Pusan (Busan)
South Korea’s great southern port and second city, Busan sits where the peninsula meets the Korea Strait.
South KoreaThe Port
Busan — long romanized as Pusan — is the Republic of Korea’s largest port and its second city, home to more than three million people on the southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula, where it meets the Korea Strait. Its sheltered deepwater harbor has been Korea’s gateway to the sea for centuries and ranks today among the busiest container ports on earth.
The city rises straight from the water: the wharves and the vast Jagalchi fish market give way to dense neighborhoods climbing steep green mountains, with hot-spring districts, hillside temples, and the long sweep of Haeundae Beach along the coast.
A Lifeline in War
Busan’s place in history was sealed in the summer of 1950. As North Korean forces drove south, the city anchored the Pusan Perimeter — the last defensive line held by United Nations forces, and the foothold from which the counteroffensive was launched after the Inchon landings. Throughout the Korean War it was the lifeline port through which men and materiel flowed into the fight.
Four decades later, with the 1994 North Korean nuclear crisis drawing the world’s attention back to the peninsula, Constellation operated in Korean waters at the very start of her deployment — a reminder that the U.S.–ROK alliance forged in that war still stood the watch.
Ashore
Busan gave Constellation’s crew their first foreign liberty of the cruise. Sailors came down the brow into a city of seafood markets and mountain temples, hot springs and harbor lights — a place where a Pacific sailor could feel both the weight of history and the warmth of a longtime ally.
See Pusan (Busan) in the cruise book →Questions & Answers
Why did USS Constellation visit Busan?
Constellation operated off Korea early in the 1994–95 deployment, as the North Korean nuclear crisis drew international attention. Busan, a principal Republic of Korea and U.S. Navy port, gave the crew their first foreign liberty of the cruise.
What was the Pusan Perimeter?
In the summer of 1950, the Pusan Perimeter was the last defensive line held by United Nations forces in the Korean War, anchored on the port of Busan. It held until the Inchon landings allowed U.N. forces to break out and turn the war.
Where is Busan?
Busan lies on the southeastern coast of South Korea at about 35.2°N, 129.1°E, where the peninsula meets the Korea Strait — roughly 320 km southeast of Seoul.