Gamcheon Culture Village, Jagalchi Fish Market and Nampo-dong

In the southwestern harbour districts along Metro Line 1 (Jagalchi, Nampo and Toseong stations), you encounter the characterful maritime Busan that grew up around the port and wartime hillside settlements. Because Gamcheon, Jagalchi, BIFF Square, Gukje Market and Yeongdo Island all sit within ten minutes of each other by bus or foot, they fit naturally into a single day.

Gamcheon Culture Village: hillside history and how to visit

Cradled in a steep horseshoe amphitheatre on the slopes of Cheonmasan mountain, Gamcheon Culture Village was built in the 1950s by Korean War refugees and followers of the Taegeukdo movement, who constructed terraced homes arranged so that no house blocked the sunlight or sea view of the neighbour behind it. In 2009, local artists and residents revitalised the neighbourhood with pastel facade colours, alleyway sculptures and small galleries:

• How to get there without climbing: take Metro Line 1 to Toseong Station (Exit 6), walk to the bus stop outside Pusan National University Hospital and ride green neighbourhood maeul bus Saha 1-1, Seogu 2 or Seogu 2-2 up the hill to the top gate at Gamcheon Elementary School so your walk is gently downhill.
• What to see on the route: buy the illustrated stamp map at the entrance booth to follow the ridge trail past the mosaic Fish Swimming Through the Alley, the statues of The Little Prince and the Desert Fox overlooking Busan Harbour, and staircase viewpoints. Speak quietly in residential lanes, as families live inside these homes.

Jagalchi Fish Market, BIFF Square and Gukje Market in Nampo-dong

Ride the minibus back down to Jagalchi Station and step out at Jagalchi Market, South Korea's largest seafood market, run for generations by women vendors known as Jagalchi Ajumma. Walk through the quayside stalls and the ground floor of the modern seagull-shaped market building, where tanks hold live flounder, octopus, abalone and snow crabs. Buy seafood on the ground floor and carry it up to the second-floor dining hall (chogaetjip) to have it prepared with side dishes (banchan), and visit the free 7th-floor rooftop observatory.

Across the road stretches BIFF Square, where street carts fry Busan's iconic ssiat hotteok (crispy griddle pancakes stuffed with brown sugar and roasted seeds; see our Busan food overview). Continue north through the covered alleys of Gukje Market, Bupyeong Kkangtong Market and Yongdusan Park.

Crossing Yeongdodaegyo Bridge to Huinnyeoul Culture Village

At the eastern edge of Nampo-dong, cross Yeongdodaegyo Bridge onto Yeongdo Island to stroll the cliff-edge footpath of Huinnyeoul Culture Village, where white-and-blue coastal cafes look out at anchored cargo ships. Fit West Busan into our three-day itinerary.