Korean Job Discussion Forums

[alice0216]

Headed to Busan for a few days over vacation. Was wondering where the more laid back (read:older) expat crowd hangs out. Cool bar scene to meet people (read: actually talk and not just looking to get laid)
Thanks!

[vsiddy]

HQ bar in Kyung Sung Dae is a good mix of 'old' and young. They have a trivia night on Thursdays.

[Benicio]

Busan info: http://www.busanhaps.com

In Kyungsungdae:
HQ bar, Ol'55, or Eva's

In PNU:
Red Bottle or Crossroads

In Seomyeon:
Rock & Roll

In Gaya:
O'Brien's

In Haeundae:
Sharky's

[djsmnc]

Busan? That whole place is laid back! It's like if you took the bumpkin population of Seoul and created a new city next to the the beach. Freakin boring!

[Benicio]

[Horangi Munshin]

djsmc I can see your colon in your avatar, your previous post makes it apparent why!

[sublunari]

If you're interested in a nice cafe--a genuinely nice cafe, the only nice cafe in the entire country--you should check out Oki's Books in Bosu-dong, which you can find if you get out at Nampo-dong Station or Jagalchi and walk through the entirety of the Gukje Market in the opposite direction of the ocean. It takes about fifteen minutes. Keep your eyes open for the tall gentleman with the long orange ponytail, and consider getting lunch from the ajummas who have some nice cheap gimbap for sale in one of the alleys. There is also a rather mediocre Indian restaurant (piles of wet rice slathered in curry) where the Korean waitresses dress up like Hindus.

Once you exit the market and come to a regular street, ask around for Book Street or just keep moving to the left and keep your eyes open for piles of books and magazines--the street itself is kind of like Diagon Alley, in that branches away from the sidewalk in a diagonal and is not actually a street but more like an alleyway. Oki's Book Cafe faces the street on the main road and is generally eay to find thanks to its remarkable classiness; Oki herself speaks decent English, couldn't be nicer, and has traveled all over the world. There aren't ever any expats in that place, thank god, but you'll be glad you made the trip.

[JBomb]

In Seomyeon behind the Lotte I like chilling at Old Record. Great vinyl bar run by an old Korean hippie. Has a large stack of vinyl and they are really good at taking requests. They also make the Jack and Cokes nice and stiff. Another good place for a wander is the bird sanctuary in the Nakdong Estuary. It is a nice quiet refuge.

[alice0216]

thanks guys! Great recs & I'll check them out.

[djsmnc]

[Merik Ronim]

Fuzzy Navel in Hauendae. It's loud, overpriced, and full of popped-collar mooks but they do have pretty good tacos.

[busanhaps]

As posted here earlier there are a lot of places on the Busan Haps site... A seldom checked out chill place in Kyungsung is Cafe Radio.

In Haeundae if you are looking for some awesome western food, Sharky's in the Pale de CZ building 2nd floor next to Paradise Hotel has amazing avocado bacon cheeseburger. Get it with the side of garlic mash potatoes.