Eating in Busan

Busan is a port city whose best-known foods were mostly shaped by hard years: refugees, aid flour, cheap cuts and a lot of fish. That makes it an easy city to eat in. Most of its signatures are inexpensive, quick and meant to be eaten standing at a stall or sitting at a counter. This page is a guide to what to order and how the meals tend to work. For the longer story of the city's cooking, see the Busan region page.

Dwaeji-gukbap: the bowl to start with

Dwaeji-gukbap, pork and rice in a hot pork broth, is the dish Busan residents most readily claim. VisitKorea describes two broth styles: a clear one made by boiling pork in water alone, and a richer one cooked with bones. A 2019 survey reported by a Busan newspaper and cited by VisitKorea counted more than 700 specialist restaurants in the city, so you will rarely walk far without finding one.

The bowl comes plain and is seasoned at the table. VisitKorea says diners usually add garlic chives first, taste the broth, and only then adjust with chopped seasoning, salted shrimp (saeujeot) or salt. Menus also vary in what goes in: meat only, offal only, blood sausage (sundae) or a mix. If you are unsure, ask for the mixed or the meat-only version and add the seasoning gradually.

Milmyeon: wheat noodles in cold broth

Milmyeon is Busan's version of cold noodles. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture explains that after the Korean War, refugees from the north could not easily find buckwheat in Busan and instead mixed aid wheat flour with sweet potato starch to make noodles in the style of northern naengmyeon. The noodles are pressed, boiled and rinsed repeatedly in cold water to remove surface starch, which is where much of the chew comes from, and they are served in a chilled broth. The same entry says the dough is salted and left to rest for a day. Many places also serve a bibim version with chili sauce in place of broth.

Eomuk, the city's fish cake

Busan is the center of Korean fish cake production. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture traces the product to Japanese kamaboko and says it boomed in the refugee years as a cheap, protein-rich food. In 2007 the city added eomuk to its premium seafood brand program, with a quality benchmark of at least 70 percent fish. You will meet it in many forms: skewered in hot broth (eomuk-tang), stir-fried as a side (eomuk-bokkeum), and inside tteokbokki and gimbap. The encyclopedia also notes newer forms such as bakery-style fish cakes.

The Nampo-dong alleys

The Korea Herald, writing in 2016, described the food alleys of Nampo-dong, around Gukje Market, Kkangtong Market and the BIFF Square plaza, as the place where the city's humble street foods survive. It named fish cake, pork-and-rice soup and seed-filled hotteok as Busan's three signature foods, and said that only the hotteok is a true street food. The same article lists tteokbokki, fried tofu pouches stuffed with glass noodles and vegetables, and flat dumplings served with spicy squid and cabbage dressed in vinegar.

Ssiat hotteok

Ssiat hotteok is the Busan take on the hotteok pancake: instead of plain brown sugar it is stuffed with sugar and a mix of seeds and nuts. According to the Korea Herald, the dough is made with glutinous rice flour and fried in margarine, which gives it a gooey center and crisp surface. The paper reports that the BIFF Square version became famous after a December 2010 appearance on a television variety show, and that the stall it calls the first seed-filled hotteok vendor opened in 1987. Lines were long when the article was written in 2016, so expect a wait at peak times and eat it hot.

Gukje Market and Jagalchi

Gukje Market began as informal street trading after liberation and grew into a hub during the Korean War, when refugees crowded into the city, according to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Today it is primarily a shopping district, so treat it as a place to walk between the food stops above rather than a single food destination. For fresh seafood, the waterfront Jagalchi Market is the one to see, and the wider culture of these markets is described in traditional markets and Korean street food.

Planning tips

• A good first day: pork-and-rice soup for an early meal, a walk through the Nampo-dong alleys with a hotteok, and fish cake as an evening snack.
• Many of these dishes arrive unseasoned or lightly seasoned. Taste first, then add salted shrimp, chili paste or vinegar to your liking.
• For ordering and paying at small counters, see ordering and paying and dining etiquette.
• Stalls come and go and queues change with television attention. Check current listings with the city's tourism office before you plan a day around one vendor.