Some walks are about nature, and some are about a city showing off its layers — Course 8 is firmly the second kind. Starting right at Busan Station, this route packs in Chinatown, a historic mountaintop park, the country’s largest fish market, a working shipyard village, and a cliffside art town all in one go. My friend Doyoon and I picked a misty, low-cloud morning for it, which turned out to suit the urban scenery better than we expected.
Busan Station wrapped in fog at the start of the walk.
Route waypoints
Through Chinatown and up to Yongdusan Park
From the station plaza, the trail runs through Busan’s small Chinatown district before climbing a long staircase up to Yongdusan Park, home to the Busan Tower and a genuinely commanding view over the port and old downtown. The fog was thick enough that morning to blur most of the skyline into soft grey shapes, buildings fading into the low cloud in a way that made the whole city feel oddly quiet for a Saturday.
Downtown Busan disappearing into the fog, seen from near Yongdusan Park.
Jagalchi Market and Yeongdo Bridge
The descent from Yongdusan Park drops you almost directly into Jagalchi Market, Korea’s largest seafood market and one of Busan’s defining landmarks — even through the mist, the market was in full swing, vendors calling out prices over tanks of live fish. We crossed Yeongdo Bridge from here, Busan’s oldest drawbridge, still raised on a set daily schedule as a tourist spectacle even though its practical shipping purpose faded decades ago.
Kkangkkangi Art Village
On the Yeongdo side, the trail runs through Daepyeong-dong, home to Kkangkkangi Art Village — named for the “kkang-kkang” sound of hammers once used to chip rust off ship hulls in this historic shipyard district. Old industrial buildings here have been turned into murals, small museums, and public art installations documenting the neighborhood’s working-class shipbuilding history, a genuinely interesting contrast to the polished tourist stops earlier in the walk.
Huineoul Village to Jungni Port
The trail’s final stretch climbs into Huineoul Culture Village, a cliffside neighborhood of narrow lanes and brightly painted houses overlooking the sea — one of Busan’s most photographed residential areas, and deservedly so, even under grey skies. From the village’s viewpoints you get a clean sightline down the coast toward Songdo, before the trail descends to finish at Jungni Port.
Trail info at a glance
- Distance: approx. 10.6 km
- Walking time: 3.5 hours
- Difficulty: Easy to moderate — one significant climb up to Yongdusan Park, otherwise mostly flat urban walking
- Start: Busan Station
- Finish: Jungni Port, Yeongdo
- Highlights: Yongdusan Park views, Jagalchi Market, Kkangkkangi Art Village, Huineoul Culture Village
Map of the route
The route at a glance
A few practical notes
This is one of the most photogenic Gamnaetgil sections regardless of weather, and honestly the fog gave our photos a mood that a clear day probably wouldn’t have. Jagalchi Market is a good lunch stop if you want fresh seafood mid-walk. Huineoul Culture Village gets crowded with photographers on weekends, so an early morning or weekday visit is quieter if that matters to you.
For getting to Busan Station and around Yeongdo by public transport, see our guide to getting around Busan.
Walked on a heavily overcast morning in late June, with thick fog over the port for most of the walk.
More walks nearby
Other walks in Busan Station, Yeongdo and Songdo on this site: