Best Date Night Ever

How turning right led to a memory we'll never forget

One Saturday night in Busan, we headed out for dinner and a loose plan of wandering around until we could catch the weekly beach Drone Show. The night ended up exceeding our wildest imagination, and I’m excited to take you along for the cultural ride.

We started with dinner at nearby Millac the Market—a “cultural space” with shops, cafes, seating, and performance area. It was just a few short steps from where we were staying, and we ended up visiting frequently during our time in Busan.

This night, we opted for Tendong: a Japanese cuisine here with a Korean twist, featuring a combination of donburi and tempura. It was so, so, SO delicious (we went back and had it again once more during our two weeks in Busan!)

Tempura eel, prawn, and assorted vegetables over rice & egg.

After thoroughly enjoying our meal, we sat on the brick steps and watched two live musicians while sipping on some local beers. Unsurprisingly, they were singing and talking exclusively in Korean, but as is often true, music transcends language, and we thoroughly enjoyed the performances even with no idea what was being said or sung, With happy bellies, we enjoyed the view out to the water and people-watching in this lively space.

After sitting for awhile, we still had a few hours to kill before the drone show but didn’t want to go home. Instead, Beau asked if I wanted to walk right (toward Gwangalli beach) or left (along the path toward Haeundae beach). I chose right.

We walked a short distance, and turned the corner, to discover that an enormous festival had overtaken the entire length of the beach. We’d happened upon the Gwangalli Eobang Festival, Korea’s only traditional fishing village festival, that takes place for 3 days each spring. I can only equate this experience to wandering unknowingly into the National Mall in Washington DC on the 4th of July: such was the spirit of fun, celebration, and heritage that infused the next few hours as we wandered the beach with big eyes and huge smiles.

Here’s the official description of the festival:

Korea’s only traditional fishing village festival, [Gwangalli Eobang Festival] is Busan’s representative spring festival and named after Eobang, a fishing organization for the naval forces and fishermen during the Joseon Dynasty, and it offers a variety of programs to local residents and tourists based on history and tradition.

During the Gwangalli Eobang Festival, a stage is installed in the middle of Gwangalli Beach against the backdrop of beautiful Gwangandaegyo Bridge, and the musical “Eobang” is presented to move and entertain visitors by portraying fishermen’s lives, training conducted by the naval forces and battles against Japanese invaders on the theme, “The Birth of Eobang.” The musical performance is followed by large-scale dragnet-dragging participated in by audiences, Jindu Eohwa and exciting Daedong Nori. It also features such diverse events as enables participants to experience the sea and a sandy beach including Eobang Folk Village reenacting Fishing Folk Village reminding many of Folk Village, Catching Fish with Bare Hands and Sushi Contest.

Top: one of the performances in traditional attire; Bottom: lanterns and statues along the beach at dusk

When we got to the main stage, we stood and watched a range of performances, from the traditional (or traditionally-inspired) to the modern. I’m embedding some videos here so you can get a taste of the experience:

After watching many performances, we made our way back toward the part of the beach where we’d watch the drone show, and settled in for the final display of the night:

What a treat to get to experience this event during our time in Busan!

While we often have a short list of must-do experiences or sites to see when we arrive in a new place, we’ve found that what we’re enjoying most about traveling and living around the world is the unexpected surprises and accidental discoveries we never would have anticipated. It’s a great reminder that tourism and experience aren’t only about checking off a list, but about allowing yourself to wander without pressure or expectation.