Busan's best destinations for film lovers

If you’re a cinephile, you’ll know about the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). Held over eight days in October, BIFF is one of Asia’s biggest annual film festivals. As well as BIFF, Korea’s film city has draws all year round; here’s a guide to Busan for those who love life through a lens.

Busan Cinema Center

The home of Busan International Film Festival, the Busan Cinema Center, is located in Centum City (next to Shinsegae Centum City, which holds a Guinness world record as the largest department store in the world). It holds events year-round in its outside auditorium and has a number of movie theatres within its 150 million-dollar building. Tours are available, but it’s also worth going just for the movie-character sculpture selfies. At night, the building is illuminated, highlighting its unique architectural design.

BIFF Square

Set in the bustling downtown area of Nampo-dong, BIFF Square is Busan’s cinema district. Movie theatres jostle with shops, cafes and restaurants, and the area is famous for its street food. It’s divided into two sections, ‘Star Street’ and ‘Festival Street’. Don’t forget to look down — on the ground are hand prints from celebrities and film-makers including Jeremy Irons, Ennio Morricone and Juliette Binoche. BIFF Square is one of the best places to try ssiat hotteok, a sweet, deep-fried pancake filled with brown sugar syrup and chopped nuts.

Black Panther filming locations

To Marvel fans, Busan may look familiar. The city was used as a location for the 2018 blockbuster movie Black Panther, and iconic buildings such as Gwangan Bridge made an appearance in the movie’s high-speed car chase. Channel your inner Wakandan and stroll through filming locations such as Jagalchi Market and Gwangalli seafront; don’t forget to take a selfie with the Black Panther statue on Gwangalli Beach!

Cinema Street

Want some seaside air? Head to Haeundae, where the seafront walk by Marine City is lined with film-related sculptures and images. There are also trick-art photo zones, film posters from Korean movies and a zone called Santorini Square, where a number of famous Korean actors and film-makers have left their hand prints. Free telescopes are set at intervals along the walk to provide a view of the ocean. The street is lit at night, so you can head down there any time you like.

K-drama filming locations

Korea’s second city has been used as a filming location for many films and TV shows, so there’s plenty of places for K-drama fans to check out. Dalmaji-gil Road’s romantic atmosphere has been used in a number of drama scenes, and it’s especially beautiful during cherry blossom season. Gukje Market was heavily used in the 2014 movie Ode To My Father, a drama film set during the Korean War. Gamcheon Culture Village was used in the popular reality show Running Man (which also featured Shinsegae Department Store) as well as in Marry Me, or Not?, the first Taiwanese drama to be filmed in Busan.

See more: Best late night restaurants to eat in Busan, Korea

Source: Internet

Visit the beautiful Yangon in Myanmar

Yangon is full of color, chaos, hustle and heat, and home to some of the most welcoming people you’ll ever meet. It’s a city with many sides; from the frenetic stalls and cafés of downtown to more laid back and leafy neighbourhoods with upmarket houses and boutique shops.

Bathe in gold at the Shwedagon Pagoda

The Shwedagon Pagoda (or Shwedagon Paya, as it’s also known) is the iconic symbol of the city — if not Burma – and for good reason. Sitting over 100 metres tall, with roots dating back more than 2,500 years, it is said to hold strands of Buddha’s hair deep inside, which makes it a hugely important site for Buddhists far and wide. Gold plated and diamond topped, the stunning structure is visible from around Yangon, and no visit is complete without spending some time there. It is truly beautiful and captivating and you might just surprise yourself with how long you stay, peering into the seemingly endless temples, shrines and more that encircle the gilded stupa. It’s also a fabulous people-watching spot — from tourists and worshippers to monks and wedding parties making their way around; and not to mention it’s truly magnificent at both sunrise and sunset.

Get to grips with the Nation’s past

National Museum of Myanmar

Two places worth your time if you want to try and get your head around Burma’s complex history are the Bogyoke Aung San Museum and the National Museum of Myanmar. Aung San is hailed as the father of modern Myanmar, not to mention the father of the leader of the National League for Democracy and famed activist, Aung San Suu Kyi. The museum pays tribute to the late general’s life with collections of speeches, papers, photos and personal items and is situated in what was his home prior to his assassination in 1947. The National Museum of Myanmar, meanwhile, looks at the country’s history and evolution as a whole with one of the largest collections of artifacts and relics relating to the development of civilisation, art and culture. Walk through time and see how Burma grew into the country it is today.

