Dwaeji gukbap in Busan: where to go and what to order

Dwaeji gukbap is Busan's pork soup with rice, and a bowl costs about 9,500 to 11,000 won. Taste the broth, stir in the chives, then season it with salted shrimp. The easy places to start are the gukbap alley beside Seomyeon Market, where shops stay open through the night, and the streets a few minutes from Busan Station, so a bowl fits straight onto a KTX day.

It's the meal Busan eats at any hour: breakfast before a train, lunch between sights, the last stop after a night out. Every local has a favourite shop. Any busy one will feed you well.

What it is

Slices of boiled pork in a hot broth, served in a heavy stone bowl. Rice comes with it, along with kimchi, cubes of radish kimchi, a little dish of salted shrimp (saeujeot) and a pile of seasoned chives (buchu). Some shops add a small plate of thin wheat noodles.

The broth comes two ways. Simmered with pork bones, it's milky, rich and deep. Made with meat alone, it's clear and lighter. The old shops lean milky. Some of the newer, Michelin-listed ones go clean.

What to order

• Dwaeji gukbap (돼지국밥). The plain pork bowl, sometimes listed as gogi gukbap. Start here.
• Seokkeo gukbap (섞어국밥). "Mixed": pork with offal, or pork with sundae, Korea's blood sausage. Good if you like a chewier bowl. If you'd rather skip offal, stay with the plain one.
• Naejang gukbap and sundae gukbap. Offal only, or sundae only.
• Suyuk baekban (수육백반). The soup and rice with a plate of boiled pork on the side. The one to order when you're hungry, and the best way to taste the pork on its own.
• Ttaro gukbap (따로국밥). The rice comes in its own bowl instead of in the soup. Plenty of shops serve it this way anyway, which lets you add rice as you go.

How to eat it

1. Taste the broth before you add anything.
2. Tip in the chives and let them wilt.
3. Season with salted shrimp, a little at a time. It's very salty, and it's the classic Busan move. Salt sits on the table too.
4. The red chilli paste, dadaegi, goes in last if you want heat. Some shops put a spoonful on top for you. Ask for it on the side if you want to taste the broth clean first.
5. If noodles come with it, eat them in the broth first, then add the rice a spoonful at a time.

Kimchi and radish kimchi are refilled if you ask.

Where to go

Seomyeon: Songjeong 3dae Gukbap

Songjeong 3dae Gukbap (송정3대국밥) is the easy first bowl. It's in the gukbap alley beside Seomyeon Market, about 200 metres from Exit 1 of Seomyeon Station, and it's open 24 hours, with a short break before dawn. The room is big, with around 130 seats, and the menu comes in English. The broth is mellow and porky rather than heavy.

Order the plain bowl, about 9,500 won, or the suyuk baekban, about 12,000 won. It's at 33 Seomyeon-ro 68beon-gil, Busanjin-gu.

Busan Station: Bonjeon Dwaeji Gukbap

Bonjeon Dwaeji Gukbap (본전돼지국밥) is the one to walk to with your suitcase. It's on the Choryang side of the main road, a few minutes on foot from Busan Station. From the metro, take Exit 6. The broth is clean-tasting, with no porky smell, and the bowls are generous.

Expect a queue of 20 to 40 minutes at lunch and at weekends. There's no waitlist app, so you line up at the door, and the line moves faster than it looks. The room is small, so leave big bags by the entrance. A plain or mixed bowl is about 11,000 won, and the suyuk baekban is about 14,000 won. It's open from about 09:00 to 21:00, with last orders at 20:30. The address is 3-8 Jungang-daero 214beon-gil, Dong-gu.

Near Gwangalli: Anmok

Anmok (안목) is the Michelin pick, a Bib Gourmand every year from 2024 to 2026. The broth is simmered from pork bones for more than 24 hours and comes already seasoned, so taste it before you reach for the shrimp. Count on about 10,000 to 11,000 won a bowl.

The main shop is at 33 Namcheonbada-ro, Suyeong-gu, near Namcheon Station on Line 2 and a short walk from Gwangalli Beach. It's open 11:00 to 21:00, last order 20:30, and it closes early when the day's broth runs out. Lunch queues can run past an hour. Join the CatchTable waitlist when it opens and take a walk by the beach while you wait.

Anmok is opening at ION Orchard in Singapore in December 2026, if you want a bowl before or after the trip.

For a clear broth: Hapcheon Gukbapjip

Hapcheon Gukbapjip (합천국밥집) is another Michelin Bib Gourmand for gukbap, at 235 Yongho-ro in Nam-gu, away from the usual sights. The pork is warmed by pouring broth over it again and again, then served in a clear, savoury soup. Go for the boiled pork slices too, and go early, because they sell out. If you're on your own, skip the 11:00 to 13:00 rush.

