What it's known for
Busan is South Korea's second most populous city and the country's main port. It hosts the Busan International Film Festival every autumn, and it hosted the 2002 Asian Games and an APEC summit in 2005.
Busan
City in South KoreaAt the south-eastern tip of the Korean Peninsula, Busan has low mountains to the north and west and the Korea Strait to the south and east. The Nakdong River flows through its west side into the sea.
Fun facts
- The name Busan means 'Cauldron Mountain' in Sino-Korean.
- During the Korean War, Busan was one of only two South Korean cities never captured by the North Korean army, and for a time it served as the country's de facto capital.
- Gamcheon Culture Village, built on a steep mountainside with brightly painted houses, is nicknamed the 'Machu Picchu of Busan'.
Finding it on the globe
Tap the bottom-right corner of the Korean Peninsula, the point that faces Japan: the Japanese island of Tsushima is only about 50 km away.
Easy to mix up
Busan is not the capital; Seoul is, about 330 km to the north-west. Older maps spell the city 'Pusan', the official spelling until 2000.
Sources: Wikipedia: Busan, Wikipedia: Gamcheon Culture Village, Wikipedia: Seoul