So pre-Covid, my family and I would return to Korea every year to visit my mother-in-law, first in Jangyu, and later in Haeundae, Busan.
Over the years, I’d gone from loving Korea, to developing what I felt was a more balanced view (like with all places, there are pros and cons), and still having a very positive view of the country. Looked forward to our visits every year.
I mean, in general the people were polite and friendly, it was safe (alone nighttime walks in winter were awesome) and clean, especially the restrooms.
But just two days in Incheon and I was already considering heading back home. That’s how irritated I was. And we’ve actually planned to stay here for the whole month!
Hill overlooking Haeundae Beach in Busan
I’ll talk about the weather and architecture a bit later, but the most drastic change is the attitudes of the people here.
I mean damn! In general, the negative aspects seems more pronounced here for some people, from minor things like not returning the traditional greeting, to even rude staff.
Now again, I’ve only been here for two days, and I have met kind and friendly people here. But by and large, the people here seem… colder.
I get that I’m still learning Korean, but in Busan and hell, other countries, when the locals see that you’re putting in an effort to speak their language, they perk up! Really seem to appreciate it.
Here, even the sales staff seem… annoyed? Like I’m wasting their precious time.
And bizarrely, it’s been only the women. The men have been by and large friendly and I don’t know what to make of it. It’s just strange and hopefully over time, as I interact more and better understand the culture of this city, maybe (eh, likely) my view will change.
The difference is jarring and maybe I’m still adjusting to it. The literal non-stop rain has not helped, that’s for sure.
I’m sceptical of this message
Anyhow, I’m picking up a car today so we’ll get to visit more places, meet more people. Onward with the journey!
In this post I’ll be talking about our experience when my 3 year-old fell sick and needed medical help urgently on a Sunday, with Monday right afterwards being a public holiday.
If you need to get your infant or toddler to a doctor immediately on a Sunday or public holiday, please scroll down to the bottom of this post for information on the hospitals with a department for little children.
With that being said, onward with the post!
It almost didn’t happen but we’re back in Busan for just three-and-a-half weeks this time before my mother-in-law moves to France.
While we’re excited to be here, after a poor flying experience with Air China (there’ll be a whole separate post for that!), something happened that made us realise just how risky it can be to travel with a toddler to Busan.
After just a few days, our three year-old daughter a.k.a. The Littlest Dictator contracted a urinary tract infection, that caused her a lot of pain whenever she had to pee. The poor girl would cry and scream every time.
An infection like that requires antibiotics so you really need to get to a doctor.
Problem was, it was a Saturday night, with Sunday being New Year’s Eve, meaning the next day would be a holiday as well. So just take her to a hospital. No problem, right? Turns out not all hospitals here have a paediatrician or even a children’s section in their A&E departments.
I went to the largest hospital near our place in Haeundae, the Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital and was told that the specialist would only be available on Tuesday and later Friday. With the pain The Littlest Dictator was in, this was unacceptable.
Fortunately after pressing a little bit for help, the counter clerk gave me two recommendations: Pusan National University Hospital (PNUH) and Dong A University Hospital. He said these were Grade 3 hospitals, meaning they’d have children’s specialists on call at all times.
I would learn later from speaking with various people that apparently, these were the only Grade 3 hospitals in all of Busan and that most people including Koreans did not know what Grade 3 hospitals even were.
Wouldn’t be a problem if you were near the Busan KTX station.
For us in Haeundae, it means more than an hour of traveling to the other side of the city, which is huge (compared to Singapore at least!)
Early next morning while the family had breakfast I’d decided to head over the Busan Tourist Information Center (I’ll try and get a picture later) to see if maybe they had suggestions. Turns out, not really. They tried calling another large hospital nearby, the Haeundae Bumin Hospital who actually asked us to check with the Inje University Hospital I’d gone to previously. So yep.
So I let my brother–in-law know where I was so he could pick me up. And miraculously on this particular morning, he seemed to have forgotten how to use the goddamn GPS and I instead had to walk back and forth in the freezing cold until he finally let me know that he and my wife were at the Burger King in the middle of a road that wasn’t even near any of the places we’d talked about. WELL DONE, MAN.
