Busan (Haeundae), Gyeongsang tide times

Busan fronts the Strait of Korea on the south-east coast of the Korean peninsula, the country's second city and largest port, with Haeundae Beach on the eastern flank, Gwangalli Beach across the headland to the south, and the working container terminals of the Port of Busan New Port wrapping the western coast. The tide here is a moderate semidiurnal signal modulated by the Strait of Korea geometry between the peninsula and the Japanese island of Tsushima. 4 on neaps.

The pattern is two highs and two lows of comparable size about twelve and a half hours apart. Down the south-west coast of Korea at Mokpo and the Yellow Sea flats the range grows to 4 metres or more on the same lunar phase — among the largest swings on the East Asian coast — but the Busan side of the peninsula sees the smaller Strait of Korea signal that the Tsushima Current modulates. The defining seasonal cultural feature at Haeundae is the winter sand-sculpture festival.

From late January through February the city builds large-scale sand sculptures along the Haeundae beach corridor that draw winter tourism even when the water temperature drops near freezing. The summer sea-bathing season runs from June through August with the beach corridor packed during the Haeundae Sand Festival in early summer and the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) drawing global crowds to the Centum City and Haeundae area in early October. The Jagalchi Fish Market on the western side of the city is the largest seafood market on the Korean peninsula and the morning auctions read the boat-return calendar from the Strait of Korea grounds.

Surfing at Songjeong Beach east of Haeundae works on the typhoon-season swell from August through October. Diamond-shape Gwanganli Bridge spans the bay between Gwangalli and Suyeong with one of the great urban-night skylines of East Asia. Tsushima ferry departures from the International Ferry Terminal, the working harbour pilotage windows for the New Port container terminals, the Yongdusan Park observation deck, the Beomeosa Buddhist temple in the inland mountains, and the Songdo Skywalk cantilevered out over the Nampo waterfront all read different parts of the working calendar.

The Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency (KHOA) publishes the authoritative tide tables; Open-Meteo Marine drives the gridded predictions on this page.