Seomyeon pufferfish soup restaurant for a hangover cure: Busan Bokjip

A Seomyeon pufferfish restaurant in the same spot for over 25 years

I drank wayyy too much the night before (I keep saying I'll drink in moderation, but that's been years now, haha). The moment I woke up the next morning, only one thought was in my head: ugh... what should I have for haejang (hangover food)? Normally I'd reach for gukbap (rice and soup) or ramyeon, but that day I really wanted something hot and refreshing like pufferfish soup. So I looked around and ended up visiting Busan Bokjip.

I heard this place had been running in the same spot for over 25 years, so I figured it had to be the real deal. Bottom line up front: if you're looking for a hangover cure the morning after drinking, I recommend this place... One sip of the broth and I let out an involuntary "aahhh~~~" haha.

Busan Bokjip has seating up to the 2nd floor, though I didn't get to take photos up there, sadly. The space felt roomy enough for family meals, get-togethers, or even group visits.

Looking at the walls, I noticed a bunch of clippings from food shows that had featured the place. Definitely lives up to its reputation as a longtime Seomyeon pufferfish soup favorite — seems like people already in the know, know.

How much is wild chambok pufferfish at Busan Bokjip?

We ordered the wild pufferfish (chameonbok) at ₩23,000 × 2 servings. We just came for a bowl of pufferfish soup, but as dish after dish started arriving, the spread turned out to be way more generous than expected.

Before the soup: pufferfish skin salad and salmon sushi

After ordering and waiting a bit, the pufferfish skin salad and salmon sushi arrived first.

The pufferfish skin had that signature chewy texture, done right! Eaten together with the fragrant minari (water dropwort), it was chewy yet refreshing and really woke up my appetite. The sushi went well alongside it too — it was fun picking at things one by one even before the main pufferfish soup arrived, haha.

Starting the hangover cure with white rice porridge

Next up was white rice porridge (huinjuk)! My stomach was in absolute chaos from the previous night's drinking, haha, so having a soft porridge to gently calm things down before diving into the hot pufferfish soup was such a relief. It wasn't spicy or heavy at all, just soft, and a few spoonfuls in, my stomach already felt much more at ease! Stomach officially prepped for the real hangover cure, haha.

The side dishes at Busan Bokjip, one by one

Then the side dishes spread out across the table — more variety and a better lineup than I expected. Eating through them, I could tell the owner definitely has real cooking skill.

The side dishes didn't feel like they were just there to pad out the count — every single one was actually good!

The one that hit my personal taste dead-on was the kkosiraegi (seaweed strand) salad. Nice crunchy-chewy texture, seasoning right on point — I ended up asking for a refill, haha.

The skate salad was good too, the flesh soft and blended nicely with the seasoning.

And then the fried pufferfish I loved! Freshly fried, so crispy on the outside while the pufferfish meat inside stayed moist and tender — proper crispy-outside, tender-inside vibes, love it. Coming for pufferfish soup and getting fried pufferfish too meant I got to enjoy pufferfish in more than one way, which was great.

On top of that, a soft steamed egg (gyeranjjim) came out too, so the ₩23,000 spread turned out to be way more substantial than I expected.

Wild pufferfish soup loaded with minari (water dropwort) and bean sprouts

And finally, today's main event! Wild pufferfish soup piled high with minari and bean sprouts, appears✨ It came out still bubbling away in the earthenware pot, and the moment I saw it I just knew — this was today's hangover cure, haha.

Before digging into the solids, I tried the broth first. Aahhh~~~~~~ you know that feeling only someone who drank the night before understands, haha. The broth wasn't sharply salty or heavy — it was deep yet clear and refreshing, and it went straight down into my stomach! I finally understood why people reach for pufferfish soup as a hangover cure. So I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a hangover spot in Seomyeon.

There was plenty of pufferfish inside too. I first tried a bite of enoki mushroom, bean sprouts, and minari together with the broth. The crunchy bean sprouts plus the fragrant minari made the cool broth taste even cleaner.

The chameonbok flesh wasn't dry at all — moist and soft. The pufferfish skin part was chewy in a totally different way from the flesh! Alternating between a bite of soft meat and a bite of chewy skin was genuinely fun, haha.

There were even innards inside, so I got to try a variety of different parts.

A sip of the refreshing broth → a bite of soft pufferfish → a spoonful of rice, cycling through that combo really did wonders for the hangover. It was also delicious with rice lightly mixed into the broth, or with pufferfish flesh placed on top of the rice and eaten with the broth — good either way!

I had barely any appetite at first from drinking too much the night before, but before I knew it, I'd polished off the rice too... haha. Since the pufferfish meat itself is so moist and tender, I think people who like mild, clean-tasting fish would enjoy this a lot too.

Is Busan Bokjip worth it as a hangover meal in Seomyeon?

• A Seomyeon pufferfish soup favorite open for over 25 years
• Clear, deep, refreshing broth — perfect for a hangover
• Wild pufferfish flesh is moist and tender
• Get to enjoy everything from chewy skin to innards
• Generous spread with skin salad, white porridge, fried pufferfish, steamed egg, and more
• Every single side dish was genuinely tasty

I drank way too much the night before and visited Busan Bokjip with one goal only: cure the hangover. With the piping-hot earthenware pot loaded with bean sprouts and minari, the refreshing broth, and the soft wild pufferfish, my stomach felt completely restored... haha. This is the place I'll think of on a day I want to clean up my hangover in a lighter, more refreshing way than gukbap or ramyeon. I know I'll be thinking of it again the next time I drink too much, haha.