Train To Busan Part 3

[Benita Vandervoort]

Ifyou're a student living in South Korea, you'll quickly discover that weekends are your golden ticket to explore the country's rich tapestry of culture and nature. This past weekend, I embarked on an unforgettable adventure to Busan, a coastal gem that offered a perfect blend of vibrant urban life and serene natural beauty. Through CIEE, I was able to experience Busan for a weekend at our own leisure and pace.

Getting to Busan is a relatively simple task. As many Korean travel between the two cities frequently, there are well established transportation infrastructure for travelers to enjoy. A great example of this was the KTX train line that runs directly from Seoul Station to Busan. The KTX is the high-speed rail of Korea and travels more than 200 miles per hour seamlessly.

When we boarded the train at our departure time, we were able to sit wherever we wanted to sit within our assigned train cars. Students were definitely very excited about the whole trip as people could not stop talking.

Some people were headed to Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, which is a sea temple with beautiful statues and view, while others headed to the Gamcheon Culture Village, a colorful replica of the beautiful colored homes of Rio De Janeiro. I had chosen to head to the temple.

After our trip from the temple, we headed back to our hotel. And for the first time, I encountered rush hour traffic in Korea. Standstill for half an hour, our bus took the normally 30-minute route back, in over an hour and a half.

After crashing at our hotels for a bit, actually grabbed dinner in our hotel at a fabulous buffet restaurant on the second floor. I managed to get through 4 plates before succumbing to the worst food coma I have ever experienced.

I will also note that the beds in our hotel have been the comfiest beds I have slept on in my 2 months in Korea. The beds back at SK Global House are extremely firm which is something I dislike greatly.

Before I get into what we did for our late night activity, let me explain what a pocha is. Pocha, the shortened slang for Pojangmacha (포장마차), is a name for a food stall operated in market streets of historical areas. They are endangered within the regions of Seoul as some consider them as relics of the past and eyesores in a modern, futurist city.

Yes, I will just go right through it. Anyway, before I departed to Busan, I was in Seoul station for few hours. And omg, I was thinking that everyone is so pretty and handsome here. They have beautiful skin, even the old person. Like smooth!

AND I was there, havent taken a bath since 2 days. Well not two days literally, but the last time I took a bath was before I departed from Malang to Surabaya, April 28 (around 10 pm) and I arrived in Korea on April 30. Hahahaha

When I woke up, the train was going on to the beautiful mountains. A lot of tunnels. And I remember how I feel peace by watching some houses in the mountain. I want that kind of life, where I feel peace and no one bother me! Thank you God!

I got out from the station and trying to get on bus. And I got into the RIGHT lane. But my anxiety told me it was wrong, so I went to the next one. Then the bus that went to my hotel just passed from the lane I was at before. And I was like cursing (not in Korean, dont worry. I can control my cursing hahaha).

And finally I got into my first bus in Korea. I was so nervous, because there is no city bus in my town. And I only had experience with city bus in Yogyakarta, and it was different system. But I got through it. Yay!

So I walked with my suit case. And btw not all the road are smooth, so my suit case tire was making noise. That was super annoying. But I am thankful because this suit case is on my side the whole trip, I mean it didnt make big trouble for me.

After taking a bath I was going out to see Gwangalli at night. I was wearing turtle neck and coat. I was staying outside around 2 hours, before feeling hungry and go back to hotel. Not only to eat but also taking my hoodie, and yes I triple layered my self. Hahahaha. I am Indonesian! I get used to warm weather. It was 19 degree, and 12 degree at night, so it was too cold for me.

I was buying instant ramen, because I was too anxious to go to restaurant. And yes, I only bought food from conventional store when I was in Busan. Except for Ice cream I bought in some tourist spot.

I was seeing those couple and notice that the men look more in love than the girls. Like they do everything for the girls, they are the one who ask the girl to take pictures together, they want to make memories by buying their gf fireworks, holding the hands, brought the bag, brought the shoes (sandy beach), hugging and kissing them. And I WAS THERE WITNESSING THAT ALONE, NO ONE HELD MY HAND, THE ONLY THINGS THAT HUG ME WERE MY TRIPLE LAYER CLOTHES. BYE!

It also helps that the acting in this movie is PHENOMENAL. I usually dislike child actors for either their cringe worthy overacting or their monotone underacting, I am looking at you Disney Channel. Kim Su-an however outdoes some American adult actors. The pure heartbreak on her face as she sees her father give himself up is far beyond her years and the fact that this kind of acting is what she is known for at the age of 12 still leaves me shocked. She acted her heart out plain and simple.

