Less than an hour from Busan, Gimhae is one of the most overlooked cities in the region. Most people know it as the airport city, the place you pass through on the way somewhere else.

But there’s a lot more to it than that.

Gimhae is home to one of Korea’s most fascinating multicultural communities, built up over years around the city’s industrial economy.

At its centre is Dongsang Market, a traditional Korean market that has quietly become something much more interesting.

Russian supermarkets, Asian grocery stores, foreign restaurants, multilingual phone shops, a whole world that exists entirely for the thousands of foreign workers who have made Gimhae their home.

We drove out there expecting to spend an hour. We stayed four.

The full story, including a brief history of the ancient Gaya Kingdom, the food, and what it actually feels like to walk through a part of Korea that doesn’t perform for visitors, is on the Haps Korea YouTube channel.

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The Side of Korea Nobody Shows You — Gimhae

Fleet Chinhae

USAG Daegu