Gijang Korean restaurant near Lotte Outlet: cockle and beef pancake

A full Korean meal across from Dongbusan Lotte Outlet

Before heading to Dongbusan Lotte Outlet with my husband for some shopping, we decided to fill up properly at lunch first, so we stopped by Kkomak Hansang Gijang Main Branch (꼬막한상 기장본점). The Gijang Osiria area is a popular weekend outing spot, with Lotte World Busan, Dongbusan Lotte Outlet, and Haedong Yonggungsa Temple all nearby. Kkomak Hansang Gijang Main Branch is, quite literally, right across the street from Dongbusan Lotte Outlet! It was so close that we could see the outlet across the road through the floor-to-ceiling window at our table.

It is at Morning City, 136 Gijanghaean-ro, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan, on the first floor in units 105–108, and is open daily from 11:00 to 21:00. The weekday break is from 15:00 to 17:00; for weekends and public holidays, I recommend checking before visiting. Use Morning City's underground parking and you get support for two hours of free parking. They operate without a break on weekends and public holidays, so it seemed like a great place to eat during an Osiria outing too.

Cockle bibimbap and the beef pancake set

We ordered the cockle bibimbap and beef pancake set. After a short wait, dish after dish appeared on the table, and the phrase hansang—a full table spread—felt exactly right. Cockle bibimbap was at the center, with all kinds of side dishes filling the table! It was not simply a lot of banchan (Korean side dishes); you could see the care that had gone into preparing each dish.

Even the complimentary miyeokguk (seaweed soup) had big pieces of fish in it. And the dongtaejeon (pan-fried pollack) was served hot and freshly cooked, rather than as cold pancake made ahead of time, so we enjoyed it even more.

Warm beef pancake calls for Saengtak, haha

Then the beef pancake arrived!

The moment he saw the beef pancake, my husband said, “This calls for Saengtak,” and immediately ordered a bottle, haha. I drove us home, though—I should have charged him a chauffeur fee..

A piece of warm, tender beef pancake with a glass of Saengtak makgeolli was completely my husband's kind of meal.

Gently seasoned cockle bibimbap and dried corvina

Of course, we could not skip the main dish, cockle bibimbap. Kkomak Hansang says it receives cockles from Beolgyo every dawn and adds a special soy-sauce seasoning based on a 20-year recipe. Mixing the rice, cockles, and seasoning together, it had savory depth without being overly salty, so it paired nicely with the side dishes. It was delicious wrapped in perilla leaf too.

And the unexpected standout was the dried corvina! Honestly, neither my husband nor I usually likes dried corvina that much. But this one had almost no fishiness, with a chewy, nutty flavor that kept us reaching for more.

In the end, the two of us picked one whole fish completely clean. Haha.

A meal before or after an Osiria outing

There may be a wait at weekend lunch. You can use Catchtable.

This is not a place where you just eat one bowl of cockle bibimbap and leave; with beef pancake, fish, jeon (Korean pan-fried dishes), soup, and varied side dishes, it feels like a truly complete meal. I think it would suit anyone looking for a Korean set meal in Gijang. The atmosphere also felt easygoing for a meal with parents, or when you are craving Korean food after an Osiria outing with children. And if, like us, you need somewhere to eat before or after shopping at Dongbusan Lotte Outlet, the location is incredibly convenient. We filled up before shopping, then headed straight across the street to Dongbusan Lotte Outlet :)