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What to eat in Busan

Written by hand, not generated. Dishes, markets, timing and prices for Busan.

Eating in Busan: a local guide

Busan is a port city whose food came out of two things: refugees who moved south during the Korean War, and whatever the boats brought in that morning. Dishes invented here — pork soup rice, wheat noodles — are still the default across the city, and at Jagalchi or Gijang you eat fish landed the same day.

What people eat here

  • Dwaeji gukbap (pork soup with rice) Seomyeon and Busan Station

    Pork bones and meat simmered into a broth served with rice. You season your own bowl with chive salad, salted shrimp and chilli paste.

  • Milmyeon (wheat noodles) Gaya and Gaegeum

    Wartime noodles made with wheat flour when buckwheat ran short. Served in half-frozen broth with a spoon of chilli paste stirred in. A summer dish.

  • Busan fish cake Bupyeong Kkangtong Market

    Made with a high proportion of fish, eaten both as a side dish and as a snack. Sold from market stalls and from bakery-style shops alike.

  • Kkomjangeo (grilled hagfish) Jagalchi and Gijang

    Hagfish grilled with chilli marinade or simply salted. Almost always an evening dish, eaten with drinks.

  • Ssiat hotteok (seed-filled pancake) Nampo-dong

    A fried sweet pancake split open and packed with sunflower and other seeds. A street snack that started here.

Where the food is

Jagalchi Market

The harbour fish market. Choose your fish downstairs and a restaurant upstairs will prepare and serve it.

Bupyeong Kkangtong Night Market

An alley of food stalls that opens in the evening.

Nampo-dong and BIFF Square

The old cinema district, lined with seed-pancake and snack stalls.

Gwangalli and Millak-dong

Raw fish restaurants, plus cafes positioned for the bridge and the sea view.

Jeonpo Cafe Street

A dense cluster of roasteries in the backstreets next to Seomyeon.

Daebyeon Port, Gijang

Anchovies in spring, snow crab and conger eel in winter, eaten at the harbour.

When to go

  • Wheat noodles are a May to September dish; in winter the city switches to hot soups.
  • Gijang anchovies peak in April and May, snow crab and yellowtail from November to February.
  • Night market stalls generally fill up after 19:00.

Worth knowing

  • Upstairs at Jagalchi, a table charge is added on top of the price of the fish. Confirm it before ordering.
  • If pork soup is new to you, add the chilli paste a little at a time rather than all at once.
  • Parking around Haeundae and Gwangalli is difficult on weekend evenings; subway Line 2 is easier.
  • Market stalls move faster with cash than with cards.

What it costsPork soup rice runs about KRW 9,000-11,000 and wheat noodles KRW 8,000-10,000; a raw fish spread for two is commonly KRW 50,000-80,000.

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What to Eat in Busan — Local Food Guide | TastyLog