Busan: Taejeongdae

When I reflect on my first year in Korea, I feel like I did and saw so much, whereas in comparison my second year seems a tad more complacent. Everything was new to me back when I was fresh off the boat plane, and by simply leaving my home and walking down the street I would be able to see something exotic, a novelty that started to wear off after I had been around the block a few times. When I came back to Korea for my third year, I decided that if I wanted to re-experience the wonder of living in a new country I'd have to be more proactive and go look for adventures instead of waiting for them to find me. To that end I've been making a strong effort the past few months to get out of my home and go to the places that I've only read about; hence that lovely trip to Jirisan a few weeks back; hence why this past weekend I took a four day holiday to Busan.
Busan is the second largest city in South Korea, a port city on the southeast coast famous for it's seafood, beaches, and different dialect. With a population of roughly 2 million it's not nearly as large Seoul's 10 million, but during my stay I still found Busan quite lively, especially on the weekend when the sun finally poked out and Koreans from every corner of the country descended on the beaches.
Speaking of sun, crowds, and beaches: I arrived in Busan on a Wednesday thanks to a school holiday that gifted me an extended weekend. The rest of Korea had only Friday off, which meant I had a head-start and could hit the beach before it became too suffocating with people. The weather in Seoul was already dreadfully hot, and I was looking forward to enjoying what I assumed was going to be an almost empty beach. When I did finally sink my toes in the sand of Haeundae, Busan's most famous beach, it was relatively deserted, just like I predicted. However, that was more likely to do with the fact that it was raining, and would continue to rain until Friday afternoon.
Fantastic.
Busan has many other attractions, and I entertained myself with those for a few days while I waited for the weather to permit me to frolic in the waves of the East Sea. My first stop (after the disappointment of Haeundae) was Taejongdae Park, located on an island connected to the mainland by bridge and close to Busan's main train station. A trek through the park was perfect for a short day hike, and though a train was available for touring the island I gave it a pass so I could stroll at my own pace.