Hello all or more appropriately, Anhya hasayo! I spent time in Korea as a GI and a civilian in the eighties and nineties. Had some of the most memorable moments of my life there. I did two years at Kunsan and four years at Osan. Now that I am semi-retired I am thinking about heading back over the pond. I'm thinking about heading south to the Pusan area this time around since I spent no time there in the past. Anyone on the forum acquainted with Pusan?

i keep learning it but i always forget it... i think my brain is full or something... i can't remember anything like that anymore.

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Welcome Turk!

It is good to have people with past experience on this board. I have never been to Pusan, but it is now accessible by the "bullet train" from Seoul.

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I know Chuck has been down to pusan but just on TDY (i think O.o) so you could ask him if you want a little info.

also on a little not you might be intersted in. they changed some of the romization of words when they updated the standard. its now Busan. so you can call it the busan berimeter now lol

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B's and P's and R's and L's. Guess it depends where your lips are while talking. One time I was watching AFKN with the old yobo and they flashed one of those messages across the bottom of the screen " Big Crowds expected at Yongsan, avoid the area" Upon reading it my yobo commented "It say crowdy tomorrow, maybe rain at Yongsan?" I explained her reading brain versus her R and L translation to her and when her eyes opened wide and she realized her mistake we both laughed out loud for five minutes. Heck I still can't read Hangul, so who has the lazy brain now?

Busan has quite a few areas of interest.
-Seomyon is the general area in which Camp Hialeah is located...but that Camp is supposed to be closing later in the summer. Not much to see on the Camp unless you drove from Seoul in which case the gas station is a welcome sight and will be sorely missed after the place closes down. Seomyon has quite a few restaurnants, pubs and shops and is located at the junction/transfer point of Busan's 2 main subway lines.
-Nampodong is a popular area with several theaters which usually have first-run movies and hosts part of the Busan Film Festival, as well as lots of restaurants, pubs, a large book store and right across the street is the Kalchi Fish market which has an annual Kalchi festival. Not far away, up the hilltop is Yongdusan Tower aka Busan Tower which has great views of the city on clear days.
-Haeundae is the best known beach front area in Busan. It has some of the best hotels in Busan including the Marriott and Westin in addition to many night spots, a casino, nice beach (very crowded in the summer), a large aquarium, sightseeing boat rides etc.
-Kwangalli is an up and coming beach area which has been heavily developed in the past 10 years or so. It is not quite as crowded as Haeundae in the summer but the beach is almost as nice. Plenty of restaurants and some low-midrange priced motels.
-UN Cemetery is not far from Kwangalli and is worth a short visit if the weather is nice.
-Yongdo is home to Taejongdae which is another famous Busan landmark. Great scenery and some nice restaurants on that side of the island (which is connected to the rest of Busan by a couple of bridges).
First Class train ticket to Busan on the KTX will run you about $65 one way from Seoul and it will get you there in under 3 hours.

As long as you are down that way you should also check out Kyongju if you haven't already. You won't be sorry.

Good info, thanks Bull. Too bad Camp Hialeah is closing. Whats the price of gas on the Korean economy these days?

Gas prices on the economy are currently over $6 a gallon.