8. Where to eat
Eating local food is one of the pleasures of travel. As solo travelers, we can decide whatever we want to eat. But at the same time, it is not easy to think and choose different food every day. So, here is what we recommend for you if you get a chance to visit Busan. These are popular local foods in Busan, so you can easily find them wherever you go. Feel free to download the 👉PDF version of this guidebook.
1️⃣ Grilled clams in Songjeong Beach
Busan is surrounded by the east sea of Korea, so you can enjoy fresh seafood at a reasonable price. Wherever you go, you can find a restaurant easily. Songjeong Beach is especially well known in the area for fresh grilled clams. With butter and cheese on clams together, you can’t stop your chopstick.
Price is usually about 4~50,000 KRW. So how about finding a companion through the NomadHer community? Lots of people who love to travel are waiting for you.
2️⃣ Street food in BIFF Square
Busan International Film Festival(BIFF) is held for 10 days from Thursday in the first week of October. You can see the handprints of famous movie stars in BIFF Square. And there is one more important thing to try.
Don’t miss to enjoy lots of street food in this square. Ssiat-hotteok, a sweet Korean pancake stuffed with lots of seeds, is must-eat food if you visit Busan. There are various foods like flat dumplings and fish cake which are good for snack time. Enjoy the street food in BIFF Square!
3️⃣ Enjoy various foods in Bupyeong Kkangtong Night Market
You can find lots of different foods in Bupyeong Kkangtong Night Market. It takes only 15 minutes to walk from BIFF Square. The night market is held from 19:30–23:30 every night. You can see many foods in the daytime. But, if you visit during the night time, you can see more kinds of street food that make you happy. Here are what we recommend to try.
✔️Milmyeon
Milmyeon is a cold noodle with a special sauce that you can taste three different flavors at the same time: sour, sweet, and spicy. And the broth is boiled for a long time with pork bones, various vegetables, and herbs together. If you like the red sauce flavor without broth, it would be a good choice to try “Bibim Milmyeon”. If you like to try with thick broth, then we recommend having “Mul Milmyeon”. Fight the heat of a hot day with Milmyeon.
✔️Dwaejigukbap
There are many pork and rice soup restaurants in Busan that have been in tradition for decades. Many Koreans visit the city to eat this from other cities. It’s a soup in which pork bones are boiled for a long time. You eat it with rice along with pork meat in the soup. If you try it with salted shrimp or kimchi, it could be a perfect combination. You will get to know why this is comfort food to people in Busan.
✔️Seafood Pajeon
Jeon is a traditional Korean pancake. There are various kinds of Jeon depending on the ingredients. Busan’s Seafood Pajeon is especially famous for its abundant seafood, such as squid, clams, and mussels. If you have a bite, you will be surprised by its crispy texture with fresh seafood and various vegetables. You can’t stop eating until the plate is empty.
✔️Yubujeongol
It is a fried tofu hot pot that puts seasoned meat and Korean-style noodles called japchae together in a fried tofu bag and boils it in a fish cake soup. The soft taste of fish cake soup and fried tofu bag with these ingredients harmonize to create a savory taste.
✔️ Busan fish cake and Multteok
Fish cake is a food made by mixing mashed fish and flour, and you can see this easily as one of the side dishes that Koreans eat every day. In particular, Busan fish cakes, which contain a lot of fresh fish, are popular enough to sell to all parts of the country. When you go around the local market, they sell fish cakes and long white rice cakes called Multteok together. Multteok, a chewy water rice cake that is boiled in fish cake soup, is a good combination to try with.
✔️Nakji-bokkeum at Gaemijip which locals love
A spicy stir-fried octopus called Nakji-bokkeum is everyone’s favorite food in Busan.
You can order for only one person, so you don’t need to worry about that. It is so delicious when you sprinkle sesame oil on seaweed and rice along with shrimp and octopus that are mixed with spicy sauce. Gaemijip’s stir-fried octopus restaurants are open all over Busan, so it’s good to find out if there’s a restaurant near where you go.
