I was watching the trailer of the film Black Panther when suddenly, “hey, that looks familiar!”

I thought I saw something familiar. And so I did a little research, and bam! I was right! Black Panther was indeed filmed in Busan! Well, parts of it.

Before I get there, lemme first tell you how we traveled from Sokcho, along the entire east coast of South Korea, down to the bustling metropolitan of Busan.

We left Kensington Resort in Sokcho at 9am, and made several stops in between to relieve our bladders, and for a few meals. The ocean views in each rest stop along the coast were stunning! I somehow thought it similar to the scenic ocean drive from L.A. to San Francisco.

 

We finally made it to Busan around 5pm. Of course, when in Busan, the very first thing to visit and try is Jagalchi Market (this you can see in the film, Black Panther!!). The stupid in me wore really new, white sneakers thinking we’ll get to Busan probably late already, and directly go to the hotel to check in. But naah. I forgot I was a tourist. For a moment there, I wasn’t in my element, and for the first time wanted some comfort. Maybe I was just really very exhausted from all the activities in the days prior to that. haha

 

So we explored through the tiny alleys of the WET seafood market. It was actually generally clean, but just really wet; kinda muddy–a nightmare for my new sneakers! haha But I guess it was even already cleaned up a bit because it was actually already passed closing time, and only a few stores and vendors were still open.

THE LARGEST CRABS EVER!

 

POOR EEL! 😦

 

After dinner, we crossed the street to Nampo-dong area for the night market just to roam around, pass some time. Even though we were full from dinner, we were still drooling and in the mood for more gastronomic experiences seeing all the street food around!

Right outside the Busan Theater (which was home to the Busan International Film Festival) were a lot of metal plates cemented onto the pavement. It was so interesting to see some of the world’s renowned actors’ and filmmakers’ hand prints on those metal plates, like those you see at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.

Busan Theater

 

Take a look at the first photo. One of the prints belongs to Willem Dafoe.

 

 

We finally decided to call it a night, and made our way to our booked accommodations–Hillside Tourist Hotel (right behind the iconic Commodore Hotel).

The next day was tight! We started with the buffet breakfast at the hotel, and then the scenic Taejongdae Park, lunch, and passed by Nampo-dong again to buy some souvenirs, and then quickly got on the road to perform/minister at a church in Changwon, Busan, which is a few hours away from the city.

TAEJONGDAE PARK

 

 

 

 

 

RANDOM TINY THINGS FOR SALE

 

 

 

 

 

Coming back from Changwon, we passed by the very wide and alive Gwangalli Beach with the lit-up Gwangandaegyo Bridge in the background. Now this was where the Black Panther trailer made sense! When I was in those places, I really took a good look around to savor everything. Watching the trailer, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I had been there! Just a hint: those places I mentioned above were the locations for the car chase scene in the film.

Anything looking familiar to you? 🙂

 

 

The next morning, buffet breakfast again, checked out of the hotel, and then proceeded for a quick visit to the iconic Haeundae Beach, one of Korea’s most beautiful and most popular beaches. It is also the largest.

THE TOUR BUS THAT LOOKED LIKE A PARTY BUS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were then on our way back to Incheon.