autumn weekend in busan

since beach season is officially over, this weekend presented itself with the opportunity to explore more around the city.

this included a visit to one of the top destinations on my busan list: bosu-dong used book alley. while i bit my tongue and purchased an ipad last month, having felt the deprivation of no longer having access to any title i wanted (working at a bookstore spoiled me), i still constantly crave the presence of spines and pages and orderly rows of my favorite things.

it seemed perfect that there was a culture festival taking place there this weekend, although it had little impact on the experience.

it’s amazing that, technologically-dominated as south korea is, it makes room for a place like this. i am constantly astounded by the contradictions in this country - people are incredibly rude on the metro yet you’ll never see anyone breaking a law, spitting on the street or indoors is perfectly acceptable but not wearing a surgical mask when one is sick is inconsiderate - and the rarity and wonderfulness of the bookstore alley existing despite most of the population having only eyes for oversized samsung phones does not escape me.

sunday lent itself to one of my other favorite things - flea markets. there was a massive one that took place at busan citizen’s park today.

it wound up being more of a giant garage sale, which was fantastic. the park itself is beautiful too. it’s so rare to see parks and nature in the actual city. the mountains are ever-present in the background, circling it, but it’s a rare occurrence to see a congregation of trees and openness amongst city buildings.

it was an apt ending for a relaxing and culture-filled weekend. no hashtags needed.