Korea's resort district, and it looks like one: 1.5km of restored sand with a wall of forty-storey towers behind it, a 411-metre observatory, a marina, and Busan's entire Michelin star count — all four of them — inside one gu. It is also the district with the city's best free coastal walking, a 1910s market five minutes from the beach, and an ₩8,000 breakfast two minutes from the metro. The towers and the ₩8,000 bowl are both true at once, and which Haeundae you get depends almost entirely on how far inland you are willing to walk.
Who it's for: First-time visitors who want the beach, the skyline and the famous rides in one place and do not want to work for it. Walkers — Dongbaekseom, Moontan Road and the Blueline deck are three of the best free walks in Busan and none of them are hard. Anyone eating seriously: this is by a wide margin the densest district in the city for trusted-tier restaurants. Families, because the beach is supervised in season and the train and skywalk are child-priced or free. People who want to be able to eat at 07:00 and again at 02:00.