Category: Living

Gwangalli M Drone Light Show (Line-up for December)

Posted in Busan News, Festivals & Events, Living, TravelLeave a comment

Gwangalli M Drone Light Show is a FREE attraction held twice every Saturday in front of Gwangalli Beach. Despite the cold weather, Gwangalli Beach has been flocked with locals and tourists, eager to watch the different light shows. 

This month features a variety of themes. 

December 10th Drones will put on a Christmas themed performance at 7:00 p.m.

December 17th Due to the Busan Firework Festival, Gwangalli Drone Light Show will not happen on this day.

December 24th This show’s theme is “Marriage Proposal.” For this event, the Suyeong-gu District had Busan citizens participate by sending in their love stories. Lucky couples will have the opportunity to make their once-in-a-life-time proposal memorable.  

December 31st To celebrate New Year’s Eve, a total of 1,500 drones will create a countdown just before 12:00 am.  

When: Twice every Saturday

Drone show starting time: 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm (March – September)

                                              7:00 pm & 9:00 pm (October – February)

Location: Gwangalli Beach

How to get there: Gwangan Station (Busan Subway Line 2), Exit 3 or Exit 5

Tips: Parking is extremely difficult in the Gwangalli area, especially on the weekend. I highly recommend you use public transportation. 

LAB24 by Kumuda: Voted Busan’s Best Restaurant by La Liste

Posted in Busan News, Cafes, Cafes & Restaurants, Living, TravelLeave a comment

The city of Busan announced on December 2nd that the restaurant “LAB(Lab)24 By Kumuda” located in Songjeong had been named one of the best 1,000 restaurants in the world by La Liste.

La Liste is a gourmet guide that selects and announces the top 1,000 restaurants in the world every year for the purpose of providing the most reliable information by the French Tourist Board.

LAB24 by Kumuda, owned by Chef Edward Kwon, opened its doors in January of this year.

36 restaurants in Korea were selected, but LAB24 By Kumuda was the only restaurant selected outside of Seoul.

The Busan Fireworks Festival Returns

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The Busan Fireworks Festival, which had been postponed due to the “Itaewon Tragedy” will be returning this month.  

The Busan Fireworks Festival was originally scheduled for November 5th, but was indefinitely postponed after over 150 people lost their lives in the stampede in Seoul’s Itaewon on Halloween.

The city said that the 17th Busan Fireworks Festival will be held on Saturday, December 17th in Gwangalli Beach.

In order to host the event safely, the city said that they will double the number of safety personnel at the venue and there will be a capacity limit on the 16 streets of Gwangalli Beach.

The city will also install nearly 50 new CCTVs so that the area can be directly monitored and managed.

Meanwhile, the firework festival is scheduled to start at 7 p.m., one hour earlier as previously scheduled in preparation for the cold weather.

Special Event? Why Not Try a Makeup Artist in Busan?!

Posted in Entertainment, Living, TravelLeave a comment

Have you been in a situation where you felt so frustrated because you could not find a makeup artist for an upcoming event? This was the very situation that I was in recently.

I was the MC for a networking party and was in desperate need for a makeup artist. Luckily, I was introduced to Une of “A Makeup“, who was able to create the perfect look for me.

So, if you are looking for a makeup artist in Busan, keep scrolling!

General Information

Location: 2nd floor of the Centum Hotel, Centum 3-ro, Haeundae 

Hours of Operation: Open from 5 am to 7 pm (Closed on Wednesday)

Parking: Free parking is provided.

Contact: 010 4474 6696

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a.makeup_official/

Price

Makeup on weekdays costs 99,000 won.

Makeup on weekends 121,000 won

Makeup + dry-styling your hair = price for makeup + 33,000 won

Makeup + upstyling your hair = price for makeup + 55,000 won

For men (hair & makeup) is 55,000 won

For weddings (hair & makeup included)

Bride makeovers cost 550,000 won.

Wedding photography costs 330,000 won.

For the parents: 220,000 won each

What to Expect

I brought some photos to my appointment so that I could better communicate my ideas with the makeup artist. After seeing the photos, she immediately understood what I wanted. I liked that she checked in with me and gave suggestions on the look.

The place was neat and decorated with all white. The place featured a fitting room, a makeup room and a salon.

The first question I was asked was if I want my skin to glow or to be bbosongbbosong (뽀송뽀송 in my rough translation, meaning, matte). Both sounded good, so I asked her what the difference was. She said that if I wanted to look good in person, I would want my skin to glow, but if I wanted to look good in pictures, I would want my skin to be bbosongboosong. (How Interesting!)

I was the MC for two days, so we decided to go with glowy skin/ hair down one day and bbosongbbosong skin / hair up the next day.

Both looked super nice. Let me share the photos of myself so that you can see the results.

The makeup took about 45 minutes and the hair took about 20 mins.

I felt comfortable being around Une. After getting to know her, I learned that she has been in this industry for more than 10 years and now also teaches at a private college in Busan. She is available for any occasion, including weddings and job interviews. Those interested in her work can also take makeup lessons from her.

How to Get There

If you drive, park your car in the Centum Hotel parking lot. Parking is free when getting a makeover.  

