Busan is a bustling port city where certain times and places remind you just how many bodies call it home. Word on the street though often remarks on a kind of looseness in the air. The ocean helps. Escapes like the Oncheoncheon too. Not quite from beginning to end, but as far as I could follow the Oncheon Stream from Namsan Station in the city’s north to where it breaks from the path of the sheltering metro tracks in the Dongnae district, cutting southeast towards the Suyeong River then onward towards Mother Pacific Drink, I did. Let’s call it a two-hour stroll. One online account puts the stream at 15 kilometers. Why not. Until I buy a tape measure, I’ll concede.
There are plenty of changes along the way, from wall art to echo-y sub-surface tunnels. Stone slabs no tough guy could budge form bridges now and then, allowing you to cross for a different view or circle back whence you came. The view towards the northern end of the stream is rougher ‘round the edges, the water shallower and street life on either side more visible. But there are also fewer eyes and maybe more a feeling of calm. The stream widens and deepens as you move towards Suyeong. By the gurgling flow are cycling paths and courts. You can shoot hoops and smash shuttles, bench press and do chin-ups at your leisure. Or just stroll. I like the city down here, the soft glow of the cherry blossoms come spring and the herons’ frozen patience. Restaurants and motels look on from the streets above but unlike that world, this one doesn’t want your money. Even the canal’s bike rental shops ask for nothing beyond ID.
Colin Moore 