Take a minute at the Taukkyan War Cemetery

Burma played no small part in World War Two, as the more than 6,000 Allied graves at Taukkyan (also known as Htauk Kyant) War Cemetery quickly demonstrate. A Commonwealth War Graves Commission site, the cemetery is located about an hour north of downtown Yangon, but is absolutely worth the journey. Well kept and peaceful, it a lasting tribute to those who lost their lives, many fighting far from home, in the jungles of Burma. There are three memorials to look out for which, among other things, also commemorate the near 27,000 soldiers who died in during campaigns in Burma with no known grave.

Tread the boards over Kandawgyi Lake

Kandawgyi Lake sits not far from the Shwedagon Pagoda and is home to the slightly surreal Karaweik Palace (a large, seemingly floating gold structure that is now a restaurant), as well as a nature park popular with local families. It is also where you will find the rickety boardwalk around the lakes’ edge. You’re not quite taking your life into your own hands, but every step is a small leap of faith as many of the boards are loose and old. It is however, worth the careful stroll, taking you past the exceedingly posh Kandawgyi Palace Hotel and over countless lily-pads. Just make sure you have water and some sun protection with you, as once you get out into the middle, there is no shade, and no going back.

Lose yourself in Downtown Yangon

A true highlight of any visit to Yangon has to be just throwing yourself in amongst downtown Yangon’s surprisingly leafy, grid-like network of streets, most of which are handily named by number (New York style) and surprisingly spread out when you put your perfectly laid out map route into action on the street. You won’t know where to look, from the crumbling European style architecture and many market stalls that pop up late afternoon, to the gridlocked traffic at rush hour, and countless street vendors selling bowl after bowl of piping hot noodles. All this happens under a haze of construction as the city grows and develops with new tower blocks and malls swinging into place above your head. It’s the crazy, chaotic side to Yangon that quietens down very quickly from 10PM onwards, and is home to some real gems for eating, sleeping and shopping.

Read more: 7 reasons why you should visit Myanmar

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The best Shinto shrines in Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto is home to over 400 Shinto shrines, so it can be a daunting task to choose the best shrine to visit on any trip. Here are some beautiful pictures of the best shrines in Kyoto to help make your choice that little bit easier.

Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine

Fushimi Inari Shrine is an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grounds.

Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari Shrine has ancient origins, predating the capital's move to Kyoto in 794.

Heian Jingu Shrine

Heian Jingu Shrine is a relatively recent addition to Kyoto's collection of sacred places, but is still a very impressive shrine which features elegant, richly-colored buildings surrounded by large gardens in the four cardinal directions.

Built in 1895 to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the founding of Heian Kyo (Kyoto), and dedicated to the Emperors Kammu and Komei, the first and last Emperors to rule Kyoto, the buildings are a partial replica of the Imperial Palace of the Heian Period (794-1185). The vermillion-lacquered Otenmon Gate and Daigoku-den (main hall) are especially beautiful. The gardens are representative of Meiji Period garden design, and have a rich variety of flowers that change with the four seasons.

Yasaka Jinja Shrine

Yasaka Jinja Shrine is a colourful, bustling downtown shrine in the heart of the city, which overlooks the geisha and entertainment district of Gion. It is one of Kyoto’s most important shrines and has a long connection with the Kyoto Geisha community. The shrine is home to the famous Gion Matsuri which takes place every year over the entire month of July.

Shimogamo Jinja Shrine

Shimogamo Jinja Shrine is one of the oldest and most beautiful shrines in Kyoto. Located at the junction of the Takano and Kamo Rivers, the shrine is surrounded by an ancient forest with trees that are up to 600 years old making it an amazing place to take a stroll.

Kifune Jinja Shrine

Kifune Jinja Shrine is located up on a hill that offers a fantastic escape from the heat of summer in the city. Stone steps lined with red lanterns create an attractive and atmospheric setting that is just magical in any season.

Kamigamo Jinja Shrine

The Kamo Shrines, Shimogamo Shrine and Kamigamo Shrine, are both recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. They are two of the most important and oldest shrines in Kyoto.

In fact, the Kamo Shrines even predate the city's establishment as national capital in 794. Throughout the thousand years that Kyoto served as Japan's capital city, the Imperial Court patronized the shrines as establishments dedicated to the city's protection and prosperity.

See more: Discover 5 unique and incredible traditions in Kyoto

Source: Internet