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15 Busan Food Favorites – What To Eat In Busan

Are you curious about Korean food in South Korea? Nick Kembel ate his way through Busan and shares his Busan food favorites. Spoiler Alert – The food in Busan is both diverse and delicious.

Busan Food Favorite
Writer Nick Kembel discovered much more than kimchi in Busan. | Image: Nick Kembel

If anyone ever tries to tell you that Korean food is nothing but kimchi, please reply that he or she is wrong.

Take Busan, South Korea’s second largest city, for example. The city is a veritable food paradise.

Pro Tip
Since there are more things to eat in Busan than you could possibly fit into a short trip, make sure you book enough time for your stay. To find the best areas and hotels to stay during your food trip, see my detailed guide to where to stay in Busan.

Busan Food Guide | What To Eat In Busan

Ssiat Hotteok in Busan
Street food is some of the best food in Busan. Pictured here is Ssiat Hotteok. | Image: Nick Kembel

For those who are wondering what to eat in Busan, I’ve compiled below 15 must-eat dishes and must-have food experiences, based on multiple trips I’ve made to the city in the last decade. Items #1-6 below are specific to Busan, while #7-15 are common throughout South Korea.

As the country’s largest port, food in Busan is unsurprisingly seafood heavy. Busan street food is also the stuff of legends and features prominently on this list.

Pro Tip
If you decide to do more than stuff yourself with tasty Busan food during your visit, check out my list of 50 things to do in Busan.

1. Seafood At Jagalchi Fish Market

Jagalchi Fish Market in Busan
This Jagalchi seafood feast featured a range of dishes including sashimi, perilla leaves, kimchi, kelp, crunchy vegetables, and sea pineapple. | Image: Nick Kembel

If there is one food that defines the Busan way of life, it’s seafood. Sea creatures (including sea plants) dominate menus across the port city. Seafood is often served raw – sometimes so raw it’s still moving!

Be prepared to spot sea creatures you didn’t even know existed. The market sells a cornucopia of sea creatures including crab, octopus, abalone, multiple kinds of fish, multiple kinds of shellfish and clams, oysters, shrimp, sea urchin, sea cucumber, skate (a type of ray), rockfish, and even blowfish.

The epicenter of seafood in Busan is Jagalchi fish market, the largest seafood market in South Korea. If you’ve just arrived and don’t know where to eat in Busan, start here. This enormous, seven story complex, as well as the surrounding neighborhood, is devoted entirely to seafood.

Haemul Jeongol in Busan
Food travelers can find Haemul Jeongo at Jagalchi fish market. | Image: Nick Kembel

To dine at Jagalchi fish market, make your selection on the first floor and then choose a restaurant on the second floor to prepare it for you. You can also just go directly to a restaurant and let them choose for you.

Keep in mind that one dish can go a long way in Korea, as Busan restaurants typically supplement it with numerous banchan (see #10 below). My Busan dish also came with haemul jeongol (spicy seafood hot pot). I only ordered one thing from the menu (sashimi), but the end result was an epic feast (see photo above).

Pro Tip
Eating at Jagalchi is not super cheap and is far better with a group since you can share the cost of the items. I don’t recommend eating here alone.

2. Milmyeon

Milmyeon in Busan
Milmyeon is a meal in a bowl in Busan. | Image: Nick Kembel

Many people consider Milmyeon to be a representative dish of Busan. This dish consists of flour noodles in a flavorful meat-based broth, topped with cucumbers, egg, meat, and gochujang (Korea’s signature chili paste which is put on everything) for spicy food lovers.

Like naengmyeon, a similar but buckwheat noodle-based dish common elsewhere in Korea, milmyeon is usually served chilled (usually with icy chunks in the broth), making it particularly refreshing in the summer. It often comes with vinegar and hot mustard on the side, and you may receive a pair of scissors to cut up the long, chewy noodles.

