Gimhae Yulha-dong kalguksu restaurant for three: Seosan Dongjuk

I went to visit my parents in Busan recently and had a few sponsored meals lined up, so we went around eating together~ My mom was genuinely moved by the food at Seosan Dongjuk Kalguksu, and seeing her so happy, my dad actually asked me how to start a blog lol. A restaurant good enough to move an ISTJ mom and drag an ENTJ dad into the blogging world — here's my honest review of Seosan Dongjuk Kalguksu.

Where Seosan Dongjuk Kalguksu is in Yulha-dong, Gimhae, and where to park

Seosan Dongjuk Kalguksu sits right in the center of Yulha-dong, Gimhae, and there's a parking space right in front. It was my first time in Yulha-dong, and it turned out to be a really big, clean, well-organized new town. My dad's car is pretty large, but parking was easy.

A roomy hall for dining with parents, plus solo seats

The hall at Seosan Dongjuk Kalguksu is spacious, with big gaps between tables! That meant we could chat privately with my parents over the meal. The hall was also so clean that even my mom — who doesn't tolerate a speck of dust at home — was 200% satisfied.

There are also seats set up for solo dining! Perfect for days when you want to eat quietly without anyone's eyes on you haha.

The cute pepper and sesame salt shakers on the table haha. Even these are spotless... such a pleasant restaurant. My dad kept tapping pepper onto his kalguksu.

Ordering for three: one clam hot pot and one kalguksu less than the headcount

There's a tablet at each table for ordering at Seosan Dongjuk Kalguksu. We ordered clam kalguksu, onaksae seafood pancake, and clam soup.

Even at famous kalguksu spots in Daejeon, they tell you to order one clam soup and kalguksu for (number of people) minus one — that way you still get to enjoy the refreshing clam soup, and there's plenty of kalguksu to fill you up. Highly recommend ordering this way!

True to a proper kalguksu place, the only side dish is kimchi! Honestly, you don't need any other banchan with kalguksu — you just need the kimchi to be spicy and delicious haha. They said the kimchi at Seosan Dongjuk Kalguksu is mixed fresh every morning with fresh ingredients! And the dongjuk clams are brought in fresh directly from Seosan — a famous restaurant really does earn its reputation.

How was the clam hot pot at Seosan Dongjuk Kalguksu?

The clam soup came out first. This flavor took me back to college days, when my sister used to make this exact soup to cure my hangovers ㅠㅠ Refreshing and spicy-savory, with plump clams — but honestly the broth alone had me reaching for spoonful after spoonful.

The clams were genuinely fresh and plump! At some restaurants you occasionally get dead clams or ones full of sand, but there was none of that here, so I could eat worry-free haha.

Onaksae seafood pancake dipped in chojang (sweet chili vinegar sauce)

Next up, the onaksae seafood pancake haha.

I'm not really a huge fan of seafood pancake, so honestly I wanted to order an extra kalguksu instead of the pancake — but one bite of the onaksae seafood pancake changed my mind completely ㅠㅠ

Wow, this is genuinely delicious. It's practically overflowing with squid, octopus, and shrimp. The staff told us it's great dipped in chojang (vinegared chili sauce), and I tried it — out-of-this-world umami...... Why did nobody ever tell me seafood pancake pairs this well with chojang.

Can one serving of clam kalguksu really feed three people?

Finally, the clam kalguksu arrived, so all our food was out. We split one serving of kalguksu three ways, and even so, together with the pancake and clam soup, we weren't short at all — actually we ended up pleasantly, moderately full haha.

Looking at the whole spread on the table, it really was generous, right? Getting to eat this much seafood without holding back — pure heaven for my mom and me, both of us being fans of ocean flavors.

Who would've thought a kalguksu restaurant could serve you this lavishly~ I'm back in Icheon now as I write this, but this is a flavor I'd love to have again, even if it means going all the way back to Gimhae.

We really cleaned our plates completely lol. The food was delicious enough to be satisfying on its own, but the spotless interior was another layer of satisfaction, and the kind staff moved me even more — such a great restaurant to visit with parents. Thanks to Seosan Dongjuk Kalguksu for the happy experience, and I recommend this precious meal to all of you too!!