4️⃣ Are you looking for a vegetarian restaurant? Don’t worry, you can fully enjoy vegan food in Busan. I’ll tell you about the restaurants that vegetarians in Busan love.
✔️To enjoy vegan food for everyone, restaurant Arp in Yeongdo
This place strives to make vegan food more accessible. They provide different dishes by hours. During the daytime, it runs as a brunch bar using various vegetables. At night, you can enjoy vegan burgers and bracken pasta.
Price: About 15,000 KRW per dish
Opening Hours: 12:00–21:00, closed on Thursday
How to get here: It takes about 20 minutes from the Nampo subway station. So we recommend you to use the Kakao map app to find a way to take a bus.
Instagram: @arp_kitchen
✔️A famous vegan restaurant around Haeundae beach, Homebistro
Homebistro is the place where you can enjoy vegan food and bar at the same time. Many foreigners have visited here. You can eat hummus salad/sandwiches with chickpeas, fried mushroom with sweet and sour sauce, tacos, and basil pesto plates. (The menu can change slightly depending on the ingredients for the day.)
Price: About 15,000 KRW per dish
Opening Hours: Wed-Sat 18:00~23:000 (closed on Sun, Mon, Tue)
How to get here: It takes about 10 minutes from Haeundae subway station by walk.
Instagram: @homebistroandcafe
✔️Cozy vegan restaurant around Gwangalli Beach, Loveurth
It is a place where you can feel like enjoying food in the neighborhood. There are sweet pumpkin cream pasta, basil pesto cream pasta, potato watercress salad, vegan butter curry, and so on. The menu changes seasonally, so please refer to Instagram before visiting.
Price: About 12,000KRW per dish
Opening Hours : 11:30–20:00 (breaktime 15:00–17:00)
How to get here: It takes about 10 minutes by walk from Gwangan subway station Exit 3
Instagram: @love_urth
✔️Enjoy various kinds of fresh salad bowls, FULL FULL
In this cafe, you can enjoy different kinds of salad bowls. For example, a Korean bowl using tofu, a Ricottalia bowl with ricotta cheese, fruits and nuts, and so on. If you miss fresh salad during the trip, this will be a perfect place for you.
Price: About 9,000 KRW per menu
Opening Hours: 11:30–22:00 (Break time 15:30–16:30)
How to get here: It takes about 5 minutes by walk from Jeonpo subway station Exit 7
Instagram: @fullfull_salad
9. Accommodation
Choosing accommodation is as important as making a travel plan. A reliable and comfortable accommodation has a huge impact on our travel experience. Especially as female travelers, we are worried all the time. ‘Will this accommodation be safe to stay overnight?’ Before you make a reservation, please refer to NomadHer’s tips on choosing safe accommodation in Busan.
💡Tips for accommodation
1️⃣ If the people who are choosing the guesthouse are mostly in their old age, then it is likely to be a pretty good accommodation. Old people have lots of experience, so they are very careful when choosing a place to stay. So it means that the guesthouse satisfies their needs by possibly having a comfortable bed, nice atmosphere, and guaranteed privacy. So if you find this kind of accommodation, it will be good to pay attention.
2️⃣ Safety and security issues are mostly influenced by how the host manages the accommodation. Safety and security issues are mostly influenced by how the host manages the accommodation. If the host is the type of person who drinks to the point of intoxication with guests, he or she would not be ready to handle a situation when some problems arise unexpectedly. When you find this kind of review, then It’s a good idea to think again
3️⃣ If you find an issue with cleanliness, it is better to find other places. The average price of a guesthouse in Busan is about 20,000–30,000 KRW. It is a good price and most of them have good room condition too. Keeping a room clean is the most basic part of running an accommodation. So if you find a place that has a cleanliness issue, it is highly doubtful they can manage their safety and security well.
