Explore East Busan — Review 1 day tour to discover great sights in East Busan

Busan is often referred to as the largest port city in South Korea, which means when people mention Busan, the two things come to mind are trading and the beach. However, let’s take a tour with Living Nomads’s South Korea travel team, walking around the enchanting places, sights, and attractions in Eastern Busan to learn that there are not just white sand and blue sea about this city. So, what’s hot in East Busan? Let’s check out our suggested some best tourist attractions and places in East Busan in 1 day to find out the answer!

How to get to Busan?

Review a little about how to travel to Busan for those who do not know or have forgotten:

• Vietnam has direct flights to Busan, which is really fast and convenient, and you can find more info from various airline carriers.
• From Seoul, you can also fly to Busan, but the fastest way is to travel by KTX, which only takes about two and a half hours. Average one-way fare is 56,000 won/person. However, buying a 2-day flexible Korail Pass for groups of two people or more is much cheaper. Purchasing a pass at Klook costs only around 87,000 won/pass with unlimited KTX travel and a couple of cruise lines within two days depending on your selection. You can purchase your Korail Pass here: [SALE] Instant Ticket! Korea Rail Pass (KR PASS) 2/3/4/5Days.

Interesting attractions in East Busan

Oryukdo Island

Oryukdo Island (aka Ngu Luc Island) consists of a cluster of five to six small islands located to the east of Busan. Depending on the tide, you can observe five or six islands from afar. Oryukdo Island has a beautiful beachline with towering cliffs, lots of seagulls and a peaceful lifestyle. You can take a walk to enjoy the taste of the sea as well as watch the waves lapping at the cliffs very peacefully. Especially, people are often eager to come here to try experiencing “walking on the beach” on the Skywalk Bridge.

Skywalk offers FREE entrance and experience, opening from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. If possible, stay to watch the sunset on the sea here, you would be thrilled. This bridge is 35 meters higher than the sea level, so when stepping on the bridge, you will feel like you are walking in the middle of the sea, watching the white waves hitting the cliffs below your feet. To walk on this bridge, you have to cover your shoes with bags provided for you at the entrance. A couple things to note, remember to walk gently, speak softly and laugh gracefully to avoid affecting the glass surface of the bridge while crossing it.

How to go?

From Mipo Terminal at Haeundae Beach, board the ferry to Oryukdo. Ticket price for the ferry is KRW 19.500. The ferry ride takes about an hour so you can admire the beautiful scenery on the sea.

Or you can book Klook’s one day or half day tour to visit Oruykdo for more convenience at East Busan Exploration: Visiting Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, Oryukdo Island, Skywalk, Gijang Market and Cheongsapo.

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

This is a very beautiful Buddhist temple, or I must say the most beautiful one in Busan, located on a cliff facing the sea. The temple was built in 1376 with a very unique architecture. In addition to its bewitching beauty, Haedong Yonggungsa Temple is also famous for its sacred Hakeupbul statue for those who want to pray for their career and Deuknambul statue to pray for children. Especially, the most beautiful viewing spot from the temple is the resting step in the middle of the 108 stairs. You can watch the immense sea and listen to the murmuring waves at the same time, while filling your chest with fresh clean air.

The best time to visit and admire this place is in April. During the season of cherry blossom as well as the occasion of Buddha’s Birthday, the entire temple is shimmering with countless lanterns. The road to the temple has many bustling stalls selling interesting goods. If you have good eyes and luck, you can find some unique, cute and very affordable items here.

How to go?

From Haeundae Station Exit 7, take bus 181 to Yonggungsa Temple Bus Stop.

Bus fare is KRW 1,200/pass. Taxi is about KRW 10,000.

Remember to book T-money card from Klook to travel more easily, as well as use a 4G sim card or a wifi pocket device to find a more convenient and faster route.

Jukseong Dream Church

This is actually not a church but a film set for the famous movie “Dream” featuring handsome actor Kim Bum. This building is located right next to the beach where in the movie Kim Bum trains to become a boxer. Inside the building, there is also a place to display interesting stuff from the movie as well as a statue of Kim Bum, which fangirls are super excited to take photos with.

Even though you may not love or watch the movie, this is an ideal place offering artistic and beautiful backgrounds for your photos.

How to go?

Address: 134-7 Jukseong-ri, Gijang-eup, Gijang, Busan.

Go to Gijang Station [기장역] on Donghae Line then walk or take a taxi to arrive at the destination.

How to go to Oryukdo Island – Haedong Yonggungsa Temple – Jukseong Dream Church in one day in East Busan

If you go to these attractions by public transport, it will be quite time-consuming, not to mention missing bus or getting lost. The easiest and most convenient way is to take a tour through all these three attractions, including visiting some other famous places in Eastern Busan as well such as:

• Gijang Crab Market – a seafood wholesale market offering freshly caught seafoods directly transported from the sea. After a sightseeing trip, you can drop by to enjoy freshly cooked seafood dishes on the spot, especially, the king crabs here are referred to as the best must-try dish in the area.

• Lotte Department Store: hang out at this mall to bring back the most favorite items.
  Link to book Klook’s Day tour: East Busan Exploration.

The highlight of the Day tour is that you can choose to visit the destinations for a ful-day schedule as follows: Oryukdo Island – Haedong Yonggungsa Temple – Jukseong Dream Church – Gijang Traditional Market – Lotte Premium Outlet – Anati Bay – Cheongsapo Skywalk – Haeundae Beach.

Or you can choose to join the Half-Day tour (visit the main attractions and then separate into groups at Gijang Traditional Market, Lotte Premium Outlet or Haeundae Beach).

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, to and from Busan you can refer to

• Private Gimhae Airport Transfers (PUS) for Busan
• Exploring Busan Full Day Tour
• Busan East Coast Cultural Day Tour
• East Busan Exploration
• Gimhae Nakdong River Railbike, BIFF Square, Wine Cave, and Gamcheon Culture Village Day Tour
• BUTI Busan City Tour One Day Bus Pass
• Busan City Jumbo Tour Bus Pass
• [Klook Exclusive] Busan SEA LIFE Aquarium Skip-the-Line Admission Ticket with Souvenir Photo
• Busan Tower Ticket
• [Special Promo] Train to Busan Horror House Combo Admission Ticket
• 4G Prepaid SIM Card (SK Airports Pick Up) for South Korea
• [SALE] South Korea 4G Pocket WiFi (KR Airports Pick Up) from KT Olleh
• 4G WiFi (MY Airport Pick Up) for South Korea (Unlimited Data)
• 4G Portable WiFi for South Korea from Uroaming (Unlimited Data)
• [SALE] Instant Ticket: Korea Rail Pass (KR PASS) 2/3/4/5Days
• [Limited Offer] Incheon International Airport (ICN) Luggage Services (Between Airport and Hotel) by Safex

Are you looking for more Busan travel guide: Things to do, activities, attractions and other things? Let’s check it out our Busan blog — The fullest Busan travel guide & suggested Busan itinerary on how to spend 3 days in Busan, South Korea.