Busan

Busan
부산
釜山
—  Metropolitan City  —
Busan Metropolitan City
  transcription(s)
 - Hangul 부산광역시
 - Hanja 釜山廣域市
 - Revised Romanization Busan Gwangyeoksi
 - McCune-Reischauer Pusan Kwangyŏksi
From top left: Gwangan Bridge, Haeundae Beach, Jagalchi Market, Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, Night view of Haeundae

Flag
Emblem of Busan
Map of South Korea with Busan highlighted
Country  South Korea
Region Yeongnam
Districts 15
Government
 - Mayor Hur Nam-sik (허남식)
Area[1]
 - Total 766.12 km2 (295.8 sq mi)
Population (2009)[1]
 - Total 3,574,340
 - Density 4,666/km2 (12,084.9/sq mi)
 - Dialect Gyeongsang
Flower Camellia flower
Tree Camellia
Bird Seagull
Website busan.go.kr (English)

Busan (Officially Busan Metropolitan City), formerly spelled Pusan[2] (Korean pronunciation: [pusan]) is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million.[1] It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world.[3] The city is located on the southeasternmost tip of the Korean peninsula and faces the Korea Strait. The most densely built up areas of the city are situated in a number of narrow valleys between the Nakdong River and Suyeong River, with mountains separating some of the districts. Administratively, it is designated as a Metropolitan City. The Busan metropolitan area is divided into 15 major administrative districts and a single county.

Busan was the host city of the 2002 Asian Games and APEC 2005 Korea. It was also one of the host cities for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and is a center for international conventions in Korea. On November 14, 2005, the city officially announced its bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics Games.[4]

Busan is home to the world's largest department store, the Shinsegae Centum City[5] and is pursuing a large number of multi-skyscraper projects, including the 110-floor, 510m-supertall Lotte Super Tower, which is slated to become the world's third tallest building in 2013, after Burj Khalifa in Dubai and 1 World Trade Center in New York City.[6]

Contents

History

Geochilsan-guk existed in the second and third and fourth centuries as a chiefdom of Jinhan. It was absorbed by Silla and renamed Geochilsan-gun. The word Geochilsan means rough mountain, probably referring to Hwangnyeongsan, located at the center of the city.

The grave goods excavated from mounded burials at Bokcheon-dong indicate that a complex chiefdom ruled by powerful individuals was present in the Busan area just as the Three Kingdoms of Korea were forming, c. A.D. 300-400. The mounded burials of Bokcheon-dong were built along the top of a ridge that overlooks a wide area that makes up parts of modern-day Dongnae-gu and Yeonje-gu. Archaeologists excavated more than 250 iron weapons and ingots from Burial No. 38, a wooden chamber tomb at Bokcheon-dong.

In 757, Geochilsan-gun was again renamed Dongnae, which it is still called.

From the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Korean government designated Busan as a trading port with the Japanese and allowed their settlement. Other Japanese settlements in Ulsan and Jinhae diminished later, but the Busan settlement, called Waegwan at the time, continued until Japan invaded Korea in 1592. After the war, diplomatic relations with the new shogunate in Japan were established in 1607, and Busan Waegwan was permitted to be reconstructed. The Japanese settlement, though relocated into Choryang later, continued to exist until Korea was exposed to modern diplomacy in 1876. In 1876, Busan became the first international port in Korea.

Southwestern Busan seen from Spot satellite

During the Japanese rule, Busan (Pusan) developed into a hub trading port with Japan. Busan was the only city in Korea to adopt the steam tramway before electrification was introduced in 1924. Busan was one of only two cities in South Korea not captured by the North Korean army within the first three months of the Korean War, as a result the city became a refugee camp site[7] for Koreans during the war, along with Daegu.

As Busan was one of the few areas in Korea that remained under the control of South Korea throughout the Korean War, for some time it served as a temporary capital of the Republic of Korea. UN troops established a defensive perimeter around the city known as the Pusan Perimeter in the summer and autumn of 1950. Since then, like Seoul, the city has been a self-governing metropolis and has built a strong urban character.

Geography

Busan is located on the Southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula. It is located on the coast, which determined the development of the whole city itself.

Climate

Busan
Climate chart ()
J F M A M J J A S O N D
 
 
38
 
8
−1
 
 
45
 
9
1
 
 
86
 
13
5
 
 
136
 
18
10
 
 
154
 
22
14
 
 
223
 
24
18
 
 
259
 
27
22
 
 
238
 
29
23
 
 
167
 
26
19
 
 
62
 
22
14
 
 
60
 
16
8
 
 
24
 
10
2
average max. and min. temperatures in °C
precipitation totals in mm

Located on the Southeasternmost tip of the Korean Peninsula, Busan has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). Extremely high or low temperatures are rare. May to July, Late Springs and Early Summers, are usually cooler than inland region because of the ocean effect. Late Summer and Early Autumn, August and September, are generally hot and humid and the city may experience typhoons at that time and be generally rainy. On September 15, 1959, Super Typhoon Sarah passed by the coast of the city and caused catastrophic damage. An unusually severe storm on September 12, 2003, Typhoon Maemi, also caused damage to ships and buildings and resulted in over 48 fatalities.

