Busan and Gyeongju
We arrived in Busan in the morning to be picked up once again by our trusty guide Mr J. Our tour began in the city, which from a distance looks like a collection of lego blocks spilling out of the mountains. Our car climbed its way up the hill through the narrow streets of the erewhile poor quarters, where many tiny houses were built on the tombstones of Japanese settlers. As we learned in a photo exhibition towards the top of the hill, the quarters were settled by refugees. Masses of people migrated South, particularly to Busan, when US, UN and South Korean forces were pushed out of the North by China – many had in fact begged US ships to allow them on board, which they did unwillingly after dumping their arms into the sea to make space. Upon their arrival in Busan, the refugees settled on the outskirts of the city to eke out a living in awful conditions.