Costa Serena: FUK - OHA - FUK05A0C

     Busan, a bustling city of approximately 3.6 million residents, is located on the southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula.
The size of Busan is 765.64km² which is 0.8% of the whole land of the Korean Peninsula. The natural environment of Busan is a perfect example of harmony between mountains, rivers and sea. Its geography includes a coastline with superb beaches and scenic cliffs, mountains which provide excellent hiking and extraordinary views, and hot springs scattered throughout the city.
Busan enjoys four distinct seasons and a temperate climate that never gets too hot or too cold.
Busan is the second largest city in Korea. Its deep harbor and gentle tides have allowed it to grow into the largest container handling port in the country and the fifth largest in the world. In the coming years, capacity is set to grow further with the opening of the New Port. The city's natural endowments and rich history have resulted in Busan's increasing reputation as a world class city of tourism and culture, and it is also becoming renowned as an international convention destination.
Busan, a city of beautiful mountains, rivers and the sea, is also a important cultural city. With the Nakdong River bordering the city and superb natural scenery like Haeundae adding nationwide attraction, the city serves as a major nexus of cultural activities around the region. Also, Busan is the first international port city in Korea. Its location enables the city to serve as a main gateway for the Korean Peninsula and the entire Northeast Asian region.
Geographically, Busan has the Straits of Korea to its south; Ulsan to the north; Gimhae to the West. Cities that share almost the same latitude with Busan include Jinhae and Gwangju in Korea, as well as Tokyo, Jeongsen, Algiers and Oklahoma City abroad.
Busan is eight hours ahead of GMT. As for its geopolitical location, the city comes at the Southern tip of a strip that connects Asia, Siberia and Europe. It also serves as a main gateway to the Pacific Ocean.
This location places the city at the center of international sea transportation.
Busan is located at the southeastern most tip of the Korean peninsula and in the mid-latitude temperate zone, which has seasonal winds. It has four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. The annual average temperature is 15°C. The annual average precipitation is 2,397mm. Busan has strong winds compared to other areas in Korea. Spring begins in March and ends in late June. Cherry blossom trees bloom in late March. And the temperature is very comfortable in April, May and June. The rainy season at the end of June and July signals the beginning of the coming of the summer heat. The highest mean temperatures of around 32°C are at the end of July through mid-August. Fall is from early September through late-November.
The weather is nice and cool at this time because of the continental high atmospheric pressure. Winter starts by the end of November and continues until February. But Busan rarely has any snowfalls. The average winter temperature is 3.8°C. Tourists can enjoy Busan throughout all seasons because of the nice weather and beautiful scenery. In summer, the city is crowded with visitors who come to enjoy the beautiful beaches.
From its opening in 1876, the port city of Busan quickly developed into a hub of trade, commerce and industry. This development resulted in a rapid increase in its population, which had already reached 200,000 by 1936. A major leap in Busan's population came with the breakout of the Korean War, which resulted in an endless stream of people into the city. As a result, the population of Busan exceeded 1 million by the end of 1955. Another factor that spurred the population increase was the government policy for economic growth.
People from urban areas kept streaming into the city for jobs. By the end of 1994, there were approximately 4 million people who called Busan their home. Since 1995, the population has slowly begun to decrease. As of December 2006, Busan was home to 3,635,389 people.

      Keelung (sometimes called Jilong) is a major port city in the north-eastern part of Taiwan. It borders Taipei County and forms the Taipei-Keelung metropolitan area together with the City and County of Taipei.
Nicknamed the Rainy Port for its frequent rain and its important maritime role, the city is Taiwan's second largest seaport (after Kaohsiung). Keelung is currently administered as a provincial city of Taiwan Province in the Republic of China. It has been suggested that the name Keelung was derived from the local mountain whose shape resembles a rooster cage. However, it is more probable that the name was derived from the first inhabitants of the region, like the names of many other Taiwanese cities. Indeed, the area's earliest inhabitants were the Ketagalan people, and Ke-lâng was thus probably derived from Ketagalan.
The Ketagalan were a Taiwanese aboriginal tribe, whose first contact with the west was through the Spanish. From 1642 to 1668 Keelung came under Dutch control. The Dutch East India Company attacked the Spanish and, following a brief successful siege, conquered their Fort San Salvador at Santissima Trinidad. They reduced the size of the town and renamed it Fort Noort-Holland. The Dutch possessed three other fortifications in Keelung which included a small school with a Christian preacher. When the Ming Dynasty loyalist Koxinga (Cheng Ch'en-Kung) successfully attacked the Dutch in southern Taiwan, the troops stationed at the Keelung forts fled to a trading post in Japan.
However, they returned in 1663 and reoccupied and defended their former forts. Unfortunately, trade with China through Keelung did not achieve the hoped-for success, and in 1668 the Dutch left voluntarily. In 1863 the Qing Empire reopened Keelung as an international trading port and it played an important role in the economy of the region until 1885. However, from October 1884, following the outbreak of the Sino-French War, the town was occupied by the French under the command of Admiral Amédée Courbet. Keelung grew rapidly after Taiwan's passage to the Japanese in 1895 under the Treaty of Shimonoseki. It obtained the status of town in Keelung District in 1920 and was upgraded to a city of Taipei Prefecture in 1924.