October and November are generally the most comfortable, with clear skies and pleasant temperatures. Winters are cold and dry with high winds, but much milder than other parts of Korea except Jeju-do and several islands of the southern coast. Busan and the nearby area has the least amount of snow compared to other regions of Korea due to its location. Snow falls on an average of only about 6 days per year. Even a little accumulation of snow can effectively shut down this seaport city because of the hilly terrain and unfamiliarity of motorists with driving on snow.

Climate data for Busan (1971-2000)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Source: [8]

Administrative divisions

In 1957 Busan adopted a division system with the creation of 6 gu: Busanjin-gu, Dong-gu, Dongnae-gu, Jung-gu, Seo-gu, and Yeongdo-gu.

Today, Busan is divided into 15 gu (districts) and 1 gun (county).

Administrative divisions of Busan.

Economy

Haeundae

Busan is the fifth busiest seaport in the world,[3] with transportation and shipping among the most high profile aspects of the local economy. Since 1978, Busan has opened three container ports including Jaseungdae, Shinsundae, and Gamman. Busan is renowned as one of the world's largest ports and can handle up to 13.2 million TEU shipping containers per year.

The Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority, one of two such administrations (the other in the harbor of Incheon), was created to reassert Busan's status as a traditional international trading centre. The port attracts ships from all over the globe and the surrounding area aspires to become a regional financial centre.

Shopping and Commerce

Jagalchi Market

Commercial areas are dispersed through the city near busy intersections and adjacent to university campuses, but the two largest central business districts in Busan are Seomyeon and Gwangbok-dong/Nampo-dong. There are also four substantial shopping areas of note: Seomyeon, Gwangbok-dong, Busan Dae Hakap in Jangjeon-dong, and Haeundae.

Seomyeon is the crossroads of Busan. The local subway station serves two lines and is one of the busiest in the city. The local head offices of Korean and international banks are located in Seomyeon. It is recognized as the ascendant shopping and entertainment district. Directly adjacent to Seomyeon is Bujeon Market, the largest traditional market in the city. Other companies with offices here include Yeolmae Food.

The Gwangbok-dong, Nampo-dong, and Jungang-dong areas form the old central business district. Some of the restaurants in this district are locally famous with family recipes passed down the generations. Jagalchi Market (near part of the very active port) is an area of narrow street stalls and is well known for its fish market. The Gukje Market is also located nearby. Jungang-dong is the home of many international law offices, the old Immigation Office, and the international ferry terminal serving Japanese routes. Lotte World II is currently under construction along the water between Jungang-dong 7-Ga and 8-Ga.[9]

Education

Universities with graduate schools

Other institutes of higher education

Culture

Parks, beaches, and resorts

Beomeosa Temple
Busan Tower
APEC Nurimaru

Geumjeongsan to the west is a popular weekend hiking spot for Busan residents. To the north, the neighborhoods around Pusan National University (also known as PNU, which is one of the most highly recognized national institutes of higher education in Korea) have student theaters, cafes, bars and restaurants, as well as open-air cultural street performances on weekend nights. Nearby is Beomeosa, the city's main Korean Buddhist temple.

Dongnae-gu is a wealthy and traditional residential area. Dongnae Oncheon is a natural spa area with many baths, tourist hotels, restaurants, clubs and shopping areas. Many restaurants in the area are famous for their family recipes. Chungnyeolsa is a Confucian shrine for soldiers who died during the sixteenth century battle against the Japanese at Dongnae Fortress.

Busan is called the summer capital of Korea since it attracts tourists from all over the country to its six beaches. Luxury hotels and a carnival boardwalk line the beach at Haeundae. Gwangalli Beach is famous for its cafes, bars, and restaurants along the beach, and the Grand Gwangan Bridge. The area around Pukyong National University and Kyungsung University has many cafes, bars and restaurants attracting college students and youth.

Taejongdae is a natural park with magnificent cliffs facing the open sea on the island of Yeongdo.

The area known as the "Foreigners' Shopping Street", but commonly referred to as "Texas Street" near part of the Port of Busan, has many businesses that cater to the local Russian population, as well as the crews of foreign ships. The area was originally the location of the local Chinatown and still contains a Chinese school. Because of the Chinese presence, the area was designated to serve as the commercial and entertainment needs of American soldiers, and businesses were set up there during the 1940s and 1950s to cater to them.

