Food History of Busan

Key eras

1. 1876-1945, the open port

   Busan opened to foreign trade in 1876 and industrialised under Japanese rule. The port years planted eomuk fish-cake workshops, wandang dumpling soup and a taste for udon around Yeongdo and Nampo, foundations the city still eats from today.

   Taste it todayBusan eomukWandang

2. 1950-1953, the wartime capital

   As Korea's provisional wartime capital, Busan absorbed refugees from across the peninsula. Necessity invented its canon: dwaeji gukbap from pork bones, milmyeon from ration wheat when northern buckwheat ran out, and Gukje Market rising from relief-goods stalls.

   Taste it todayDwaeji gukbapMilmyeon

3. 1963-1990s, the industrial port

   Container cranes and fish auctions made Busan Korea's second city. Jagalchi's ajummas became a national symbol, Gupo guksu dried by the Nakdong River fed factory shifts, and beach districts at Haeundae and Gwangalli grew their hoe centres.

4. 2010s-2026, the second food capital

   BIFF's film crowds, Jeonpo's cafe street and the Michelin Guide's 2025 Busan debut reframed Busan as a destination kitchen. Momos won the 2019 World Barista Championship, and by 2026 the city held four starred restaurants and twenty Bib Gourmands.

Immigrant influences

North Korean refugees

Milmyeon itself: naengmyeon makers from Hamhung and Pyongyang rebuilt their noodles in wheat, and their descendants still run Busan's naengmyeon and mandu houses.

Japanese (colonial era)

Eomuk fish cake, wandang soup and the udon habit came through the port, then were re-made Korean by shops like Samjin, pressing eomuk since 1953.

Chinese (Choryang Chinatown)

Choryang's Chinatown, opposite Busan Station, has fried mandu and noodle traditions dating to the 1880s treaty-port years.

Gyeongsang fishing villages

Haenyeo divers and anchovy crews from Gijang and the islands supply the raw-fish culture that fills Jagalchi, Millak and the beach hoe centres.

Signature innovations

• Dwaeji gukbap: pork-bone soup that became the city's identity dish
  Taste it todayDwaeji gukbap
• Milmyeon: wartime wheat remake of northern naengmyeon
  Taste it todayMilmyeon
• Ssiat hotteok: the seed-stuffed pancake born on BIFF Square
  Taste it todaySsiat hotteok
• Busan eomuk: fish cake elevated from side dish to bakery counter
  Taste it todayBusan eomuk
• Machine-dried Gupo guksu: noodles cured in Nakdong river wind