Street Photography in Busan

Jagalchi is Korea's best known fish market, on the harbor in Nampo-dong, with tanks and stalls spilling onto the street outside the main building. Many vendors are older women in rubber aprons and boots who have worked here for decades. Roy Cruz called it his favorite part of the trip: shooting after dark, in light rain, when umbrellas and neon made the streets glow. Stand at the end of a street stall row and shoot along the tanks toward a vendor. The ground is always wet, so watch your footing, and ask before a close portrait.

BIFF Square in Nampo-dong is named for the Busan International Film Festival and is best known now for its street food carts. From late afternoon, crowds queue for hotteok, sweet filled pancakes, and fish cake skewers. The carts are lit by bare bulbs after dark, which gives you warm light on faces. Stand near a busy cart and wait for the moment a vendor hands food across. The square links to the lanes of Gukje Market, so you can work both in one evening. It is crowded, so keep your bag in front.

Gukje Market is a sprawling grid of narrow lanes behind Nampo-dong, with sections for clothes, tools, kitchenware and secondhand goods. It grew up around the Korean War, when refugees traded in the port. Many traders are older and have worked here for years. The lanes are narrow and partly covered, so the light is uneven: find a stall lit from the side and wait for a customer. Late morning is good, when trade picks up. Some traders do not want photos, so ask with a gesture first.

Gamcheon is a hillside of pastel houses and stairways, painted as part of a regeneration project from around 2009. Busan Trip, whose writer has visited four times, says the sweet spot is 8:00 to 9:30 on a weekday, before the tour groups arrive. Avoid weekends between 10:00 and 15:00. The best frames come from the dead end alleys off the stamp map route, with laundry lines and potted plants. Use a telephoto from the viewpoint near the square to compress the houses. A few thousand residents still live here, so keep your voice down and stay out of doorways.

Yeongdo Bridge connects Nampo-dong to Yeongdo island and is Korea's first drawbridge, according to Roy Cruz. Visit Busan lists a 15 minute lifting ceremony at 14:00 on Saturdays, and crowds gather on both ends to watch. Stand on the Nampo side and frame the spectators with the raised deck behind. The bridge is also a meeting place with a long history for families separated in the Korean War. Check the lifting schedule locally before planning around it, as sources differ on how often it runs.

Daepyeong-dong is the old shipyard quarter on Yeongdo, just across the bridge. Roy Cruz spent a day exploring the harbor, where decades old shipyards and the workshops around them still work. You will see welders at work and rusting hulls pulled up on slipways. Come on a weekday morning, when the yards are busy. Shoot through workshop doorways into the light, or frame a worker against a hull. These are workplaces: stay out of the yards unless invited, and do not photograph workers who wave you away.

Haeundae is Busan's most famous beach, a wide curve of sand backed by hotels and towers. In July and August it fills with rows of umbrellas and huge crowds. Out of season it is quieter, with walkers and couples on the sand. Late afternoon is best, when the sun is lower and the crowd is at its peak. Stand on the promenade and look down on the umbrellas, or walk the waterline with a wide lens for layered scenes. Avoid close shots of people in swimwear.

Gwangalli faces the Gwangan Bridge, which is lit up at night. The promenade is lined with bars and cafes, and evenings bring couples and street performers. Blue hour is the time to come, when the bridge lights come on while there is still color in the sky. Frame people on the sand in silhouette against the bridge, or shoot a performer's audience lit by phone screens. The Busan fireworks festival is held here, usually in autumn, and brings enormous crowds.