Jagalchi Fish Market at Dawn & Gamcheon Culture Village

Jagalchi Market is Korea's largest seafood market and one of the few in Northeast Asia where the wholesale trading still happens in the same building as the retail and restaurant operations: the early arrival, when the vendors, many of them older women known as ajumma in rubber aprons and boots, arrange the day's catch on the stalls, is the correct introduction to Busan. By 8 AM the market is in full operation: live octopus moving in tanks beside the vendor who will slice it to order, live squid for the dish it makes into hoe (raw sashimi), and a fish-cake tradition so embedded in local food culture that Busan's odeng, fish cake on a skewer in hot broth, is a classic street food. Gamcheon, in the afternoon, is the hillside neighbourhood that Korean street artists converted from a shantytown into a walking labyrinth of painted stairs, murals, and tiny cafés.

The market sits on the waterfront in Nampo-dong, in the old port area of Busan, and its history goes back to the Korean War, when refugees from across the country arrived in Busan and started selling fish on the shore. The name Jagalchi comes from the Korean word for pebbles, as the market began on a pebbled beach. Today, it is housed in a modern building shaped like a seagull with an aquarium of live fish downstairs and restaurants upstairs.

Your guide meets you at Jagalchi Station at 6:30 AM, and leads you through the stalls as they open. Look out for the variety of sea life on display: live octopus, giant crabs, sea squirts, eels, abalone, sea cucumbers and rows of dried fish. The vendors talk and shout to attract customers, and haggling is part of the culture. You can choose a fish, have it prepared as hoe, raw fish sliced in front of you, and eaten upstairs with side dishes, though this is a heavy meal at breakfast time, and the tour focuses on lighter tastings.

The fish-cake tasting includes odeng, skewers of fish cake in a hot, savoury broth, and twigim, deep-fried snacks. Busan is famous for its fish cakes, with several long-established producers, and the broth, served in paper cups, is a warming way to start the day.

From Jagalchi, a short ride takes you to Gamcheon Culture Village, a hillside district of small, brightly painted houses stacked up the slope. The village began in the 1950s as a settlement for war refugees, and in 2009, a community art project, backed by local artists and residents, transformed the area with murals, sculptures and installations. Today, it is one of the most popular sites in the city, with viewpoints, cafés, art galleries and shops, and your guide leads you along staircases and lanes, explaining the history and the symbols.

Please keep in mind that Gamcheon is a residential neighbourhood, so keep noise down and respect residents' privacy. The village can be very crowded, especially at weekends, and the lanes are steep, so wear comfortable shoes.

The best times to visit are spring and autumn. Summer is hot and humid, and winter is cold but clear.

The tour lasts around six hours. A market guide, fish-cake tastings at Jagalchi, help selecting live seafood, a guided walk in Gamcheon and a return metro card are included. Raw seafood purchases are not included but can be arranged.