Busan · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
Beaches, a fish market and hillside villages — Korea's second city runs cheaper than Seoul.
Nampo-dong and Haeundae
Guesthouses stack up around Nampo-dong near Jagalchi market and the film street; beach-facing hostels sit behind Haeundae, forty minutes out on line two.
What a day costs
About ₩50,000–80,000, or $35–60: dorm ₩20,000–30,000, market food and soup ₩13,000–22,000, metro ₩4,000, a bathhouse ₩8,000–15,000.
Metro, buses and ferries
T-money works citywide and a one-day metro pass costs about ₩5,000. Coastal ferries reach Geoje, and the KTX runs to Seoul in under three hours.
Free by day
Gamcheon's painted hillside is free to wander, Haedong Yonggungsa temple sits on the rocks at no charge, and Haeundae and Gwangalli beaches are public.
Gwangalli Beach
The bar strip facing the lit suspension bridge is where hostel groups end up; convenience-store beers on the sand are legal and standard practice.