If you use public transportation, take the subway line #2. Get off at Centum City and use exit 3.

Conclusion

If you have a special event in Busan and want to look super good, I 100% recommend seeing the makeup artist, Une while you are here.

[This is NOT a sponsored post]

PNU to the Establishment of a Veterinary Department

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Pusan National University (also called Busan National University) is earnestly pushing for the establishment of a veterinary college.

PNU recently submitted a request to the Ministry of Education to establish a veterinary university in Busan.  

“We plan to have educational facilities for veterinary studies on a total of 320,000m2 on the Busan and Yangsan campuses,” Pusan National University stated.

The expected number of veterinary students will be around 40 and they are planning on hiring 20 professors.

PNU recently signed a business agreement with the Korea Pet Industry Association to promote academic cooperation, including the establishment of a veterinary university and educational research department.

PNU also emphasized that it is the only school out of the 10 national universities in the country without a veterinary department. They also pointed out that 15 four-year colleges in Busan do not have a veterinary department.

For this reason, PNU urged the establishment of a veterinary department.

The Hotel Art Fair is Back

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The 8th edition of Blue Art Fair is returning.

This year, the event will take place at one of the city’s trendiest hotels, Signiel Busan.

The 9th and 10th floors of the hotel will be transformed into show rooms for around 2,000 pieces of artwork.

Both local and foreign artists will present a variety of artwork within the unique exhibits.  

Date: From November 24th – 27th

Venue: Signiel Hotel, Dalmaji-gil 30, Haeundae, Busan

Ticket Price: 10,000 won

[This is NOT a sponsored post]

Busan’s Official Slogan, “Dynamic Busan” Will be Changed by March of Next Year

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“Dynamic Busan” has been the city’s slogan for the past 20 years, but it’s no longer going to be used.

According to a survey conducted between November 4th and 10th, more than 70% of the participants said that they were not happy with the slogan and thought the city should pick a new one. The survey was sent out to 1,000 Busan citizens ages 19 or above.  

Media outlet reports said that the city of Busan’s new slogan will be chosen by a panel of professionals, including experts in promotional marketing, branding and design by March of next year.  

The Lowest Number of Multicultural Marriages Ever in Busan

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According to Korean statistics, the number of multicultural marriages in Busan last year was only 612.

That accounted for 5% of the total number of marriages in Busan, significantly lower than the national average.

Multicultural marriages refer to when Koreans (including naturalized Koreans) marry non-Koreans, and naturalized people marry each other.

The number of multicultural marriages in Busan increased from 1,058 in 2017, 1,151 in 2018, and 1,216 in 2019, respectively.

However, in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of cases plunged to 694, and last year, it further decreased to around 600.

It is the second consecutive year of multicultural marital numbers being on the decline.

This is a result of the restrictions made on international exchanges and immigration due to COVID-19.

Interesting Idioms Describing Moms and Dads

Posted in Learn Korean Idioms, Living, Local TopicsLeave a comment

1. 주말부부 (Weekend married couple) 

주말 means weekend while 부부 stands for a married couple. 

Can you guess what “weekend married couple” means? As you might have guessed, this phrase refers to a married couple who get to see each other only on the weekends. This may happen if the couple works in two different cities, or if a mother wants to raise her kids where there are better schools.
This term can also be used as a verb. For example, you could say, “나 어릴 때 우리 부모님은 주말부부 하셨어,” meaning, “when I was little, my parents 주말부부ed.”

2. 기러기 아빠 (Wild goose father) 

기러기 is wild geese while 아빠 is dad. “Wild goose dad” means a dad who is supporting his family while they live abroad.

Families sometimes send their kids overseas to English speaking countries so that they can get more opportunities and different education. Sometimes moms go with their kids to take care of them while the dads stay in Korea to support them. Unfortunately, this might lead to family issues and even social problems. 

So, “기러기 아빠” or “wild goose dad” is often used in newspapers, too. 

3. 엄빠 (Umpa = Umma + Papa) 

These days GenZs shorten every word possible, and “엄빠” is just one of them. 엄 refers to 엄마 (Mom) and obviously 빠 is from the word 아빠. 

So, when put together, it means “mama and papa.” Young people tend to casually use this word instead of “부모님 (parents).”

4. 맹자 엄마 (Mencius’s mom) 

Mencius is one of the greatest Confucian philosophers in China. It has been said that his mother moved over 3,000 times to find him the best education possible. 

So, moms who are super enthusiastic about their kids’ education are called as “Mencius’s Mom.”

Turn Toward Busan

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A memorial event, called, “Turn Toward Busan” will be held at the UN Memorial Park in the Nam-gu district, Busan on November 11th.

 “Turn Toward Busan” was first proposed by Canadian Korean War veteran, Vincent Courtney in 2018 to commemorate the sacrifices made by UN troops during the Korean War.

An alarm will sound across Busan for one minute starting at 11:00 am.

While war veterans, their families, and diplomatic delegates are expected to attend, people around the world are invited to join the “Turn Toward Busan” campaign by taking a minute to remember the fallen soldiers.  

Meanwhile, Oh Euntaek, the chief of the Namgu District started #turntowardbusan on his social media to get others involved.