     Naha Port is located on Okinawa prefecture's main island, situated 600 kilometers southwest of Japan in the middle of the East China Sea. The population of the prefecture is 1.3 million.
Okinawa consists of a few dozen small islands in the southern half of the Nansei Shoto, the island chain which stretches over about one thousand kilometers from Kyushu to Taiwan. Okinawa Prefecture is be divided into three major island groups, the Okinawa Islands (Okinawa Shoto) around Okinawa Island (Okinawa Honto), the Miyako Islands (Miyako Retto) around Miyako Island and the Yaeyama Islands (Yaeyama Retto) around Ishigaki Island. Okinawa's climate is subtropical, with temperatures barely falling below 15 degrees in winter.
The seas surrounding Okinawa's islands are considered among the world's most beautiful with coral reefs and abundant marine wildlife. Consequently, snorkeling and scuba diving are among Okinawa's top attractions. Due to its location, Naha Port has played an important role in Japanese life ever since the 15th century Ryukyu Kingdom. It is at the heart of the regional economy and local industry as well as a residential centre.
Following the end of World War II, the United States, the prefectural government and the city of Naha each separately developed parts of Naha Port until 1972. Subsequently, Naha City administered the entire port until March 31, 2002, when the NPA was established. The port is located near Shanghai and en-route between the ports of Busan and Kaohsiung, which have both achieved remarkable growth as international container ports.
Now a city district of Naha, Shuri was once the capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Shuri Castle (Shurijo) served as the administrative center and residence of the Ryukyu kings for several centuries, until Okinawa became a Japanese prefecture in 1879. Wars and fires destroyed Shuri Castle many times over the centuries, most recently in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. The current buildings are beautiful reconstructions dating from 1992. In Naha you can also visit Shikinaen, which was constructed in the late 17th century as the second residence of Ryukyu royalty. It features beautiful, relatively simple, wooden palace buildings in a typical Okinawan style, red tile roofs and a spacious Japanese style landscape garden. While designed in a style seen elsewhere in Japan, the garden is given a distinct Okinawan flavor by its buildings and subtropical flora. In 2000, Shikinaen was among the sites added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites under the collective title "Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu".

     Naha Port is located on Okinawa prefecture's main island, situated 600 kilometers southwest of Japan in the middle of the East China Sea. The population of the prefecture is 1.3 million.
Okinawa consists of a few dozen small islands in the southern half of the Nansei Shoto, the island chain which stretches over about one thousand kilometers from Kyushu to Taiwan. Okinawa Prefecture is be divided into three major island groups, the Okinawa Islands (Okinawa Shoto) around Okinawa Island (Okinawa Honto), the Miyako Islands (Miyako Retto) around Miyako Island and the Yaeyama Islands (Yaeyama Retto) around Ishigaki Island. Okinawa's climate is subtropical, with temperatures barely falling below 15 degrees in winter.
The seas surrounding Okinawa's islands are considered among the world's most beautiful with coral reefs and abundant marine wildlife. Consequently, snorkeling and scuba diving are among Okinawa's top attractions. Due to its location, Naha Port has played an important role in Japanese life ever since the 15th century Ryukyu Kingdom. It is at the heart of the regional economy and local industry as well as a residential centre.
Following the end of World War II, the United States, the prefectural government and the city of Naha each separately developed parts of Naha Port until 1972. Subsequently, Naha City administered the entire port until March 31, 2002, when the NPA was established. The port is located near Shanghai and en-route between the ports of Busan and Kaohsiung, which have both achieved remarkable growth as international container ports.
Now a city district of Naha, Shuri was once the capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Shuri Castle (Shurijo) served as the administrative center and residence of the Ryukyu kings for several centuries, until Okinawa became a Japanese prefecture in 1879. Wars and fires destroyed Shuri Castle many times over the centuries, most recently in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. The current buildings are beautiful reconstructions dating from 1992. In Naha you can also visit Shikinaen, which was constructed in the late 17th century as the second residence of Ryukyu royalty. It features beautiful, relatively simple, wooden palace buildings in a typical Okinawan style, red tile roofs and a spacious Japanese style landscape garden. While designed in a style seen elsewhere in Japan, the garden is given a distinct Okinawan flavor by its buildings and subtropical flora. In 2000, Shikinaen was among the sites added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites under the collective title "Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu".