islets in the distance peaking through in the daytime. The vast variety of food and snacks available on the beach is out of this world. However, if you miss and crave home fries out of the chip wagon parked near the beach like back in the western world, you will be sadly disappointed.

The typical snacks served at the vendors on the boardwalk include everything from marinated critters called bundaegi to seaweed-dipped cookies and a smorgasbord of different coffees and teas. The experience of spending a day at Haeundae Beach is nothing short of unique. The overall experience of both vacationing and living in South Korea truly is not complete until you make a trip to Haeundae Beach.