Temples, shrines and other historical sites

Professional sports

Since 1982, the city has been home to the Lotte Giants, who play in the Korean baseball league. In Korea, Busan is known as the capital of baseball and has a reputation for very enthusiastic baseball fans. For the first few years, the Lotte Giants utilized Gudeok Stadium as their home. In the mid-1980s, they moved to Sajik Stadium, which was built as part of a sports complex for the 1986 Asian Games.

The city is home to K-League soccer team Busan I'Park. They were formerly known as the Daewoo Royals and were a strong team during the 1990s in the K-league. It is also home to National League soccer club Busan Transportation Corporation.

Busan also has a basketball team (KT Sonic Boom) that plays in the Sajik Sports Complex area of the city.

Arts

a booth for PIFF

Busan is also famous for the Pusan International Film Festival, or PIFF, a large and well-known international film festival in Asia that attracts film-loving tourists from all over East Asia and the world. It is also the home of the Busan Biennale, a well renowned international contemporary art biennale which takes place every two years.

Museums

Cuisine

A plate of a colorful pancake made with green scallions, sliced red chili pepper and chopped seafood
Dongnae pajeon

Busan was once a center of military affairs in the southern region of the peninsula and therefore was an important site for diplomatic relationships with Japan; high-ranking officers and officials from the court frequently visited the city. Special foods were prepared for the officers such as Dongnae pajeon (동래파전), a variant of pajeon (Korean savory pancakes), made with whole scallions, sliced chili peppers, and various kinds of seafood in a thick batter of wheat flour, glutinous rice flour, eggs, salt and water.[11][12]

During the Korean Conflict, Busan was the biggest refugee destination on the peninsula; people from all regions of Korea came to Busan. Some of these refugees stayed and adapted and adjusted the recipes of their local specialties. One of these foods is milmyeon (밀면) (lit. 'wheat noodle') a version of naengmyeon, cold buckwheat noodle soup, but using wheat flour instead. (Naemyeon is originally a specialty food of Hamhung and Pyongyang, the northern regions of the Korean peninsula, now part of North Korea.[13][14]) Dwaeji gukbap (돼지국밥) (lit. 'pork/pig soup rice') is also a result of Korean War. It is a hearty pork soup and is becoming more popular nation-wide.[15]

Transportation

Bus

Major express bus lines link Busan with other cities in Korea at two primary bus terminals, Nopodong Bus Terminal (at the northern terminus of Subway Line 1) and Seobu Bus Terminal at Sasang Station on Subway Line 2.

134 routes of urban buses service whole part of Busan Metropolitan City. (Busan Urban Bus)

Sea

Busan Harbour Pier 1 with the International Ferry Terminal (3 docked ferries shown).
Busan Station, in Dong-gu.

The Coastal Ferry Terminal serves ferry services to many locations on Geoje Island as well as to Jeju City in Jeju-do.[16]

Ferries leaving from the International Ferry Terminal on Busan Harbour Pier 1 connect Busan to the Japanese ports of Izuhara and Hitakatsu on Tsushima Island, as well as the cities of Shimonoseki, Fukuoka, and Osaka on Japan's mainland.[17]

Railway

Busan Subway

Busan lies on a number of rail lines, of which the most important is the Gyeongbu Line which connects it to other major cities such as Seoul, Daejeon, and Daegu. All classes of trains run along the Gyeongbu Line, including the KTX trains which provide service to Seoul in approximately 150 minutes. The Gyeongbu Line terminates at Busan Station. Other lines include the Donghae Nambu Line.

The Busan Subway network contains three lines: 1, 2, and 3. The network is operated by the Busan Transportation Corporation. The Busan Subway Line 4 (once referred to as the 'Bansong Line') is under construction for completion in December 2010, and Busan-Gimhae Light Rail Transit line is under construction for completion in April 2011.

Air

Busan is served by Gimhae International Airport to the west in Gangseo-gu.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Busan shares the title of sister city with several coastal cities or provinces around the world.[23]

Sister ports

The Port of Busan also has 6 sister ports.[25]

