Nampo Dong!

p/s: with reference to the batch 8 pictures

June 2, Saturday – I went to Nampo Dong with Eileen, Ryan, Yushu and Jong Ing(Ryan’s labmate), Dong Gyung(Jong Ing’s club friend) and Das(Jong Ing’s club friend). We departed at around 1.45pm. We went there by bus no. 61.

Nampo Dong is the second biggest city in Busan. There is an area where many cinemas are located there. It was also known as the cinema street. We bought the tickets on “Batman Begins” at PIFF Square for 4,000 won(around RM16) each as we had discount cards. The normal price for a ticket is 6,500 won. There are many street vendors there, selling all sorts of things, from food to hand bags and fashion accessories. Some of the vendors are offering attractive prices in order to draw customers.

Since the show was scheduled at 4.20pm and there was some time left, Jong Ing brought us for a walk at Mount Yongdun Park(Dragon’s head Park). Mount Yongdun Park is located in Nampo Dong as well. We can see the port from the top. There were a big bell, a statue of a famous hero of Korea who defeated the Japan’s invasion long time ago and a memorial stone to remember the people who had been sacrificed during the revolution. We also visited Yongdun Gallery. They were having an exhibition on Korean Lacquer.

Around 4pm, we headed back to the cinema. The place to buy ticket is located separately from the movie screen and place selling pop corn. We need to take the escalator up several floors in order to reach there. The movie screens are not on the same floor as the entrance and the place selling pop corn as well. They were located at different levels. We need to take the staircase up.

When we reached the cinema, we noticed that the cinema was hot instead of cold. There are fans there as well. But, it was not switch on. The movie screen is smaller as well. Suddenly, I feel that we were somehow going to a degraded cinema for a higher price. Before the movie was screened, we enjoyed ourselves watching the advertisements on banana milk instead of trailers. The advertisements are some what amusing. It is very cute when at the end of the advertisement, a male and a female was holding the milk and singing some songs. The concept of advertisements here is really different and creative. I do not like the pop corn here. It's salty instead of sweet.

The movie was dubbed English and subbed in Korean on the right, like the way the old Chinese books are written in. The show was quite boring in the beginning, with a lot of discussions on philosophy. Some of the scenes reminded me of “Star Wars” and “The Last Samurai”. But, it was interesting and funny later on.

After the movie, we had a walk around the area. Jong Ing showed us around some places where we can buy things. It is really like Petaling Street but the street is much narrow. We tried a hawker food called Hoptop. It was a bit like “ham chin bian”. It was salty outside but with some fillings inside, making it sweet. The little shops on both sides of the street are selling a variety of things. Normally shops selling the same items are located together. There are even shops selling only hats. There are a variety of design and color of hats there.

We had our dinner at a restaurant recommended by Jong Ing. There were many people there. It was kind of unique as there was a wok in the middle of the table. The food will be cooked by the waiter or waitress there. We ordered 5 plates of rice and noodles with chicken and vegetables.

Then, we walked over to Jagalchi Fish Market. It is located next to the Busan Harbor. It was one of the main attractions of Busan. Actually it has two main sections: one for fresh seafood, another for dried seafood. As we went there quite late, at around 9pm, most of the stalls were already closed. I felt like as if going to a wet market in Malaysia. But, the fish there are very fresh. I heard that the price there is reasonable as well. At around 9+pm, we took the same bus back to Naengjeong. On the way, we met my 2 uppa(male seniors, the term “uppa” is only used by female juniors). It was my first time to see my labmates outside of the campus.