Pro Tip
Look for hole-in-the-wall noodles shops to find milmyeon. You can often spot the dish on pictures outside Busan restaurant or on the walls inside.

3. Street Noodles On Gukje Market Food Street

Gukje Food Street in Busan
Dining on Gukje Food Street is a must in Busan. | Image: Nick Kembel

A quintessential food experience in Busan is sitting on a tiny plastic stool on the street and digging into cheap, delicious milmyeon (see #2) or bibimdangmyeon (glass noodles), both of which are usually vegetarian, on this famous food street.

Korean ahjummas (elderly women) prepare and serve these noodles. Their stalls occupying the narrow lane are an iconic Busan sight and one of the most popular places to eat in Busan.

Plop down in a seat, point at what you want, and dig in. I recommend going for breakfast before the street gets too busy, but they’re there all morning and afternoon.

Pro Tip
The street feeds into Gukje Market, South Korea’s largest traditional market. If you have trouble locating it on a map, keep in mind that it goes by several names including Gwangbokdong Food Street and Changseondong Meokja Golmuk.

4. Ssiat Hotteok

Ssiat Hotteok in Buson
Deep fried Ssiat Hotteok pancakes are stuffed with seeds, nuts, brown sugar syrup and cinnamon. | Image: Nick Kembel

Another defining Busan treat is ssiat hotteok, a Busan variety of hotteok, or sweet, round Korean pancakes, that are popular treats all over the country.

What sets ssiat hotteok apart is that they are stuffed with a mixture of seeds, nuts, brown sugar syrup, and cinnamon before (or sometimes after) being deep-fried to perfection. The result is drool-worthy – if you only try one sweet treat in Busan, make it this one.

Pro Tip
Be prepared to line up at peak times at BIFF Square near Jagalchi Market. It’s the most famous place to try ssiat hotteok.

5. Eomuk

Eomuk in Busan
Eomuk comes in different shapes and sizes in Busan. This one came on a stick. | Image: Nick Kembel

While eomuk (fish cakes) are widely consumed across Korea, Busan is especially well known for them. Don’t let the term “fish cake” turn you off. These “cakes,” which come in various shapes, forms, and flavors, are addictive with just a tolerable hint of fishy flavor.

Like Japanese oden, sticks of eomuk are usually stewed in a salty broth (eomuk-guk). If you see a bunch of sticks protruding out of a vat of steaming liquid on the street (or in many metro stations) simply help yourself and grab one. The vendor will usually provide you with a cup of soup to wash it down as you stand there. Eomuk are a cheap and tasty snack on the go.

Eomuk Shop in Busan
You can’t miss this Eomuk shop in Busan. | Image: Nick Kembel

Visiting Busan’s most famous eomuk chain store, Samjin Eomuk, is a must. The store, founded in 1953, is Busan’s oldest fish cake producer.

You can also visit the Samjin Eomuk Main Store on Yeongdo Island (a 20-minute walk from Jagalchi Fish Market) to see people making eomuk through the store windows. When I visited, my favorites were paprika, chili, and cheese stuffed eomuk.

6. Dwaeji Gukbap

Yet another Busan specialty is dwaeji gukbap, a meaty, body-warming, miso-based soup. The dish is time-consuming to prepare; it’s made by boiling pork bones for hours, then enhanced with miso and sesame oil. Restaurants specializing in the soup are located throughout the city.

Pro Tip
You can try Dwaeji Gukbap at Sinchang Gukbap in the Toseongdong neighborhood, just a short walk from BIFF Square.

7. Kimbap (Gimbap)

Kimbap in Busan
Kimbap rolls are available all over Busan including at convenience shops. | Image: Nick Kembel

No trip to Korea would be complete without trying Kimbap, the country’s version of sushi rolls or maki. These seaweed wrapped rice rolls can be stuffed with anything from ham and cheese to vegetables and tofu.

Kimbap is the ultimate (and filling) convenience food; you can often buy a whole roll wrapped in foil or plastic to take away. It may be served warm, for breakfast, at picnics, as a side dish, and the list goes on.

