Course 3-1 and 3-2 are city courses. Think sidewalks and city stairs and steep, ridged concrete. Since Busan was mostly spared from the physical destruction of the Korean war, the way is windy and narrow and veers as people did more than 100 years ago. We came across a hill with a special name and a placard to explain that it was “Going to market Hill” 장고개 as in this was the hill that people climbed to go to Busanjin Market 부산진시장 back in the day. We also got to see the famous ’40 steps’ 40계단 where Korean war refugees searched for loved ones near Nampo Station 남포역. So far, this course has been the most historically interesting. A lot of the shops we passed were decades old with that particular font and most of the people in the neighborhoods were also along in years. It was a stark contrast from Course 2 which highlights the newer and richer area of Busan.

Course 3-1 starts at the end of Course 2, Oryukdo Skywalk 오륙도 스카이워크, and then ends around the Busanjin Market 부산진시장. It was well-marked with small signposts and the occasional ribbon until the UN Memorial Cemetery UN 기념공원. I got lost in the cemetery and just kept walking west until I got to the Busan Museum 부산박물관, which was not open at 8 am when I got there starving. Fortunately, this was where I met up with Sara, my Spanish friend from my time in Jeonju, and she offered me a banana. Combined with a convenience store sandwich, we pressed on in the rain using her phone map for the tricky spots where we couldn’t find the way. I wish it was better-marked and also more accurately!

On course 3-2, it’s so much up and down on the city stairs which are steep enough to reach out and touch with your hands. It would be a wild sled ride down in the winter and I bet the residents are very cautious on the four days of the year when it gets icy in Busan.

The issues with marking continued and I’ll probably contact the powers-that-be at some point to offer my ribbon-hanging services. For example, we were following the spray-painted seagulls on the pavement and we ended up down several flights of stairs before we couldn’t find anymore. The arrow was just wrong and we had to just go back up and use the phone map to figure it out. Also, the stamp stands 도보 인증대 are pretty hard to find in a few locations and I just gave up looking. Half of me wants to just enjoy the walk and observe all the little things that I’d miss on a bus or in a car and the other half wants to stick to the ‘route’ and ‘complete’ the trail.

Sara and I got to Nampo Station and called it a day even though we hadn’t gotten to the end of Course 3-2 at Namhang Bridge 남항대교. In terms of restaurants, cafes, and bookstores, Nampo is the best. The end of Course 3-2 is relatively in the middle of nowhere – not even a CU in sight.

Course 3-1 and 3-2 ended up being just over 23 kilometers and about 5 hours of walking. I would recommend it only to people interested in Busan history and people wanting to see the slower-paced city life that lives and breathes in these neighborhoods.