For my trip to Japan I used Busan Gimhae Airport which is about an hour from Daegu. Busan Gimhae Airport has a direct bus connection from DongDaegu bus terminal, which was only $7 vs $13 on the high speed train, only took 25 mins longer, but was more scenic seeing the landscape.

Busan airport is small with one domestic and one international terminal but a lot nicer than Daegu's ghost terminal. Unlike Daegu which only flies internationally to Shanghai and Beijing, Busan flies to various destinations in China, Japan, Hong Kong, as well as a dozen other Asian countries, and domestically to Seoul Incheon and Jeju Island.

The terminal was a small version of any large international airport. There were eight departure gates so no long walkways getting to your gate. Convenience store prices were the same as outside, not double like what other airports charge. Also PCs with free internet use were available like Seoul Incheon.

The terminal is a long glass building facing the runway so you get a clear view of planes landing, lining up for take off, and a clear span of the take off runway. The airport had a surprising number of army transport planes landing and taking off like clockwork. Like Daegu its a dual use military airport. Not sure where they were going and coming from in that frequency? Flying over Busan I got a birds eye view of not only the airport but of the downtown harbour, and both Gwangalli and Haeundae beaches, with some great aeriel shots (pictured below).

The return flight from Osaka was just under two hours with some turbulence. Landing at Busan Airport there were lots of military craft on the tarmac again as we taxied to the terminal building. Inside there was a tourist information desk with lots of english guides to plan other trips as well as versions in Chinese. Since I had time to kill before my Daegu bus, there was also a Popeyes take out restaurant.

The airport is connected to many destinations in southeast Korea with regular bus connections. The bus to Daegu runs every 1hr40mins and I just missed it by 10 minutes. Bit of an anti-climax having just been spoilt by Japan transport. Odd that Koreas third largest city Daegu, and second largest airport outside Seoul have such slow connections even though they're only an hour away? They have completed a light rail line that connects the airport to the Busan Metro but its still in the testing stage.

Both on arrival and return home the bus was completely full, and I was worried both times they might tell me it was sold out and to wait for the next one. At DongDaegu I can switch to the Busan City bus but at the airport there is no other option so I'd have to take the metro to the other side of town to get to the bus terminal, where daegu buses run every hour. I really think they need to change the frequency at the airport to at least hourly as the lady at the tourist desk warned me it might be possible the bus would be sold out.

Anytime I need to fly I'll try to use Daegu or Busan to avoid all the rush at Seoul Incheon. Its a lot more easier and relaxing than dealing with a massive terminal and crowds at Seoul Incheon. Also both Daegu and Busan are very easy to get to for me. For my Toronto flight I was able to take a domestic flight from Daegu and check my bags all the way to Toronto, rather than drag them for several hours and multiple transit connections to get to Incheon.

Being a dual use military airport makes for a much more interesting view on the tarmac than just another big international airport. Busan is also planning to build a second new airport on the coast as part of its long term regeneration of the city and its bid to host the 2020 summer olympics.