But he was driving us, and without him the cab ride would’ve cost a crazy amount so fine.
Of course naturally, he got lost and instead of going to Dong A University Hospital – which he had insisted was nearer even though everyone I met said that PNUH was closer to where we were – we ended up in a weird small mountain town at a building for Dongan Medical Centre or something. A small clinic that wasn’t even open. GODDAMMIT.
We eventually reached PNUH but not before the Littlest Dictator had to pee again and cried out in pain. This is what happens when you leave the navigation to people who are too goddamn proud to be wrong, you know what I mean?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m really glad he was around to help and even stuck around to bring us back home. But the delays were really unnecessary. 4/10.
Anyway, we finally reached PNUH and YES! They really did have a children’s department.
Of course the moment I arrived, they straight up asked me if I’d be OK if the bill reached or exceeded USD $1K (around 1,000,000 in Korean Won). Yea that was the first red flag, I guess.
Look at all those happy faces!
We were led to the children’s section:
Not long after that, I had to keep slapping away the hands of grabby doctors and nurses who were super eager to run tests, a few of which I realized later were not necessary. Those tests did manage to significantly bump up the bill though…
Radiation Therapy? It was just an x-ray. WHY DID WE NEED AN X-RAY IN THE FIRST PLACE??
Overall, our experience with the staff were alright. Most of them spoke English, sometimes broken but enough to communicate.
After a couple of hours over there they finally confirmed what we suspected about the UTI and prescribed antibiotics.
Seats outside the pharmacy
And how much did it cost? A whopping KRW 876M (around USD $876). HOLY SHIT. I mean sure we’ve got travel insurance that we could claim back against back in Singapore, but if we hadn’t had the money up-front, I shudder to think what would’ve happened.
Fortunately the Littlest Dictator is doing much better now, and the pain seems to have gone away though she still needs to finish the course of antibiotics.
As much as I loved visiting Busan, this was something I did not expect and man, you should seriously reconsider visiting if you’ve got a little one in tow.
I’ll try and add more pictures to this post much later.
In the meantime, here’s the information on PNUH and Dong A University Hospital:
While at either of these hospitals, if you need translation help, call or get them to call 1330.
It’s a 24-hr hotline specifically for tourists, maintained by the Korea Tourism Organization and they’ve got excellent English speakers who can help.
Location: 26 Daesingongwon-ro, Seo-gu, Busan-si, 602-812 Korea
Contact number: +82-51-240-2400~1
Update 12th Jan 18: Included information on two other children’s hospitals in Haeundae:
Haeundae Pureun Bada Children’s Hospital (this recently opened on the 5th of Jan 18)
Centum Children’s Hospital
Haeundae Pureun Bada Children’s Hospital
A couple of days after our costly experience with PNUH, I found a flyer stuck to the front door (this is still a pretty common advertising tactic in Busan) for Haeundae Pureun Bada Children’s Hospital, which apparently opened on the 5th of Jan 18.
Other that what’s in the flyer, I haven’t been able to find any other additional information on this hospital, including a website. Not sure if I’ll have the time to swing by, or even if they have an A&E section but it’s good to know that it’s around.
Unfortunately I can’t even find an English transliteration of the address. But if you call 1330, the helpline staff should be able to get in touch with them for you.
Centum Children’s Hospital
This is another hospital that I found via Google while looking for the Haeundae Pureun Bada hospital above. I’d probably come across this one before, but figured I’d include it in this post as well.
Not sure if they have any English speakers there, but again just remember to call 1330 and they should be able to help you out.
Contact details:
Tel: 051-743-1588
Address: 407 Haeun-daero, U-dong, Haeundae, Busan
Again, one important thing to note is that neither of these two might have an A&E or even open during Sunday and public holidays. So for emergencies, you might still have to head to one of the two Grade 3 hospitals mentioned above: PNUH and Dong A University Hospital.
