Nampo-dong & Gukje Market — A One-Day Walk Through Old Downtown Busan

The Nampo-dong (남포동) area isn't a place for photo-op landmarks. It's a neighborhood built up from markets and alleys. During the Korean War, refugees from all over the country poured into Busan, and the markets and alleys grew out of their effort to make a living.

The reason to walk here is that everyday Busan life is still very much alive. The eastern side of the city, around Haeundae, has seen a lot of recent development, so the buildings are new and clean. The older downtown in the west keeps much more of the feel of an old city. Historic buildings turn up here and there, and once you step into a market or alley you see ordinary Busan life up close. That lets you get a sense of both the past and the present. People come here for old buildings and real daily life rather than flashy scenery.

Every stop comes with a "why is this here?" story. This guide follows those stories in walking order, with a couple of buildings from the Japanese colonial period (the Busan Museum of Modern History Annex and Yeongdo Bridge) and cafés to rest in mixed in along the way.

The 40 Steps is a 180 m-long staircase street connecting Jungang-dong (중앙동) and Donggwang-dong (동광동). It was built during the Japanese colonial period by cutting into the hillside and reclaiming land from the sea. The current stairs were rebuilt on the present site after the original staircase was lost in the great fire of 1953.

This is not a place you come to for photos. It's a place that tells the story of the refugees who flooded into Busan during the Korean War. When the war broke out in 1950, Busan became the temporary capital, and people came down from all over the country, causing the city's population to swell. These people built the markets and alleys that became the start of today's old downtown.

There's a heartbreaking story attached to these steps. Refugees who had been separated from their families on the way south from North Korea or Seoul often made a vague promise: "Let's meet at Yeongdo Bridge." Since they couldn't set a date or time, they wandered around the bridge or waited somewhere with a view of it. Around the time of the war, Yeongdo Bridge could be seen from the 40 Steps. Refugees reportedly sat on the stairs, looking at the bridge by day to ease the hardships of life as a refugee, and at the lights of the ships in Busan Harbor by night, longing for their hometowns.

Statues around the staircase depict street scenes from that era: an accordion player, a mother with a water jar on her head and a child on her back, and a porter carrying a load on an A-frame carrier.

Right next door, the 40 Steps Culture Center (40계단 문화관) has free admission. Its fifth-floor permanent exhibition hall shows photos and everyday items that capture the hard life of 1950s refugees, along with their housing and daily culture, and there is also a video room.

Opening hours are 10:00–18:00 Tuesday to Friday and 10:00–17:00 on Saturday and Sunday.

A gallery at the 40 Steps Culture Center — displays include a military tent and a photo of refugee shacks along Bosu Stream in 1952, showing how refugees lived. Photo: KOGL Type 1 (Korea Open Government License).

Accordion player statue at the 40 Steps — statues like this stand around the staircase. Photo: Busan Tourism Organization archive (KOGL Type 1).

After the 40 Steps comes a building from the Japanese colonial period in Daecheong-dong (대청동). The Busan Museum of Modern History Annex is a Western-style modern building completed in 1929, and during the colonial era it housed the Busan branch of the Oriental Development Company. That company was set up by Japan to take control of Korea's land and resources.

After liberation, the building served as the Busan American Cultural Center for about 50 years, then was returned to Korea in 1999 and became the Busan Modern History Museum. It reopened as the current annex in March 2023. It also appears right after the 40 Steps in the old-downtown route recommended by the Jung-gu Office.

Inside, the first floor has a reading space with more than 10,000 books and materials on Busan's modern and contemporary history, and the second floor has a small exhibition showing the building's history and structure. Most materials are in Korean, which may be a letdown for international visitors. Still, this is a place where layers of modern Korean history remain in a single building: first the headquarters of a company set up to seize land and resources, then an American cultural center after liberation, and now a space that collects Busan's history. Walk around the building and see if you can read that story in it.

Admission is free, and it's open 09:00–18:00 Tuesday to Sunday. These hours come from travel information sites, so please confirm before you go.

Casa Busano café — an interior with arched shelves and plants. Photo: KOGL Type 1 (Korea Open Government License).

The museum's main building, also in Daecheong-dong, is a renovation of the former Bank of Korea Busan headquarters and opened in January 2024. It was built in the 1960s, so it isn't a colonial-era building, but the old underground vault is now used as an exhibition hall.