4️⃣ Choose accommodation in the downtown area. While traveling, plans can change unexpectedly. Sometimes, we arrive at our guesthouse at night after hanging out. So we recommend choosing your stay in the middle of downtown where many people are around, restaurants are open until late at night and public transportation is convenient to use.
💡Recommendations on areas to stay
1️⃣ Haeundae subway station area
Haeundae is the most popular district that people love to visit and stay in during their travels. There are many one-star hotels and it is always crowded with people enjoying the night sea. The Haeundae area is brighter at night than daytime because many restaurants open until late at night. So there are many guest houses to choose from.
2️⃣ Jagalchi subway station area
Discover the lively and historical markets near Jagalchi subway station called “BIFF square”, “Gukje Market” and “Bupyeong Kkangtong Night Market”. This area is always crowded with people who go out to enjoy a midnight snack until late at night. If you love trying delicious local food, this district gives you an opportunity to discover the taste of Busan.
3️⃣ Seomyeon subway station area
This is one of the most popular youth districts near universities where you can meet many young local people on the street. Seomyeon Underground Shopping Center is directly connected to the subway station. There are many shops that sell clothes, accessories and cosmetics and so on. If you love shopping, it will be a good place to stay and look around.
10. Transportation for solo female travelers
When traveling alone, sometimes we feel that it’s hard to make a plan from beginning to end on our own. But when you go on a trip to Busan, you will notice that there is no city like Busan that has well-organized public transportation. It is not complicated at all.
So you don’t need to be afraid of using it. NomadHer will become your guide. In this part, we will introduce you to how to go to Busan and how to use transportation when you are visiting tourist attractions during travel.
1️⃣ 3 Ways to go to Busan
You can go to Busan by plane, train, or express bus. We will introduce them one by one.
👉 If you visit Busan by plane
To go to Busan by plane, you should go to Gimhae International Airport, not Busan International Airport. It can be confusing, so please keep in mind that it’s Gimhae International Airport. Flight tickets range from 20,000 KRW to 100,000 KRW depending on peak season and off-season.
✔️ You can go downtown by taking the Light rail from Gimhae International Airport
✔️ If you get out of Exit 1 of Gimhae International Airport, you can easily find a sign that says it’s a Light rail ride.
✔️ It takes about 20 minutes to get to Sasang subway station, where you can transfer to a city subway connected to the heart of Busan. It can take more time depending on your final destination. You can purchase tickets by typing the final destination in the automatic ticket machine at the airport subway station. The basic fee starts at 1,400 KRW and there is an additional fee depending on the destination. If you go from the airport subway station to Haeundae subway station, it will say on the screen to put 2,000 KRW. You can put that amount in and buy a ticket. There is a currency exchange next to it, so you can easily change your money to Korean money.
✔️ It can be easier if you have a Korean transportation card or if you are using a credit card with a transportation card function.
👉 If you visit Busan by train
To visit Busan by train, you should go to Busan station. There are three types of trains that you can take. We will explain how to go from Seoul to Busan station, which is the most common route.
✔️ KTX (Korea Train Express): 59,800 KRW for adults, which takes about 2 hours and 40 minutes (It takes much less time, but you may feel it is a little expensive)
✔️ Mugunghwa-ho: 28,600 KRW for adults, which takes about 5 hours and 40 minutes (It takes longer, but it’s a historic train in Korea. You can’t miss the charm of taking a train around Korea.)
✔️ ITX Saemaeul: 42,600 KRW for adults, which takes about 4 hours and 40 minutes.
If you see the Letskorail website, an integrated train reservation system in Korea, you can see the timetable of these three trains at once. Usually, the train from Seoul Station to Busan departs every 10 minutes, so you can choose a train that meets your schedule.
Busan train station is connected to Busan subway station Line 1, so you can move faster if you go straight to the subway station along the connecting passage.
Letskorail website: https://www.letskorail.com/
👉 If you visit Busan by express bus
You can go to Busan Inter-City Bus Terminal by bus. There are several Busan Inter-City Bus Terminals. We will introduce you to bus terminals that have the best accessibility to the center of Busan. You can make reservations for both places on the site below.
