Yongdusan Park and Busan Tower

Steps to Yongdusan Park and Busan Tower

yongdusan park and busan tower

Yongdusan Park and Busan Tower is a famous public park located in the middle of the bustling Busan City.

Yongdusan Park is an amiable space with sitting and relaxing areas. It is also bedecked with facilities and interesting things. (see more below).

Busan Tower, on the other hand, is a symbol of Busan with an imposing 120-meter height which stands 69 meters above sea level.

The top of Busan Tower models after the baldaquin (a ceremonial canopy) of Bulguksa Temple’s Dabotap Pagoda, which can be found in Gyeongju--a UNESCO Heritage.

Sunset, evening, and night time are the best times to go up if you want to enjoy and be amazed by the lights around the city.

Yongdusan Park Artificial Waterfall

In a nutshell, here are the contents of this article…

Yongdusan Park’s exciting things to see
Origins of the park
Busan Tower
Who can explore this attraction?
How to get there
Nearby Attractions
Busan Travel Destinations
Highly-rated Places to Stay in Busan

Now, let me proceed with some details regarding this fantastic site of South Korea’s second most prominent and famous city (after Seoul).

Yongdusan Park’s Things to See
Korean Buddhism Bell Pavilion
Statue of General Yi Sun-sin
Bronze Dragon Figure
Museum of World Folk Instruments
Flower Clock Garden
Romantic Padlocks
Artificial Waterfall and Garden
Flowers and Cherry Blossom Trees (especially during Spring)

Bell Pavilion in the midst of Yongdusan Park and Busan Tower (Photo: Abbie)

Above all, the most important thing you should enjoy is the vistas of Busan City. You will have broad and amazing vistas of the surrounding areas including the mountains and the blue sea of Busan.

During evening time, if visiting at the right season and time, you will see the light shows on Busan’s bridges. Busandaegyo and other bridges are always lighted, but more fantastic during the light shows.

Origins - What’s in a name?

Yongdusan Park

Yongdusan Park in Busan City

Yongdusan came from Hanja (Chinese characters) which literally means ‘head of a dragon mountain’ (‘yong’ - dragon, ‘du’ - head, ‘san’ - mountain).

I am not so sure, but I can only presume that the shape of the mountain itself is that of a dragon. Supposing that you don’t know yet, the dragon is a pretty good symbol for some cultures (countries) including China, Korea, Japan, among others.

On top of the mountain where you can find Yongdusan Park, you will enjoy its space, facilities and things to see including the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin (Turtle Ship inventor), the Bell of the Citizens, a Flower Clock, and a bust of Baeksan An Hee-je (independence activist).

Admiral Yi Sun Shin's statue and Busan Tower in the background

During the Korean War, many people took refuge and built houses on this mountain because it was the only place not affected by the devastation.

Just like in many places in the country, the most populated areas were the targets during the war, which drove the people to isolated places such as the mountains.

To make themselves feel safer here, they built their houses close together, just like the Gamcheon Village.

Unfortunately, during the big fire, these houses got destroyed, which led to the establishment of the recent park and relocation of the settlers.

Just like most parks, Yongdusan Park is blessed with diverse species of trees. It is home to over 70 tree species which offers fantastic sights with their colorful leaves during Autumn and bright flowers during the Spring season.

Busan Tower

Busan Tower in Yongdusan Park, Busan City

Busan Tower is your added value when visiting the Park. (Unfortunately, I missed to go up as it was in demand during my visit, tsk, tsk!).

I believe it is the highest point (as a structure) in all of Busan City. It is 120 meters high and 69 meters above sea level. Unlike other towers, Busan Tower has no transmitters.

It is highly recommended to see the lights of the city during the evening or night time.

However, it is also great to go up anytime during the day. Obviously, you will see different things and see things differently during the day time and night time.

