I walked past the old Daesun facility last week, the one sold to Hanla IMS in December. The signage is coming down and new equipment is arriving through the main gate. Where bulk carriers used to be scraped and painted, a marine equipment manufacturer is setting up.
A few hundred metres down the road, HJ Shipbuilding is finishing work on USNS Amelia Earhart, one of the first U.S. Navy MRO contracts to land in Busan. The welding sparks are visible from the bridge after sunset.
Busan's maritime district never pauses; it shifts. The rhythm stays the same: early mornings, loud machinery, paint and seawater. Cherry blossom season is days away, but the cranes were already moving at 6 AM.