T-money Inter-City Bus Reservation Site: https://txbus.t-money.co.kr/main.do
✔️ Busan Seobu Inter-City Bus Terminal
When you come out of this terminal, there is Busan Sasang subway station on Line 2 within a 5-minute walk. It takes 17 minutes by subway from here to Seomyeon subway station, the street of youth in Busan. Let me explain based on Seoul, the most popular departure place.
How to get to Busan from Seoul?
You can take an express bus from Seoul Nambu Bus Terminal. It is connected to the Seoul Subway Line №3. So it is easy to go there for solo travelers.
If you depart here, then you will arrive at Busan Seobu Inter-City Bus Terminal. The Seoul-Busan route runs twice a day, departs from Seoul at 13:30 and 19:00, takes a total of 4 hours and 40 minutes, and costs 32,700 KRW for adults.
✔️ Busan Haeundae Inter-City Bus Terminal
When you get off here, you can see the Haeundae subway station nearby. and the bus terminal is a 10-minute walk away from the most popular beach, Haeundae beach. If you have accommodation around here, you can unpack and start your trip right away. Let me explain the route that starts from Seoul as it is the most popular departure place.
How to get to Busan from Seoul?
You can take an express bus from Seoul Nambu Bus Terminal. It is connected to the Seoul Subway Line №3. It is easy to go there for solo travelers.
If you depart here, then you will arrive at Busan Haeundae Inter-City Bus Terminal. The Seoul-Busan route runs 3 times a day, departs from Seoul at 7:30, 9:50, 17:00, and takes a total of 4 hours and 50 minutes. 36800 KRW for adults.
💡Good tips to know
Depending on the highway traffic situation, it may take an hour more to arrive in Busan than expected. If the schedule is tight, we recommend visiting Busan by plane or train rather than by bus.
If you take a bus, it will stop by 1 rest area for about 15 minutes. Delicious snacks are sold at rest areas in Korea, but you can’t eat them on the bus, so please refer to them.
2️⃣ Public transportation in Busan
💡Tip 1. When you travel alone in Busan, you can use three types of transportation: subway, bus, and taxi. If your budget allows, taking a taxi could be an experience to talk about Busan’s story with a local driver.
💡Tip 2. It’s good to download the Kakao Map application, a Korean Google map. It has the function of finding the fastest way to get to your destination from where you are.
💡Tip 3. If you are not going to only use the subway, it is a good choice to buy a transportation card. There is more detailed information below.
✔️ If you only take the subway
If you only use the subway, you can use the ticket machine in the subway station to buy tickets. If you are a solo traveler, there are 3 options below.
- One pass: Starting with the basic fare of 1,400 KRW. Additional costs will be imposed depending on the final destination.
- 1 Day pass: It costs 5,000 KRW and you can use it for a day an unlimited number of times (not applied to a Light rail and Donghae Railroad).
- 7 Days pass: it costs 21,000 KRW and you can use it up to 20 times for 7 days (not applied to a Light Rail and Donghae Railroad).
✔️ If you take the bus
There are three types of buses in Busan: town bus (when going to the neighborhood), city bus (when going downtown), and express city bus (when going to a destination far away). The basic fee in cash is about 1,150 KRW, 1,300 KRW, and 1,800 KRW each.
However, it will be inconvenient to pay for the bus fare while carrying cash and coins every time. In fact, most locals pay with a transportation card instead of cash. If you don’t just use the subway, it will be a good idea to buy a transportation card.
💡What’s good about using a transportation card?
- Type of transportation card: T-money, Cashbee card.
- Purchase fee: About 3,000 KRW.
- You can easily buy and recharge at any convenience store.
- You can take the subway, bus, and taxi.
- For subways and buses, you can get a discount of 100 KRW, and even if you take different routes in a row, you can still get a discount.
- It can also be used in Seoul and other metropolitan cities.