Yeon Sang-ho uses every part of the train, turning it into essentially a war zone. There is no part of the train that is safe but at the same time the train seems to be the only part that is safe. Doors, phones and chairs become weapons and cramped bathrooms become temporary safe zones.

Sang-ho changes the color scheme of the movie to reflect both the feelings and the environment the characters are in. On the train it is a bleak, dark and almost clinical environment. It represents the depressing nature of their situation.The few times they get out of the train the color scheme changes to brighter and warmer colors. There is still a dark cloud hanging over them, but a ray of hope is shining through.

Train to Busan is a movie that distinguishes itself from its competitors. It is a must watch for any horror, zombie or good movie fan. While there are places where we can clearly see the filmmakers trying to force the feelings of fear and sadness down our throats through music and slow takes, a commonality in most Korean media, the movie is so good that audiences will most likely overlook the obvious manipulation of emotion. Yeon Sang-ho is a perfect representation of what differentiates Korean media their western counterparts. He is able to perfectly blend character development, beautiful writing and music with unadulterated fear of what humanity can become when the world is ending.

For my maiden voyage on the Donghae Line, I transferred at BEXCO, 205 on line 2, which is presently one of three stations where direct transfers from the metro to Donghae is possible (the other two are at Busan National University of Education, 124 on line 1, and Geoje, 306 on line 3). From there, I followed the easy-to-navigate signage on the walls and floor to a new set of turnstyles that take passengers exclusively to the new BEXCO Donghae station via a pair of long, long airport style moving sidewalks and a long escalator.

A fun, soft little melody played out as our train came into the station that reminded me of some of the fun little tunes I would hear waiting for trains in Japan. Then, we all hopped aboard what can easily be mistaken for line 5 of the Busan Metro (another line altogether, which is currently scheduled to open in 2021).

The train is obviously getting used, as can be seen from the included pictures. Lots of people. Of course, the somewhat sparse train schedule could also be playing a part. But, whether I was standing or sitting, I was very comfortable and the ride was very smooth.

But, as I have lived in Korea for four years, two of those in Busan and the other two one city over but still served by the same transportation system, the additions of the new lines and stations (such as the six additional stations coming to the end of line 1 in April, which will make accessible by subway a part of the city I lived in when I first arrived in 2013), a very real excitement has existed when something opens up and changes in my current home. Had I visited Busan the first time I was in Korea in 2005, I would have only been served by lines 1 and 2. Now, there are 6, including the Busan-Gimhae Lightrail Transit and the Donghae Line. For me, it represents an evolution, as well as a greater opportunity to explore this still-interesting, curious place called Busan, South Korea.

Not only that, but the setting itself provides the perfect background for action sequences. Zombies falling over train chairs, slamming through compartment doors, and jumping off of the roof of the train cars are just a few of the examples of what we see.

Sometimes, movies tend to give us a bit of a break from the ongoing craziness of what is happening. For example, I feel that in every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, there is always a lull in the action for viewers to catch their breaths from the big CGI fights, to appreciate the story being told.

That moment speaks so many volumes. Not only is it proof of how far Su-an has grown, but it symbolizes her love of her dad, and her willingness to not be afraid anymore despite the fact that her father is now dead. It leaves a pit in the bottom of your stomach, but is such a great way to end the movie as a callback to the beginning.

A self-proclaimed nerd and lover of Game of Thrones\/A Song of Ice and Fire, Alexandra Ramos is a Content Producer at CinemaBlend. She first started off working in December 2020 as a Freelance Writer after graduating from the Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in English. She primarily works in features for movies, TV, and sometimes video games. (Please don't debate her on The Last of Us 2, it was amazing!) She is also the main person who runs both our daily newsletter, The CinemaBlend Daily, and our ReelBlend newsletter. "}), " -0-10/js/authorBio.js"); } else console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); Alexandra RamosSocial Links NavigationContent ProducerA self-proclaimed nerd and lover of Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire, Alexandra Ramos is a Content Producer at CinemaBlend. She first started off working in December 2020 as a Freelance Writer after graduating from the Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in English. She primarily works in features for movies, TV, and sometimes video games. (Please don't debate her on The Last of Us 2, it was amazing!) She is also the main person who runs both our daily newsletter, The CinemaBlend Daily, and our ReelBlend newsletter.

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