Jeonpo izakaya bar seats in Busan: nagasaki champon at 12.24 Seomyeon

Hey it's your little Woohaha again ~~

Today I went looking for good Jeonpo spots and found 12.24, a bar that's perfect for Christmas Eve, so I went to eat mackerel pressed sushi and beef belly nagasaki champon.

Where is 12.24 Seomyeon Branch, and what are the hours?

The bar's name is “12.24” — a place known for mackerel pressed sushi, beef belly nagasaki champon, and seriously great visuals.

It's located at 1F, 225 Jeonpo-daero, Busanjin-gu, Busan, South Korea (12.24 Seomyeon Branch). It's 293m from Exit 7 of Jeonpo Station, so it was easy to get to by subway.

Open daily 17:00 to 02:00.

Christmas vibes all year, just like the name says

From outside, I saw the name was 12.24 and thought, huh?? that's literally Christmas Eve's date, and walked in with no expectations — but sure enough, the inside was completely Christmas-themed and I was honestly surprised.

They'd hung sparkly decorations along the walls for Christmas Eve, and I could see people chatting over drinks. There were regular tables and a bar table, and we were seated at the bar table rather than a regular one.

Watching the cooking from the bar seats

From the bar table you could watch the staff cooking right in front of you, and one of the staff members kind of looked like Kyuhyun from the group Super Junior, and he was really handsome haha.

The complimentary cabbage and corn salad ~~ The cabbage was super crunchy, and the corn salad, made with corn kernels and mayonnaise sauce, was really tasty.

What's on the menu at 12.24 Seomyeon Branch?

The menu was divided into set menus, Japanese dishes, soup dishes, fried dishes, kushikatsu, sides, Japanese sake, and highballs. From all of that, we ordered mackerel pressed sushi and beef belly nagasaki champon.

Mackerel pressed sushi: nutty, with no fishy smell

First out was the mackerel pressed sushi. Since we were sitting at the bar table, we got to watch it being made before it arrived, and I kept going “wow~~” while watching.

Put a bit of wasabi on the mackerel and dip it in soy sauce, and it's amazing — zero fishy taste, really nutty. It was my first time trying mackerel pressed sushi and it was genuinely so good ㅠㅠㅠ

Beef belly nagasaki champon: smoky wok flavor, spicy broth

Next came the beef belly nagasaki champon. We chose the spicy level, and no extra smoky sauce was added — it genuinely tasted smoky from the wok cooking itself.

The broth was insane haha. Full of smoky wok flavor with a spicy kick, I kept spooning it up and got totally hooked. Champon is one of my favorite dishes, and this place is a genuine hidden gem for beef belly nagasaki champon.

With the spicy kick and the vegetables in it, it felt kind of like eating mala tang — for a second I thought, wait, is this mala tang? — but nope, it was beef belly nagasaki champon haha.

Bok choy, mung bean sprouts, beef belly, wood ear mushrooms — all delicious, and eaten together with the broth, the flavor got even more irresistible.

Noodles served separately, boiled in the broth at the table

Champon can't be without noodles ~~ so they gave us noodles separately, and while we were eating I dropped them in with a plop to simmer, then took a bite — the noodles were so soft, and once they soaked up the broth they were a perfect match.

Chicken karaage with a glass of soju

The chicken karaage was crispy outside, juicy inside. One bite and our eyes went round, happily munching away, taking a sip of the champon broth, then a shot of soju — us 💗

Today I went to check out 12.24, one of the recommended Jeonpo spots, and it really does seem like the perfect bar for couples on Christmas Eve. Eating the beef belly nagasaki champon, mackerel pressed sushi, and chicken karaage all so deliciously made for another happy date today.