The Busan Museum of Modern History (112 Daecheong-ro). Photo: Busan Tourism Organization archive (KOGL Type 1).

During the Korean War, a refugee school opened nearby and students gathered here. Books from U.S. military supply crates began to be sold, and that was the start of the Book Alley. At its peak there were said to be about 70 bookshops.

For international visitors, this is a place to look around rather than read. Most books are in Korean. Instead, you'll find old comics, children's books and textbooks stacked tightly on every shelf, and secondhand books are said to be sold at 40–70% off and new books at around 10% off. There are old signs, the smell of books, a mural alley that climbs up along the stairs, and photo spots too.

Inside the alley, the Book Alley Culture Hall (책방골목문화관) introduces the alley's history floor by floor and has a book café. There's a notice that a cultural guide gives explanations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday, so check before you visit.

It's not as busy as it was in its heyday. As more people buy books from online bookstores, the number of shops has dropped to about 20, and shop owners say fewer customers come. It's hard to say there are many foreign visitors, but a few international tourists have started to appear, browsing the shelves slowly.

Boseong-dong Book Alley — secondhand books are piled along both sides of the alley. Photo: Busan Tourism Organization archive (KOGL Type 1).

There are several theories behind the name Kkangtong, which means "tin can." The most common story is that after the Korean War, U.S. troops stationed in Korea brought in lots of canned goods such as fruit and fish, and the name stuck. Another theory says that empty cans from U.S. military rations brought back by Korean soldiers from the Vietnam War were used for roofing and household goods.

Today it's a market you come to for eating. It opened in 2013 as Korea's first permanent night market (one that runs every day), and from around 7:30 p.m. mobile food stalls move into the alley. Many sources say it runs until midnight, but it varies by stall.

A stall at Bupyeong Kkangtong Market — food is made fresh right at the stall. Photo: Busan Tourism Organization archive (KOGL Type 1).

Here's what you can eat at the stalls. The list below comes from examples in guide materials, and stall menus change often.

• Busan's signature snacks — Ssiat Hotteok (씨앗호떡; a sweet filled pancake with seeds), fish cake, tteokbokki, mul-tteok (물떡; rice cake on a skewer, like fish cake), bibim-dangmyeon (비빔당면; a Busan dish of seasoned glass noodles), black sesame bread
• Hearty meals — fried chicken, grilled meat, okonomiyaki
• International food — there are multicultural stalls too, with kebabs, banh mi and Vietnamese fried spring rolls (chả giò)

The night market is still listed as operating in 2026. Travel information sites show hours of 7:30 p.m. to midnight, with the biggest crowds between 6 and 9 p.m.

Some stalls don't take cards, so bring a little cash, and try a bit from several stalls rather than buying a lot from just one.

Gukje Market began after liberation in 1945, when the Japanese left. After the Korean War it grew quickly as U.S. military goods and imported items gathered here. For a while it was also called dottegi market (도떼기시장; a market where goods of all kinds are jumbled together and traded) because of its noisy bargaining.

The film "Ode to My Father" (국제시장), released in December 2014, tells the story of Deok-su, who comes from a refugee family, takes over his aunt's import goods shop Kkotbunine (꽃분이네) from his uncle (his aunt's husband), and spends his life protecting it while providing for his family. The shop used as the film's set is inside Gukje Market, and one report said that visitors to the market doubled or tripled after the film's release.

The shop used for filming was originally called "Yeongsin Sanghoe" (영신상회), and it was reported that the sign was changed to "Kkotbunine" after the film. It's still in Gukje Market today, so you can go and see it for yourself.

Inside the market you'll find everything from clothing and sundries to a secondhand-clothes alley and a food alley (Chungmu gimbap (충무김밥), bibim-dangmyeon and more). Each shop has its own days off and opening hours, so it's hard to give fixed times. Going in the afternoon means more shops are likely to be open.

To learn more about the film's portrayal of Korea's postwar years, see this English-language article.

Kkotbunine inside Gukje Market — a "Gukje Market film location" sign stands in front of the shop. Photo: Busan Tourism Organization archive (KOGL Type 1).

Nampo-dong has been a street of cinema since the Japanese colonial period. A permanent movie theater opened here in 1914, and in 1924 Joseon Kinema Company (조선키네마주식회사), Korea's first film production company, was founded here. In 1996 the first Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) was held in the Nampo-dong theater district, and in 2020 the area was designated Busan Future Heritage (부산미래유산).

