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Geojeong-dong. On the left is a Japanese bar, and this is a regular, working class neighborhood, away from tourists. Japanese restaurants show up here and there throughout Busan.

Even before Japan annexed Korea in 1910, there were lots of Japanese in Busan. They fished nearby, docked here, had their ships repaired. Some stayed and established businesses, including, most importantly, shipbuilding, and this really took off during the Japanese colonial era.

Now, South Korea is the leading shipbuilding nation on earth, with China second and Japan a distant third.



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