Independent cities in South Korea

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Busan: Population and area of Administrative units". Dynamic Busan: Busan Metropolitan City. http://english.busan.go.kr/01_about/03_02.jsp. Retrieved 2010-03-24. 
  2. ↑ This romanization of the city's name is in McCune-Reischauer. It was used prior to the official adoption of the Revised Romanization by the South Korean Government in 2000.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ah2Znx0vQ580 Empty Containers Clog Busan Port as Trade Slumps, bloomberg.com - March 3, 2009 02:12 EST
  4. ↑ People's Daily Online (2005-11-14). "Pusan to declare bid to host 2020 Olympic Games". http://english.people.com.cn/200511/14/eng20051114_221062.html. Retrieved December 8, 2006. 
  5. ↑ http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Largest-Department-Store/blog/411871/7691.html
  6. ↑ See List of tallest buildings in the world
  7. ↑ Andrei Lankov (2010-01-31) http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2010/02/113_60003.html January 1951: Life of Korean War Refugees in Busan The Korea Times
  8. ↑ "평년값(30년 평균) 자료". Korea Meteorological Administration. http://www.kma.go.kr/sfc/sfc_03_05.jsp. 
  9. ↑ http://www.worldtourismsummit.com/Travel/KoreaTips/tabid/83/Default.aspx
  10. ↑ http://www.unmck.or.kr/eng/paying_tribute/m_searchsol_list.php
  11. ↑ http://www.hankooki.com/special/summer/200206/special20020630135751L7210.htm
  12. ↑ http://www.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?id=20090511010021&spage=1
  13. ↑ Kim Gi-hyeon (김기현) (2009-05-13) 동래파전·돼지국밥…음식도 관광자원으로 (in Korean) Munhwa Ilbo
  14. ↑ Lee Gyeong-taek (이경택) (2002-09-26) 부산AG 장외 음식열전 (in Korean) Munhwa Ilbo
  15. ↑ Noh, Ju-Seok (노주석) (2009-07-29) (씨줄날줄) 영도다리/노주석 논설위원] (in Korean) Seoul Sinmun
  16. ↑ Busan Port Coastal Passenger Terminal
  17. ↑ International Ferry Terminal
  18. ↑ PanStar Ferry, Korean operator of the ferry linking to Osaka, Japan.
  19. ↑ (Korean) Dae-a Express Shipping, operator of the ferry linking to Tsushima Island, Japan.
  20. ↑ Pukwan Ferry, operator of the ferry linking to Shimonoseki, Japan.
  21. ↑ (Japanese) Camellia Line, (Korean) Korea Ferry
  22. ↑ Kobee and Beetle, ferries linking to Fukuoka, Japan.
  23. ↑ List of Busan's sister cities, Busan Metropolitan City; (English) [1], (Korean) [2]
  24. ↑ "Barcelona internacional - Ciutats agermanades" (in Spanish). © 2006-2009 Ajuntament de Barcelona. http://w3.bcn.es/XMLServeis/XMLHomeLinkPl/0,4022,229724149_257215678_1,00.html. Retrieved 2009-07-13. 
  25. ↑ Port of Busan, Sister Ports, Busan

External links

Metropolitan city of Busan
Districts
Buk-gu · Busanjin-gu · Dong-gu · Dongnae-gu · Gangseo-gu · Geumjeong-gu · Haeundae-gu · Jung-gu · Nam-gu · Saha-gu · Sasang-gu · Seo-gu · Suyeong-gu · Yeongdo-gu · Yeonje-gu
County
Gijang-gun
South Korea Regions and administrative divisions of South Korea
Regions
Capital area · Gwandong (Yeongdong · Yeongseo) · Hoseo · Honam (Jeju) · Yeongnam
Provinces
Chungbuk · Chungnam · Gangwon · Gyeonggi · Gyeongbuk · Gyeongnam · Jeonbuk · Jeonnam
Special self-governing province
Special city
Metropolitan cities
Busan · Daegu · Daejeon · Gwangju · Incheon · Ulsan
Proposed Special Autonomous City
Sejong City
Metropolitan cities of South Korea
Special city
Metropolitan cities
Busan · Daegu · Daejeon · Gwangju · Incheon · Ulsan
Provincial capitals
(not included above)
Changwon · Cheongju · Chuncheon · Jeju City · Jeonju · Muan · Suwon
Cities with Gu
(not included above)
Ansan · Anyang · Bucheon · Cheonan · Pohang · Seongnam · Yongin
Cities
(not included above)
Andong · Anseong · Asan · Boryeong · Chungju · Dongducheon · Donghae · Gangneung · Geoje · Gimcheon · Gimhae · Gimje · Gimpo · Gongju · Goyang · Gumi · Gunpo · Guri · Gunsan · Gwacheon · Gwangju · Gwangmyeong · Gwangyang · Gyeongju · Gyeongsan · Gyeryong · Hanam · Hwaseong · Icheon · Iksan · Jecheon · Jeongeup · Jinju · Miryang · Mungyeong · Namwon · Namyangju · Naju · Nonsan · Osan · Paju · Pocheon · Pyeongtaek · Sacheon · Samcheok · Sangju · Seogwipo · Seosan · Siheung · Sokcho · Suncheon · Taebaek · Tongyeong · Uijeongbu · Uiwang · Wonju · Yangju · Yangsan · Yeongcheon · Yeongju · Yeosu