Busan - First port of call

Haeundae Beach is a mecca for locals and tourists

Busan is the Seoul of southern South Korea.

It casts an enormous shadow over everything and everywhere else in the Gyeongsangnam-do province.

But in the run-up to the World Cup it was the city itself that was cast in a shadow.

An Air China Boeing 767 airliner, with 166 people on board, crashed among mountains near a residential complex on the outskirts of the city.

At least 120 people were reported to have died in a disaster that investigators put down to pilot error.

Area facts

Population: 3.9m

Province: Gyeongsangnam-do

Location:

Local team: Pusan Icons

Sights: Beomeosa

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Four million refugees flooded into Busan during the Korean War

The city has links to Japan dating back more than a century to when the Japanese opened the city's port in 1876.

That port is now South Korea's largest, and the fourth biggest in the world.

It handles 21.5% of the country's export volume and 89.6% of its total container volume.

The sprawling port also has a more localised essence as fishing trawlers come in with their catches.

Captains and buyers haggle over prices before the catch is transported to Busan's huge Jagalchi Fish Market on the harbour.

For live fish, Haeundae Beach, 12 kilometres north of the city, is the place to go.

Haeundae is the main beach resort on the outskirts of Busan, in an area renowned as the "Korean Riviera".

As a result, the sands are crowded by hundreds of tourists.

But there are also plenty of sites away from the marauding masses bronzing themselves on the beaches of Haeundae and elsewhere.

The newly opened Haeundae Aquarium is one such place and features fish and sharks from all around the world in a four-storey beach front complex.

On the other side of the city, bird life is given the same exhibition at the Eulsukdo Bird Sanctuary.

But you do not have to criss-cross the city to catch memorable sights.

Festival fun

Busan Sea Festival

Huge festival on Busan's beaches that includes parades and competitions

There are plenty of them in the city and, although it may not have the ambience of Seoul, the capital of the south has a cosmopolitan aura all of its own.

And if the city gets to much for you, the Dongnae Hot Springs, the largest hot springs bath house in Asia, will provide the perfect respite.

For an even greater escape from the hustle and bustle of town, Beomosa is a must.

It is one of the largest temples in Korea and dates from 678.

A visit is a must, particularly on Buddha's birthday, 19 May 2002, for the Feast of the Lanterns.