Busan Korean restaurant for a rainy-day 11am brunch: Songjeongok

Today I'm reviewing a Korean restaurant near Songjeong Station and Songjeong Beach in Busan — great for a family meal, with delicious gabrisal (pork jowl) suwuk and abalone pot rice. This is Songjeongok!

Where is Songjeongok, and when does it open?

Songjeongok Songjeong Main Branch is at 54-1 Songjeonggwanghogol-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan, open daily 11:00–22:00. On weekdays there's a break time from 15:00–17:00, no break on weekends, and parking is available in front of the store.

For this Busan trip I booked a place to stay near Songjeong Beach, and it happened to be a rainy day, so I felt too lazy to start the day early haha.

So I left the accommodation around 11am and decided to walk over to Songjeongok, a Korean restaurant famous near Songjeong Beach and Songjeong Station, for breakfast.

Songjeongok sits along the coastline of Songjeong Beach, right in front of it — a great spot to stop and fill up before or after swimming with family.

Songjeongok is less than a 5-minute walk from Songjeong Beach, so accessibility is really good, and it's already known by word of mouth among tourists as a Korean restaurant near the hotels by Songjeong Beach. There's also parking space in front, making it convenient for anyone visiting the beach for a swim or traveling with family in Busan.

The seafood delivery board and live tank outside Songjeongok

Songjeongok is a premium hanjeongsik (Korean set-meal course) restaurant in Songjeong, Busan, serving a well put-together spread. Their popular seafood hinoki set lets you taste several kinds of seafood at once — a great combination of dishes.

True to a Songjeong hanjeongsik restaurant that uses fresh, quality ingredients, there's a board out front noting the dates seafood arrived and rice was milled, plus a seafood tank — it builds trust even before you step inside.

I visited just past the 11am opening time, but being a well-known Songjeong Korean restaurant, there were already quite a few diners inside.

What comes with the 23,000-won abalone seafood hinoki pot rice?

What I ordered at Songjeongok was the abalone seafood hinoki pot rice, ₩23,000 per person. The set comes with abalone pot rice, gabrisal bossam (boiled pork wrap), and seafood hinoki steam all together.

Songjeongok's menu is simple, but the food is anything but simple. Songjeongok really seems to know how to focus on what it does best!

Abalone seafood hinoki pot rice (₩23,000 per person)

The abalone hinoki pot rice set comes with abalone pot rice, gabrisal bossam, and seafood hinoki steam. The gabrisal bossam is said to be boiled using Songjeongok's own method, giving it a tenderness on a whole different level from regular bossam. It pairs well with whole octopus, apparently — moist, savory, delicious.

The abalone pot rice

Songjeongok's signature abalone pot rice is topped with abalone grilled to a golden brown over a cream sauce made from sautéed abalone innards and crab meat — a deeply flavorful, popular recommended dish. The rice is cooked in kelp broth, and with the abalone and cream sauce added, the umami really came through.

You can scoop the rice out of the pot into your side dish and pour in the hot water that comes with it, turning it into a nurungji (scorched rice)-style, nutty dish. The rice had such nice, springy texture that I asked and found out — it's made with hwangmi rice milled that same day.

The house-made fresh kimchi and seasoned crab were so good too — total rice thieves. The portions of side dishes were plenty, so I didn't need a refill, but the staff kindly let me know that all banchan, including the lettuce, are refillable.

The seafood hinoki steam

The seafood hinoki steam is made with fresh, in-season seafood and vegetables steamed in a hinoki (Japanese cypress) steamer, giving it a clean, healthy taste. Abalone and shrimp come out in the hinoki steamer, and they're delicious eaten with the paprika and onion alongside.

There were even cute shrimp-shaped fish cakes and corn in it — really filling. With just the one abalone seafood hinoki pot rice set, I was able to have a hearty brunch.

Hanok interior and the group seating on the second floor

Songjeongok uses both the 1st and 2nd floors, and the 2nd floor has spacious group seating, making it great for gatherings near Songjeong Station with friends or a group. The seating was spaced out generously.

The interior of Songjeongok, a hanjeongsik restaurant by Songjeong Beach, has the neat, warm atmosphere of a hanok (traditional Korean house).

Warm-toned wooden floors and tables, old ceramics, a luxurious-looking mother-of-pearl cabinet, and antique props all come together for a cozy, hanok-style interior that feels like visiting an old countryside home.

The restaurant is spacious and the seats are spread out well, so it was a nice place to enjoy a quiet meal with my party without being disturbed by other diners' conversations.

Is Songjeongok a good choice for a family meal?

Songjeongok, a well-known Songjeong restaurant, offers Naver Reservation and has parking in front, so it seems like a great dining spot for a family trip with kids. If you're near Songjeong Beach looking for a Korean restaurant for a family meal or a hearty bite before or after swimming, I'd recommend Songjeongok Songjeong Main Branch.

It's a restaurant that's comfortable for all ages to visit, making Songjeongok a great pick to stop by as a family dining spot near Songjeong Beach in Busan.