Woke up a bit more late than usual, and still feeling groggy and considering a return to whatever dream I had… turned my head and saw… SNOW!!
Just ah, trust me. There’s snow there.
At first there were only a few snowflakes dancing across the window… and I was slightly annoyed, mistaking them for joss paper ash, which is not that uncommon in Singapore.
What’s even more amazing (to me only, apparently) is that it’s not even below minus.
And then it hit me. I literally ran to the hall, even forgetting to greet the mother-in-law.
Seeing it snow for the first time. Quite a sight to behold. Just incredible.
The wind is still blowing strongly and it’s like someone’s playing with the tap in the sky, with the snow getting turned on and off and on again.
I’m really glad I finally got to see snow here in Busan.
So the wife had to head over to the immigration office to extend her visa by one more month and man, while I love most of the Koreans I’ve met here, if you have to deal with them, try and bring along a local if you can. Not a pleasant experience and I’d probably have lodged an official complaint if I’d been there.
Aaaanyway. Here are some pics of Chinatown that my wife took!
Chinatown and the Russian districts are almost the same basically, and pretty close to Nampo. This is where you’ll find awesome (and Halal!) Russian and Eastern European dishes (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, etc.)
Be warned though, Texas Street is a notorious red-light area and is somewhere there. Generally safe overall but I’d avoid that street at night unless you enjoy the company of drunk, burly Russians (hey if it’s your thing, you’ll probably love it!)
It’s really close to the Busan KTX Station too so it’s not hard to get to.
Edit: This is like, my 3rd attempt to post it due to a weird problem with the app basically saying “Hey, hey, you want to post this? It’s interesting right? Yeah? NO. SCREW YOU, HUMAN! KISS MY DIGITAL RECTUM! SKYNET 4 LYFE!”
Baby’s down for her nap, and my laptop needs recharging (like, 20 mins into the series finale of Rectify) so there’s time for another post!
We went skiing! Or, as I should call it, ‘That Time My Ass Kissed the Icy Floor Over and Over Again.’
More detailed information on the resort and how to get there can be found at the bottom of this post.
I had no idea what was to come
We went to the Eden Valley Ski Resort in Yangsan. At night. For the first time. So yea, we got a little lost.
I don’t know man, this looks just a wee bit off than what I expected a ski resort to look like
We finally found the proper route and you can tell it is (you know, besides looking at the signs) by the increasing number of ski/snowboard gear shops the further you go.
We settled on getting equipment from here:
There was a guy in hockey mask and a bloodied machete who was pretty nice and spoke with high-pitched British accent
The place was fine, but just bear in mind that they are an independent shop.
Be very specific about what you need to rent and for how long, and remember that they do not have any say regarding the admission cost. My brother-in-law told me that the guy spoke as if he were connected to the resort. I’m hoping it was a communication issue. Yeah. Communication issue.
Anyway, I’d recommend renting directly at the resort. Easier to drop off the items and stuff.
We finally arrived:
Getting the tickets
One important thing to bear in mind, especially if you’ve never skiied before: There is no beginner -level slope. I mean, they have one, but you’ll get what I mean further down.
First, the view from the bottom:
The one on the left is supposedly the one for beginners. LIES, ALL LIES
For starters, we had to take a goddamn ski lift to get to the top of the beginner-level slope.
For beginners. That is, for you to begin crapping yourself
Aaaand here’s the view from the top of the slope:
Notice how it looks deceptively flat… that’s because there’s a super-steep decline that connects to the slope on the right
Thought I’d take one last picture of my being alive
Being the genius that I so clearly am, I’d decided to sit in the snow for a moment to rest. In non-waterproof pants. It’s amazing what a freezing ass and the threat of hypothermia can do to motivate you to speed down a death slope.
My last fall was when I’d decided to just go for it… and was speeding downwards when I realized I couldn’t stop. Because of the speed, I actually bounced off the damn ice. Oh yea, and I’d also neglected to wear safety gear. You know, all part of being a goddamn genius.
Luckily I got away only with slight cuts on the elbow which I legit thought was bleeding heavily at the time (shut up).