Let me spell out more details, including the facilities available at Busan Tower…

1st Floor: Entrance of the tower, ticket booth, snacks shop, gift shop
2nd Floor: exhibition Hall (Black Wonderland in Busan)
3rd Floor: Cafe
4th Floor: Elevator
5th Floor: Observatory, Photo Studio, Souvenir Store

More Details on Busan Tower…
Observatory Operation Hours: 10-11PM (last tick selling at 10:30PM)

Entrance Fees:
Adults (13-above yrs. old): 8,000KRW/Children (3-12 yrs. old): 6,000KRW
Adults: 19,000KRW/Children: 15,500KRW - for Two Persons + Popcorn Set
Adults: 14,900KRW/Children: 12,900KRW - for One Person + Popcorn Set

Parking Area: Available
Inquiry: +82-51-661-9393~4

Who can visit the Park

Yongdusan Park and Busan Tower in Spring

As I mentioned beforehand, Yongdusan Park and Busan Tower are available to the public and for anyone regardless of age and physical conditions.

My descriptions below on how to get there presume that you are basically fit to walk and take the escalator to reach the park and the tower area.

However, if you are using, for example, a wheelchair or other walking aides you might have to hire a taxi or any vehicle that can bring you to the park.

Of course, children accompanied by their parents or adults can quickly get there with no problem at all.

Again, the park is a family-friendly and children-friendly space.

Now, if you are getting curious on how to travel to the area, let me describe the various transports you can take as in the below subsection.

Getting to Yongdusan Park and Busan Tower

Subway
Nanpo Station (Subway Line 1). Get off at this station and go to Exit 7. Then it will take around 5 minutes to Yongdusan Park’s escalator. Take the elevator to reach the park.

From Busan Station: Take Subway Line 1 going for Dadaepo Beach direction and get off at Nampo Station, then go to Exit 1.

From Jagalchi Market: Take Subway Line 1 going for Nopo and then get off at Nampo Station and out from Exit 1.

From Gamcheon Village: Take Bus #2 near the entrance of the village, then get off near Toseong Station’s Exit 8. Take the subway going to Nopo then get off at Nampo Station and Exit 1.

From Songdo Beach: Take a taxi from here since it could take longer for a bus due to the busy main road going to Yongdusan’s direction. It could take approximately from 10 t0 15 minutes to get there.

Bus
Taking a bus is also a great way to look around and enjoy sights and sceneries while traveling towards your destinations.

Similar to the subway, taking this public transport is cheaper. Buses in Busan, or Korea in general, are efficient as they keep the schedule and serve even the remote places.

Don’t forget to bring with you a guide map (in both English and Korean languages) to make sure the drivers know where you are going (in cases of a language barrier).

You can actually also ask any Korean as they are willing to help out travelers seeking for directions.

Private Vehicle
If you are driving to Yongdusan Park and Busan Tower, no need to worry where to park as there are parking areas not only for small cars but also for buses.

Nearby Attractions

You can spend at least an hour or even half a day at Yongdusan Park and Busan Tower. Then you can just go down from the mountain and go straight to some places nearby or depending on your travel plans.

Jagalchi Seafood Market
BIFF Square
Nampodong Street
Gukje Market
Busan Museum

For some of the places I have explored in Busan, see my articles below…

Now, one of the most important, or the top-most important thing when traveling is to get satisfying, if not, the most pleasant place to stay.

Songdo Skywalk and Cable Cars

Top-rated Accommodations in Busan

You can visit or reach Yongdusan Park and Busan Tower from wherever you stay in Busan City. One of the best and recommended places and areas to stay are close to beach areas.

Moreover, you know, most of the best accommodations, in terms of facilities, food, services, and locations are near beach areas.

Beach areas in Busan are the city’s treasures because they offer the best things not only for locals but for travelers like yourself.

Among such areas, Haeundae Beach area is where the most famous hotels in Busan are established. One of the reasons--because of its beautiful beach!

Other reasons why travelers stay there includes the very accessible transports, various shops (cafes, convenience stores, traditional market, restaurants, bars, entertainments, etc.) and other travel attractions and resources.

REMINDER: Make sure that you won’t regret where you stay as your travel satisfaction is about 50 percent of it. See Haeundae Beach area’s recommended hotels here by many travelers who have experienced their services.

Also, if you decide to find more places to stay anywhere in the city, ensure that you got your booking from a reliable and highly-rated company. That’s my experience anyway!

Anyhow, wherever you go and wherever you stay, make sure you are happy with your bookings. Otherwise, it will mess up your precious time and resources.

Hope this article is useful. Don’t forget to say something or share with friends.

Have a pleasant journey.

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