Busan, South Korea’s second largest city situated on Korea’s southern coast, can make an argument for having one of the best city beach scenes in the world. It’s the size of Chicago with the laid back charm. It’s two beaches, at times visible from the same situation are opposites: one long and wide with the beach nestling up to towering hotels; the other quiet and sleek, a two-lane road separating the beach from crowded bars and restaurants, a modern bridge spanning the bay keeping the waves from the East Sea–don’t you dare say Sea of Japan!–calm.

Koreans obey the beach months of summer. April and September leave the beach relatively empty, as do the monsoon rains that come in the summer for roughly a month. But when Haeundae Beach (해운대해수욕장) is at full peak, it is as intense a beach experience as you will find anywhere.

Although bikinis have become socially acceptable, they still tend to rub up against the conservative Korean culture. (Beaches in Korea have signs in Korean and English asking men to respect those in swimsuits.) Even on Korean television, men and women usually are wearing a t-shirt and some kind of “jorts” as they are swimming. (It has been explained that seeing a man or women in only swimwear doesn’t sit well with those at home who might be eating while watching the program). It is completely normal to see a Korean go into the water in t-shirts or even jeans. It’s a cultural difference hard on Western eyes, but it doesn’t dominate the scene. Elder Koreans, ajjumas (아줌마), tend to wear floral patterned clothes with a long neon visor. It’s a sad but relatively true perception among Koreans that darker skin is less ideal, making a sun tan look not as well as lighter skin. So the Koreans take on the summer sun with an acute sense or precaution.

Along Haeundae Beach, by far Korea’s most attractive, taking in millions of visitors each year, are hotels catering to foreign tourists, mostly affluent Japanese and Chinese, as well as Koreans who are coming from Seoul. It’s beach tends to get extremely crowded, filled with people holding on to tubes and tackling the sporadic waves and rip tide, all the while crashing into another group who are probably wearing a black shirt and jorts as well. But this beach is a hot spot all year around, whether it is during a large sand sculpture festival or a winter polar bear club.

Around Haeundae, the nightlife is strong with clubs and rowdy sidewalks. The side streets have a little market here–imagine squid in a sweltering heat–and busy bars there. At night, the beach is off limits for, say, camping, but finding a spot for a romantic date or a few bottles of soju with friends is always possible.

Nearby, just a few subway stops away, is Gwangalli Beach (광안리해수욕장), one of Busan’s best hang out spots, more popular at night with the dinner and party crowd. In the day time, it is quiet and the beach has significantly more room than Haeundae, though it is a fraction of the size. The only time Gwangalli really rivals the crowds of Haeundae is in October when millions sit on the beach and in the street to watch at least an hour straight of fireworks.

The sites at Gwangalli are best at night when the bridge matches the towers to the east. There is only a small road separating the beach from the happening bars and restaurants. At night, the people in those happening places tend to spill out across the street and onto the promenade, where roman candles are easily available. Nearby, where the new skyscrapers light up around a small fishing harbor, some of the best huey (회), or raw fish, is serves as fresh as possible.
This is just the beginning to what these two places in Busan have to offer. As someone who lived between these two places for nearly four years, there is no doubt that it is one of the finest places, at least in Asia, for city beaches. It’s what keeps people from all over Korea flocking to the city in the summer. And if you can take in the sun and crowds in Haeundae during the day and finish it off with views of the ocean over a glass of soju and raw fish at Gwangalli at night, then you have done very well on this little peninsula.