Would I do it again? With safety equipment, I’d say yes.
Would I recommend it to beginners?
HELL NO ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND??
Overall, an… enlightening experience.
Getting There:
We drove there at night (night skiing is from 9pm-1am), and the road conditions were pretty good.
Been feeling under the weather lately, but I wanted to do a quick post for the New Year’s Eve celebration.
For Russians, it’s one of the major celebrations that involves a MAJOR feast!
Check it out:
It actually looks much better. Again, I suck at photography
There’s only six of us, and we’ll be eating on and off until the clock strikes 12 (the feast began at 9.30pm).
It’s not exactly big here in Korea, but there’s a tradition observed by a lot of the locals here where they will gather at the beach for the first sunrise of the year. Missed it last year, but I hope to make it this year!
Returned to beautiful Jangyu for my mother-in-law’s haircut, just a stone’s throw away from her old apartment, where I stayed during my first visit to Busan about four years ago.
Excellent candidate for a Silent Hill-like event
After that, it was time for more shopping at Lotte Premium Outlets (Gimhae).
If you really focus, you’ll be able to hear your bank account cryingNow, today being Christmas Day and all, with more and more Koreans observing it… I was hopeful it wouldn’t be too crowded. Goddammit.This time at least, I captured photographic evidence of steep discounts!
Is… is my bank account crying even louder?
Oh yea and I captured this:
The fourteen year-old in me was giggling uncontrollably
Next on the list: Halal meat. My wife, her brother and mom had already eaten and I was starving. Plus I was saving space for Samsa, a delicious meat-filled Uzbek baked bun/pastry.
Not sure what the area is called, but here’s the street name:
I am NOT attempting to type that on this phone with Autocorrect waiting eagerly, and cracking its knuckles
The nearest LRT station would be either Royal Tomb of King Suro (no, seriously) or Buwon. We drove there and man, it reminded me a little of some really narrow streets in Bangkok where cars mingled with pedestrians.
Here’s the cool thing about the place. It’s a true melting pot. You’ve got everyone from Indonesians to Vietnamese to Thais to Uzbeks and more.
Much more festive, it’s just that my photography skills are still almost non-existent.
We parked near the mosque:
Something weird about this. Can’t quite put my finger on it…
Before heading to the restaurant to get our meat (they also sell frozen meat), we checked out the nearby wet market which reminded me a lot of the old markets in Singapore:
Bank account seemed glad to see this place for some reason.
According to my brother-in-law, the prices here were significantly cheaper than in Busan.
Finally we arrived at the restaurant:
Hand over the Samsas and nobody gets hurt.
I’d show you a picture of the Samsa, but I’ve pretty much eaten all of them. They’re that good. And a hot Samsa in winter? Oh yeah.
At this very moment, I’m typing this on a phone, on a big comfy couch in the hall, with my reflection and its full tummy in the glass window staring at me. I regret nothing.
Not only is it Christmas Eve, but it’s also my brother-in-law’s birthday! So naturally… we all headed out before he woke up to do some shopping 😂
A short cab ride later and we arrive at Lotte Premium Outlets Busan.
Christmas is getting ever bigger in Korea, but it’s still not as big of a deal here as the Lunar New Year.
The place wasn’t too packed and there were a few good discounts according to my wife and her mom, who happen to be experts in matters like this. View from inside a cafe that blasted music like it was trying to become a club
Pro tip: There’s more discounts on the weekend. And especially on Christmas Eve.
While the ladies went shopping, I entered the very mouth of madness:
Abandon hope all ye who enter
This would be a good place to bury daddy
I don’t know what is it about me and kids, but there’s always one or two kids that seem to go’OMG A FRIENDLY GROWN-UP!’ but since there were more kids than usual… I had to basically reject quite a few.
For the last time… I AM NOT YOUR DADDY.
Shopping done and baby exhausted, we headed back and while I was at the gym, they prepared the birthday feast:
Because my wife’s family is Korean-Russian, the entire spread was a kind of hybrid of two distinct cuisines.
One Weird Dude's Busan Blog 