What it costs

Prices checked October 2026.

• A plain bowl: about 9,500 to 11,000 won
• Mixed, offal or sundae: about the same as the plain bowl
• Suyuk baekban: about 12,000 to 14,000 won
• A plate of boiled pork to share: about 30,000 won and up

Prices creep up, so check the board in the shop.

When to go

Gukbap is a breakfast and late-night food as much as a lunch. Lunch, from about 11:00 to 13:00, is the busy hour everywhere. At Bonjeon and Anmok, go before 11:00 or after 14:00. The Seomyeon alley is the place for a bowl at 2am.

Weekends and public holidays are the busiest days. Many shops close for Seollal and Chuseok, the two big family holidays, so check ahead if your trip lands on one.

What to expect

You sit down and order at the table, or at a kiosk by the door in some shops. The side dishes arrive first, and the soup follows quickly. Pay at the counter on the way out. Cards are fine.

Eating alone is completely normal. When people are waiting, finish up and give the table back.

If it's full

• Near Busan Station: Anmok's Choryang branch, at 86 Choryang-ro, Dong-gu, is open 11:00 to 21:00.
• In Seomyeon: Pohang Dwaeji Gukbap is a few doors along the same alley, at 27 Seomyeon-ro 68beon-gil. Anmok's Seomyeon branch, at 68 Seomyeon-ro, is open 10:00 to 22:00.

Fit it into your trip

Busan is about 2.5 hours from Seoul on the KTX, and our KTX booking guide has the day tickets go on sale. Bonjeon or Anmok's Choryang branch is a good last meal before the train home. After dark, a Busan self-serve ramyeon shop is the other late snack, and our Buldak guide shows how the cookers work. Starting in Seoul? See where to eat in Seoul, and stock up for the train at a Korean convenience store. Our 7-day Korea itinerary has a Busan stop.

Sources

Last checked: 30 October 2026.

• VisitKorea, Dwaejigukbap: Busan's Representative Local Dish, 20 February 2025: what comes with the bowl, how to season it, clear and rich broths, the menu terms (offal only, sundae only, mixed), toryeom, and the Seomyeon gukbap street beside Seomyeon Market. Songjeong 3dae Gukbap at 33 Seomyeon-ro 68beon-gil, about 200 m from Seomyeon Station Exit 1, 136 seats, English menu. Anmok's pork-bone broth simmered for over 24 hours. Prices on this page were 2025 and are not used.
• VisitKorea, Songjeong Samdae Gukbap: open all day, all year.
• Visit Busan, food tour: chives, salted shrimp and thin noodles served with the soup.
• Anmok stores, read 30 October 2026: main store at 33 Namcheonbada-ro, Suyeong-gu, and Choryang (Busan Station) at 86 Choryang-ro, both 11:00 to 21:00, last order 20:30. Seomyeon at 68 Seomyeon-ro, 10:00 to 22:00, last order 21:00. ION Orchard, Singapore, opening December 2026. Anmok home page: Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand 2024, 2025 and 2026, and broth simmered for 24 hours from Korean pork bones.
• Michelin Guide, Busan Bib Gourmand list: Anmok and Hapcheon Gukbapjip listed for dwaeji gukbap. Hapcheon Gukbapjip: 235 Yongho-ro, Nam-gu, the broth poured over and drained, clear broth, boiled pork slices that sell out.
• Busan Metropolitan City, Michelin Guide Busan: Dwaeji gukbap: Hapcheon's boiled pork is limited, so arrive early, and solo diners should avoid 11:00 to 13:00.
• Anmok closing early when ingredients run out: Korea Tourism Organization TourAPI listing, as republished on KoreaTourInfo, updated 23 March 2026.
• Approximate, from secondary sources (visitor posts and guides, not the shops): Bonjeon's hours (about 09:00 to 21:00, last order 20:30; some posts give 08:40 opening), 11,000 won bowls and 14,000 won suyuk baekban, queues of 20 to 40 minutes, no waitlist app, Exit 6, small room, from Gilpost (posts from 23 September to 19 October 2026) and Luuumu. Songjeong 3dae Gukbap at 9,500 won and 12,000 won for suyuk baekban, and its short break before dawn, from Busan Taste and Luuumu. Pohang Dwaeji Gukbap at 27 Seomyeon-ro 68beon-gil, from Luuumu. Anmok's CatchTable waitlist and lunch waits of over an hour, from Naver blog posts of February 2026 (1, 2). Seollal and Chuseok closures, from Luuumu.
• Photos: chomjong, via Flickr and Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped. Table photo and chilli paste photo. Similar bowls, not from a shop named on this page.