Seomyeon

As Busan's bustling core and de facto downtown, Seomyeon plays the role of central business district by day and party hotspot by night. The streets surrounding the Lotte Hotel are famous for their pojangmacha—wheeled carts that turn into raucous drinking tents after the sun goes down—while the maze of alleys near Judie's Taewah Department Store draws young people from all over the city with its promise of music, food, and booze-fueled revelry. The adjacent neighborhoods also offer a cornucopia of pursuits, from the hipster delights of Jeonpo Cafe Street to the seemingly endless sights, sounds, and smells of Bujeon Market, the city's largest traditional center of commerce.