Unlike Japanese sushi, Kimbap doesn’t usually come with soy sauce or wasabi, though it may be served with kimchi (what dish isn’t in Korea?) and/or bright yellow danmuji (pickled radish).

Pro Tip
Kimbap is easy to spot at food vendors, with piles of them often on display, throughout the city.

8. Pojangmacha

Pojangmacha in Busan
Pojangmacha street food vendors serve food inside tents. | Image: Nick Kembel

More of an eating experience than a single dish, a pojangmacha is a street food vendor who operates inside a tent. The word literally means “covered wagon.”

The purpose of a pojangmacha is to offer a bit of privacy while eating and drinking, as well as protection from elements such as rain or cold winter weather.

A pojangmacha can serve just about anything from dakkochi (chicken skewers) and dumplings to other Korean favorites. Customers may take items away or sit on benches while they feast on copious amounts of soju (see #14).

In Busan, the best place to find pojangmacha is beside the Lotte Department Store Main Store in Seomyeon, the city’s main bar and night clubbing district. Pojangmacha are immensely popular spots for a post-drinking snack.

Pro Tip
As a heads up, some travelers complain that they feel they were ripped off in these tents. Try to visit with a local if you can.

9. Jokbal

Jokbal, or pig’s knuckle, is a beloved dish in Korea. The meat is usually braised in soy sauce, spices, garlic, ginger, and rice wine, before being deboned and served in slices.

In Busan, there is an entire street devoted to the savory protein, called Jokbal Golmuk in Bupyeongdong neighborhood, also a short walk from BIFF Square. There you can find some 20 shops specializing in it.

These shops add their own Busan touch to the dish as well, often serving it chilled with jellyfish and crabmeat, and garnished with vegetables and spicy mustard sauce.

10. Buchimgae

Pajeon in Busan
The photo was shot at a famous pajeon restaurant called Somunnan Dongnae Pajeon in northern Busan near Heosimcheong Spa, once Asia’s largest hot spring spa. | Image: Nick Kembel

Buchimgae refers to all Korean pancakes, of which ssiat hotteok (#3 above) is just one of many.

Besides sweet pancakes like hotteok, savory varieties of buchimgae include pajeon (fried scallion pancakes), kimchi-flavored pancakes, and bindae-tteok (mung bean pancakes), just to name a few.

11. Kimchi And Other Banchan

Kimchi in Busan
Korean kimchi is both healthy and flavorful. | Image: Nick Kembel

If you go to Korea and don’t try kimchi, then you haven’t been to Korea. Kimchi is South Korea’s national dish, and it’s served as a side with just about every meal (including breakfast as I learned when teaching an English camp many years ago in South Korea).

While kimchi is the most well-known Korean food internationally, most meals in Korea are actually served with several banchan, or side dishes, and they are usually refillable. These include a huge variety of different types of fermented vegetables, as well as veggies, meat, tofu, or eggs that have been steamed, fried, marinated, and so on.

Pro Tip
It’s almost impossible to have a small meal at a restaurant in South Korea.

12. Tteokbokki

Tteokbokki in Busan
Don’t miss Tteokbokki when you visit Busan. | Image: Nick Kembel

My personal favorite street food in South Korea, especially in winter, is tteokbokki. This dish consists of rice cakes (or, as I personally feel is more accurate, “short and fat rice noodles”) in a gochujang-heavy sauce.

The combination of sweet, salty, and spicy is the quintessential taste of Korea since most of the country’s instant noodles and potato chips have the same flavor.

Tteokbokki often comes with hard boiled egg or eomuk (see #4). A note to vegetarians: the dish may look meatless, but the sauce in tteokbokki usually contains fish.

Pro Tip
To find tteokbokki in Busan, just look for the vendors with steaming vats of it on the street.

