Haeundae Beach

Haeundae is Busan's main beach, a wide arc of pale sand about a kilometre and a half long with a wall of hotel and apartment towers behind it, and it stands for the Korean summer in a way few other places do. Through July and August the sand disappears under ranks of rented parasols and the water fills with people; for the rest of the year it is a pleasant, breezy promenade where locals walk in the evening and the cafes stay open late. At the eastern end a wooded headland, Dongbaekseom, carries a coastal walkway around the rocks, and a small train runs on the old railway line along the coast towards Songjeong.

What you actually see

• The beach arc - the long curve of sand under the wall of towers.
• Dongbaekseom - the wooded headland and its coastal walkway at the eastern end.
• The beach train - the small train on the old railway line along the coast.
• The evening promenade - the seafront after dark, lit and busy year-round.

When to go

Late spring and early autumn give warm days without the July and August crush; the official swimming season is short and the beach is at its most extreme through it. Evenings are the best time in any season. Typhoons hit this coast between July and September and occasionally close the seafront entirely.

Honest expectations

In peak summer it is genuinely overwhelming, with the sand rented out under parasols to the waterline and prices in the surrounding streets rising to match. The towers behind block the afternoon sun on parts of the beach and the water quality can drop after heavy rain. Anyone hoping for an empty stretch of coast should take the train a few stops further out.

Nearby

Gwangalli beach and its bridge are a short ride west, and Busan's fish market district is across the city.