Molundae (Busan National Geopark)

Molundae is a scenic site (Busan Metropolitan City Monument) located where the Nakdong River Estuary meets the sea. Until the 16th century, it was an island called 'Molundo,' but sediment carried from the upper Nakdong River accumulated and connected it to Dadaepo, now forming a land-tied island. A land-tied island is created when sand deposits in the shallow sea between an island and the mainland form a sandbar, connecting them; a representative example is Seongsan Ilchulbong on Jeju Island. The name Molundae, meaning 'an island hidden in clouds,' is said to have originated because on foggy or cloudy days at the Nakdong River Estuary, the island appears submerged in clouds and invisible. At Molundae, one can observe the lower Dadaepo Formation from the end of the Cretaceous period about 80 million years ago, along with the subsequent crustal deformation processes of Busan. It is a place worthy of being called a textbook of geology, preserving various geological features such as faults, fault rocks, dikes, veins, chert bands, cross-bedding, and trace fossils.<br>Address: San 144, Dadae-dong, Saha-gu, Busan