Is the festival still held here? The festival's center moved to the Busan Cinema Center (영화의전당) in Haeundae's Centum City starting with the 16th edition in 2011. At the 29th edition in 2024, most screening venues were in Centum City, though Megabox Busan Theater in Nampo-dong was among them. Nampo-dong still hosts events such as the opening-eve celebration and Community BIFF every year. The Asian Contents & Film Market, the festival's industry event, is held at BEXCO (as of 2024). In other words, the festival's weight has largely shifted toward Haeundae.

So on an ordinary day, BIFF Square is less about film and more of a snack alley. Stalls line both sides of the street selling treats such as ssiat hotteok, gyeran-ppang (egg bread), peanut-shaped bread and waffles. Ssiat hotteok is a signature Busan street food, a sweet pancake stuffed with nuts like sunflower seeds and griddled. Food stalls are busiest between 5 and 9 p.m.

BIFF Square street — a snack alley lined with stalls and shops. Photo: KOGL Type 1 (Korea Open Government License).

On the ground you'll find the handprints of film people. Handprints of filmmakers who visited the festival began to be installed in 1998, with a signature and date carved next to each palm. It's fun to look for the hands of your favorite directors and actors.

Handprints on the ground at BIFF Square — some were made at the 12th festival in 2007. Photo: KOGL Type 1 (Korea Open Government License).

Outside festival time, BIFF Square itself isn't a place to linger. Think of it as a short stop: taste a snack, look for the handprints, then move on to the next place.

A coffee near BIFF Square. Here are two cafés where you can rest as you walk. When K-Rambles features cafés, we pick places with plenty of visitor reviews. This is not an advertisement.

Yongdusan Park is a 5–10 minute walk from Nampo Station on Subway Line 1. It's open 24 hours and free to enter. You'll find a statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin and a flower clock. The path is a bit steep, so comfortable shoes help. Allow about 1 hour for a stroll in the park, or 2–3 hours if you include the tower.

Busan Tower is 120 m tall, and its observation deck looks out over Busan Harbor, Gwangan Bridge and the Nampo-dong area. It's open 10:00–22:00 year-round, and ticket sales end at 21:30.

In the evening, the observation deck's glass turns into a screen, with a fireworks video every 10 minutes. Admission is 12,000 won for adults and 9,000 won for children and seniors. Prices may change, so please check before you visit.

Busan Tower — it stands at the top of Yongdusan Park. Photo: KOGL Type 1 (Korea Open Government License).

The old downtown seen from above — you can see the Yongdusan Park area and Busan Harbor. Photo: KOGL Type 1 (Korea Open Government License).

Love locks. Near Busan Tower there's a spot where couples hang locks inscribed with love and wishes, much like at Namsan in Seoul. Heart-shaped locks hang in dense clusters, and the spot is described as colorful by day and romantic at night.

Love locks at Yongdusan Park — people write messages of love and wishes on heart-shaped locks and hang them here. Photo: KOGL Type 1 (Korea Open Government License).

We have a guide that compares Busan Tower tickets, the Songdo Marine Cable Car and Songdo yachts all in one place. Check that article for prices and how to book.

Yeongdo Bridge connects Busan's old downtown with Yeongdo Island, and it's a bridge from the Japanese colonial period that opened in November 1934. It was built as a bascule bridge (a drawbridge that lifts), with the center span rising so ships can pass. The lifting stopped in 1966 and was restored in 2013.

As you learned at the 40 Steps, this is the very bridge where separated refugee families promised, "Let's meet at Yeongdo Bridge."

To see the bridge rise, you need to go at the scheduled lifting time. The lifting happens every Saturday from 2:00 to 2:15 p.m., for 15 minutes. It may be canceled in bad weather such as rain or strong wind.

Yeongdo Bridge mid-lift — one span of the bridge rises into the sky. Photo: KOGL Type 1 (Korea Open Government License).

Times are rough estimates by K-Rambles. They'll vary with your walking pace and how long you rest.

The order that puts the Modern History Museum after the 40 Steps, and the sequence linking Boseong-dong, Kkangtong Market and Gukje Market, follow the old-downtown routes recommended by the Busan Jung-gu Office. The route including the cafés and Yeongdo Bridge was put together by K-Rambles.

Try raw fish at nearby Jagalchi Market (자갈치시장). We have a separate guide on how to eat it.