Busan hagfish grill on a car-free Choryang Stream walk: Gyeongbuksan

Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo (경북산꼼장어), near Busan Station, is a third-generation restaurant that's been around for over 60 years and is deeply loved by locals. I'd heard it's even better than the hagfish I'd had on Jagalchi Market's hagfish street, so my expectations were sky-high! I ate both the charcoal-grilled salt and sauce versions and I'm leaving my notes here!

Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo location, hours and parking

Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo is at 25 Choryang-ro, Dong-gu, Busan, a 4-minute walk from Choryang Station Exit 1 and a 9-minute walk from Busan Station Exit 7. It's open Monday to Thursday 13:00–00:30 and Friday to Sunday 11:00–00:30, with last order at 23:30.

• Location: 25 Choryang-ro, Dong-gu, Busan
• Hours: Mon–Thu 13:00–00:30 / Fri–Sun 11:00–00:30
• Last order: 23:30
• Parking: nearby paid lot, ₩2,000 (50 minutes) covered; otherwise ₩1,200 for the first 30 minutes, ₩400 per additional 10 minutes
• 4-minute walk from Choryang Station Exit 1, 9-minute walk from Busan Station Exit 7

A car-free Busan trip: walking along Choryang Stream

I left the car at the hotel and did this Busan trip on foot, walking to Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo from the Choryang Station intersection. I was busy looking at Choryang Stream along the way, and the hagfish place came up before I knew it. There are several hagfish restaurants in this neighborhood, and the one I'm visiting today is Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo!

I could see the owner cooking freshly prepped hagfish right there. The live hagfish were wriggling around, quite the sight~ The smell was so good that I walked in as if in a trance.

Turns out Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo is a Blue Ribbon restaurant. Two ribbon stickers are stuck right on the door.

Inside Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo: atmosphere and self-serve bar

The restaurant is small and shows its age, but it was kept clean, and I was impressed by how many travelers and locals were there. The walls are covered in celebrity autographs, so plenty of famous people have clearly visited. Being a well-known third-generation place, it has reportedly been on TV several times.

There's a self-serve corner for vegetables, and for the side dishes served separately, like sea snails, quail eggs and silkworm pupae, just ask the staff for a refill. The owner was so kind that he checked in every now and then to ask if we needed anything, haha. Bangah leaves (Korean mint) are divisive, but they're fragrant and really tasty, right? The owner told me to eat them together with the hagfish, and the pairing was so good that I got a refill!

Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo menu and prices

Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo serves salt-grilled and sauce-grilled hagfish, in sizes of small ₩45,000, medium ₩55,000, large ₩65,000 and extra large ₩75,000. The half-and-half option is available from medium size up, at the same price.

• Small ₩45,000
• Medium ₩55,000
• Large ₩65,000
• Extra large ₩75,000
• Fried rice ₩2,500 per person

I recommend getting the fried rice at the end. Don't finish all the onions; leave a little with the sauce and the fried rice will taste even better, so be sure to save some~

Half-and-half medium for two, starting with the side dishes

Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo brings out the side dishes first. Sea snails, quail eggs and silkworm pupae came out, along with perilla leaves, bangah leaves, bean sprout soup, carrot, chili pepper, garlic, onion and doenjang (fermented soybean paste). While I was busy slurping the snails out of their shells, the main dish arrived.

We ordered the half salt-grilled, half sauce-grilled hagfish in medium size for ₩55,000, plus fried rice for ₩2,500.

With that smoky char smell wafting up, I couldn't decide between salt and sauce, and when you can't decide, half-and-half is the best, right? So I ordered the medium.

How does the salt-grilled hagfish at Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo taste?

The salt-grilled hagfish at Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo was tender yet pleasantly crunchy-chewy, with a nutty charcoal aroma. It came loaded with garlic, garlic stems and onions, so there was plenty to pick at. The texture is seriously charming.

It used to be a dish that shocked me with how it looked, but now it has become a special treat I seek out now and then for its nutty flavor and texture. Dipping the classic fire-grilled hagfish into the oil-and-salt sauce first lets you taste it just as it is.

The hagfish tail, which somehow always seems tastier! It's chewy, and the more you bite, the nuttier it gets.

Is the sauce-grilled hagfish at Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo spicy?

The sauce-grilled hagfish at Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo isn't spicy; its charm is a savory, umami-rich sauce. The charcoal aroma is subtle, and it's addictive in that way where your chopsticks just keep going back.

The more it simmers down, the deeper the sauce gets, so it tastes better and better as you go, and best of all, it isn't overpowered by smoky flavor; I liked the healthy, savory seasoning.

Perilla leaf wraps with banga (Korean mint) and Zero Cola

Wrapping the hagfish in a perilla leaf with a bangah leaf was wonderful. The crunchy texture, the nuttiness and then the fragrance on top; if you've never tried bangah, I think it's worth a go.

Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo is also a great pick if you're looking for a drinking spot in Choryang, Busan, but I went with a non-alcoholic Zero Cola, haha.

Fried rice at Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo: is one serving enough?

The fried rice at Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo is ₩2,500 per serving, and even one serving for two people was generous. We were full, so we ordered just one; when there's a little onion left, you order, and they take the foil pan away and make the fried rice for you. When the rice came out, I wondered if this was really one serving. If we'd ordered two, we'd have been in trouble, haha.

They also give each person a mini seaweed snack pack, and the salty seasoned seaweed goes great with the fried rice. The onions and garlic stems mingle with the sauce for a nice chew, and it's topped with plenty of sesame seeds for extra nuttiness, which makes it fun to eat.

I wrapped it in seaweed together with the few pieces of hagfish I'd saved. It was so good that I scraped the pan clean. The fried rice isn't optional, it's a must, everyone~

Verdict on Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo in Choryang, Busan

Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo was a hagfish spot in Choryang, Busan that locals love. Visiting in person, it felt less about flash and more like a place that has won over locals with flavor for a long time. The smoky char of the salt-grilled and the savory depth of the sauce-grilled are both so good that it's hard to pick one, so I recommend ordering the half-and-half and definitely adding the fried rice!

They say hagfish in July and August is at its peak, fattier and plumper, making it ideal summer stamina food, so don't miss it.