- Except for taxis, when you use the subway and bus, you must put the transportation card on the card machine when you get on and off so that you
don’t get any additional charge.
✔️ If you take the city tour bus
In Busan, there is a city tour bus that goes around Busan’s representative tourist attractions. If you want to look around the whole city before diving into a trip or if you want to travel efficiently on a tight schedule, it is a good choice to use a city tour bus.
What is the City tour bus?
- Red Line: Busan Station <-> Haeundae
It runs 9 times a day. The first departure from Busan Station is 09:45 and the last departure is at 16:35. Departing from Busan Station, the bus operates a total of 15 stops including UN Memorial Park, Gwangalli, Marine City, Haeundae, and Centum City. The bus may pass by Busan’s popular Busan Port Bridge and Gwangan Bridge.
- Green Line: Busan Station <->Taejongdae
It runs 9 times a day. The first departure from Busan Station is 09:30 and the last departure is at 16:20. Departing from Busan Station, the bus operates 4 bus stops in the direction of Taejongdae, including Yongdusan Park, Taejongdae, and Oryukdo Sky Walk.
- Blue Line: Haeundae <-> Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, Gijang Market
It runs 9 times every 50 minutes. Haeundae’s first departure is 10:20 and the last departure is at 16:45. Departing from Haeundae Beach, the bus operates 16 stops, including Dalmajigil Road, Cheongsapo, Songjeong Beach, and Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. Currently, Blue Line is suspended due to COVID-19.
- A Day pass can be purchased from the driver at the time of boarding at each stop. (first-come-first-served)
- Free unlimited use of 3 lines, 24 hours a day at no extra charge.
- Valid for 24 hours from the boarding time (applies only to the circular red line, blue line, and green line sections; the Night View and theme courses
are excluded)
- Some of the stops are non-stop, so please check the city tour site in advance.
- Many people use the city tour bus on weekends. If you want a seat with a good view, you’d better go to a bus stop 30 minutes earlier than the
departure time.
- Closed: Monday, Tuesday
- Price: A day pass is 15,000 KRW for adult
- Site: http://www.citytourbusan.com/ko/00main/main.php
✔️ If you take the taxi
If you travel with your friends, it could be cheaper to take a taxi because you can share the fee with your friends. But if you are a solo traveler, the cost could be expensive. But there are times when you have to take a taxi.
If you want to know the taxi fare in advance, you can find out how much it costs to get to your destination from your current location through Kakao Map. If you feel tired, getting a taxi could be one way.
- Fare change line
Regular taxi :
Basic fare 3,800 KRW (first 2km distance) + Additional fee
depending on the distance.
Black Deluxe Taxi :
Basic fare 6,000 KRW (first 3km distance) + Additional fee
depending on the distance.
- Tips for using a taxi
Busan local taxi drivers know everything about Busan because they drive all over Busan. In addition, they have to drive for a long time and eat outside every day, so they know the best restaurants where you can enjoy delicious local food. If you take a taxi, talk to them and ask them about Busan’s famous local restaurants!
11. Disclaimer
This guidebook was made by NomadHer and the Busan Tourism Organization in support of female travelers taking a step closer to the bigger world through solo travel. The information in the guidebook may have changed in the meantime due to COVID-19. Don’t hesitate to correct us with better recommendations or the latest knowledge
Busan where city and local sensibilities meet is a good place to travel alone. It’s always full of vitality with the kindness and the people who came out to enjoy the night beach and night market even late at night. It is also a place where you can experience surfing, yachting, and trekking in the mountains and seas.
Are you preparing for a trip to Busan? Don’t forget that NomadHer and Busan Tourism Organization will always be with you on your trip!
😊Are you looking for a female travel companion?
NomadHer is an app for female globetrotters to encourage solo traveling safely. NomadHer has a vision of empowering women through traveling. ✨Find curated solo travel tips and female travel buddies from over 176 countries. To join the community, you can download NomadHer App on IOS & Android and Follow NomadHer on Instagram: @nomad_her
