SeoulSurfin'

Nikita Nemirovsky

March 28, 2026

My alarm went off at 6 am. Such an early rise!!! Why? The Worldstrides group is off to Busan. I was very excited because that is where my two BTS biases were born: Jungkook and Jimin. I had to wake up extra early because I decided to procrastinate my packing. We were only gone for the weekend, so I didn’t need to pack a lot of things. We had to meet up at 7:20 at Seoul Station to get the KTX. I didn’t have enough time to eat anything, so I planned on getting something at the station. I went with Cassidy to the subway, where we had to transfer twice to get to Seoul Station. We were cutting it close, so when we saw everyone still there, we were very happy.

We had a little bit of time before the train came, so I went to get food. The train came at 8:12 and was for 3 1/2 hours. It was a nice ride because it was quiet and smooth. Since I got very little sleep last night, I passed out as soon as I got on the KTX. This was the best sleep ever! We finally arrived at Busan Station around 11:45. Once we arrived, we could have our own free time for lunch. A group of us decided to go to a fast food place. I don’t really remember what I got, but it was okay.

Throughout the adventure, we had a rented bus that was only for us to use. At 15:00, we took the bus to Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, which was beautiful because it was right on the coast. To get to the temple, you have to go down 108 stairs and then go up the same stairs. Each step symbolizes the journey to overcome human temptations and reach spiritual enlightenment.

When we got back to the bus, we rode 30ish min to Dongbaek Island. It used to be an island, hence the name, but over the years, the water diminished, and now it is connected to the mainland. Here you can walk around a lighthouse and walk on wooden bridges that circle around the island.

At the end of the path is Haeundae Beach, which is a very popular tourist spot to relax after a long walk. We had more free time here until 19:00, so I walked along the water to feel the nice breeze. I saw some kids playing baseball, gymnastics, and tag. I loved the environment on and around the beach. It was finally time to have dinner, then go to the hotel to check in. The dinner place was hotel-style, but had hotpot tables. It was so good that I stuffed myself so much with the meat.

When we all finished, we took the bus to the hotel, which was the 코모도호텔부산. It was a fancy hotel with two beds in each room. I ended up getting switched with another person, which was okay. Ayleen missed her alarms, so she ended up coming late. She arrived around 19:40 at the hotel, but we weren’t there yet, so she waited for us. We got there not too much later, so we then checked into our rooms. Ayleen was hungry, so we met up to go out for food. We ended up going to Lotteria, where she got a meal, and I got dessert and a drink. It was very yummy. We finished and headed back to the hotel for the night.

3/29

First on the agenda for today was breakfast. Bright and early at 6 am! We had to pack our stuff and bring it downstairs since, after breakfast, we couldn’t go back to our rooms. We had until 8:30 to eat breakfast, so I went down at 7:30. They had a big selection, but I stuck to the American-style breakfast of waffles, eggs, and toast. I finished very close to the time and had to go straight to the lobby to meet everyone. We had many things to do between the hours of 9 am and 14:40, so we needed to get on the bus quickly.

The first thing we went to was Gamcheon Cultural Village. It was built by refugees during the Korean War and has been transformed into a colorful village. The village was very hilly, but had railings if needed. While there, we had a mission to complete, which was to get to each stamp location and stamp it in our book. You could go alone or with others. I joined another group, with whom I walked around with. We completed the mission right before we had to leave. While walking around, we saw a ton of murals and shops of BTS members Jimin and Jungkook. There was a whole section dedicated to the film The Little Prince, which I have not seen but will probably watch as it is very popular here.

After Gamcheon Village, we took the bus to take the Busan Air Cruise. Here, you can take a small glass cart for 6 people across the water. I have a fear of being over the water, so I closed my eyes the whole way ㅋㅋ. The cart went to an island that we had time to explore. We crossed a long bridge that was shaky but sturdy. In order to get back, we had to take the cart across the water again.

For the last couple of hours, we had free time at Jagalchi Market/BIFF Square, which wasn’t far from the island. The market was crazy because there were tons of live seafood like octopus and fish that were there for people to pick and eat. I did not like it. The Square was pretty identical to Myeongdong, but no high-rises. I got sotteok, hotteok, odeng, and pomegranate drink from vendors for lunch. At 14:40, we had to meet up in order to take the bus back to the train station. Our KTX train from Busan to Seoul was at 15:20, and we would arrive around 18:30. We had to take the local subway from the KTX station back to the dorms. We stopped at No More Pizza for dinner before heading to the dorms for the night.

3/30

I woke up around 12 pm and went to Ginza Ryoko for lunch. I had the regular katsu plate, which was very filling. After I walked to Wangshinni Plaza to pay sim card. While I was there, I ended up buying toothbrush heads and a giant LEGO set of Gyeongbokgung Palace. Around 16:30, I went to Compose Coffee for a drink on the way back to the dorm.

I got back to the dorm, then started looking for massage places nearby since I have had crazy back pain and neck pain. I literally wasn’t able to turn my head fully to the left. I found a place in Gangnam and booked for three people at 21:15 since two of my friends were joining. After I book it, I immediately start building the LEGO set. At 20:30, the three of us go to the train station to get to Gangnam.  We had the massage for 60 min each, but at the same time. When we finished, we went to Twosome for food and drinks. Since it was very late, we took the train back to the dorms and went to bed.

3/31

I had class today, so I had to wake up early at 9:15 am. I left for my 10:30 class at 9:45 since I tend to walk slowly in the morning. My Understanding Education class was from 10:30 to 12:00, and I had an hour break before my next class at 13:00. I usually eat lunch during that time, but I decided to eat after the second class. My second class was Introduction to English Education, which ended at 14:30 and was in the same building as my first class. Once that class is done, I went to the campus plaza for lunch. I ate my food, then went to the campus library. There is a section in the first-floor lounge dedicated to sleeping, so I went there since I was exhausted. I think I made a noise, but not sure since I had a really good nap. At 18:10, I had Korean class for about two hours. It was hard staying awake during class, though.

Once class was done, I walked around the backstreets near the station, but ended up joining 4 friends from Korean class at Burger Show. Their burgers are very good, but not super filling. I am not a fan of their fries because of the seasoning. After I was done, I met Ayleen at Dunkin for dessert. The donuts weren’t my favorite cause they were not sweet like the American ones.

Then, we went to Electromart to get a flash drive for our computer’s storage. We took a bike to the dorm because I remembered I had a meeting in 30 min for class registration back in the US. The registration meeting was at 23:00, but we didn’t even end up meeting because she didn’t get email confirmation. We pushed it to midnight. After the meeting around 1:00, I immediately went to bed. The problem was that my eyes and mind were tired, but my body was not. I stayed up until close to 3 am and then finally went to bed.