13. Korean BBQ

Korean barbecue is another staple Korean food experience and is best enjoyed with a group of friends.

Korean BBQ, or East Asian BBQ in general, is a far different from the version cooked and served in Western nations. Diners typically sit at a grilled topped table in a restaurant, either on a patio or indoors, with huge vents to suck up the smoke, cooking all manner of meats, veggies, seafood, tofu, and more. All cooking is DIY.

What differentiates Korean BBQ from most Asian varieties is that diners often wrap the meats in lettuce, perhaps adding spicy sauce or kimchi, after cooking. The meal is served with the usual banchan.

Pro Tip
Don’t think about eating Korean BBQ without beer or soju.

14. Unique Drinks In Busan

Herb Tea in Busan
Herbal tea is a soothing beverage option in Busan. | Image: Nick Kembel

While exploring Busan, you may notice that diners everywhere, at all times of day and night, usually have one (or many) small bottles of soju (shochu) on their tables. The spirit, usually made from distilled rice, wheat, barley or other starches like tapioca or sweet potatoes, contains an ABV around 25% and can come in a variety of fruit flavors.

For a totally different boozy drink, try makgeolli, a milky, sweet, sparkling rice wine. It may come bottled or served in a bowl at restaurants. Look for makgeolli in restaurant fridges in plastic soda-like bottles.

For non-alcoholic drinks, sikhye is a sweet rice beverage, often served as a dessert, and may contain rice, pine nuts, or other ingredients.

Of course, like many Asian countries, South Korea produces teas, especially green and yellow varieties. Traditional Korean teas are often infused with herbs, grains, flowers, fruits, and more.

Pro Tip
You can sample a selection of traditional Korean teas at Nae Go Hyeong Jun Tong Chat Jib in Seomyeon, Busan’s central business district.

15. Bingsu (Shaved Ice)

To conclude your eating experiences, don’t miss a heaping bowl of Korean bingsu, a shaved ice dessert.

Traditional varieties come topped with red beans, rice cakes, and nut shavings, while modern ones can include everything from chocolate and sweetened condensed milk to matcha and chocolate. Currently, fruit varieties are especially popular.

You can eat bingsu with coffee, tea, or yogurt. One bingsu shop, DALA 100% Chocolate, offers bingsu-shaped dinosaur eggs with real chocolate dinosaurs inside.

Useful Busan Facts

Busan Houses on Mountain
Image: richie0703 /Depositphotos.com
  • Busan is the second largest city in South Korea.
  • South Korea is in Asia.
  • South Korea’s currency is the South Korean Won.
  • Korean is South Korea’s official language.
  • Service is neither included nor expected at Busan restaurants.

Frequently Asked Questions

What food is Busan famous for?

Beyond its seafood and noodles, Busan is famous for foods like Milmyeon, Ssiat Hotteok and Eomuk.

Is food in Busan expensive?

No. Busan restaurants are relatively reasonable compared to other global cities.

Is tipping necessary in Busan?

No. Tipping is optional in South Korea.

Where did Anthony Bourdain eat in Busan?

Anthony Bourdain never filmed an episode of The Layover, No Reservations or Parts Unknown in Busan.

What time do people eat dinner in Busan?

People typically eat dinner between 7pm and 9pm in Busan.

Are restaurant reservations necessary in Busan?

Yes. Reservations are necessary at Busan’s better restaurants.

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About the Author

About the Author

Nick Kembel

Nick Kembel is a published author and creator of the site Spiritual Travels which focuses on travel in East Asia and traveling with kids. He lived in Taiwan for over a decade starting in 2008. Nick has contributed to CNN, National Geographic Traveller Food and numerous other publications.

Disclosure

We update our articles regularly. Some updates are major while others are minor link changes and spelling corrections. Let us know if you see anything that needs to be updated in this article.

Original Publication Date: August 30, 2019

Miss L

Monday 28th of November 2022

Vague guide to the beautiful Busan. Herbal tea? Super specific… not.

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