5pm-open Seomyeon bar: kimchi rice balls in hot pot broth, Yuumangju

Today's the day for our Yomiyomi meetup. We usually meet on weekends, but between the holidays and health checkup schedules, we ended up meeting on a weekday this time. Honestly, drinking is drinking whether it's a weekday or weekend, so no complaints haha. Right after work I went looking for somewhere to turn my whole body into soju, and found Yuumangju — a brand-new, still-warm hot spot in Seomyeon.

Where is Yuumangju Seomyeon Branch, and what time does it open?

Yuumangju Seomyeon Branch is at 31 Dongcheon-ro 85beon-gil, Busanjin-gu, Busan, on the 2nd floor of the Seomyeon Seolpa building. Hours run from 17:00 to 03:00. I used to go to Seolpa a lot back in the day, but this time I headed up to the 2nd floor.

It was a 5pm opening and I arrived at 4:55, but the owner kindly said it was already open and I could come in. Maybe that sounds obvious, but these days plenty of places keep the door locked and won't let you in a minute early, so this little bit of kindness made me happy.

A determined-sounding line written on the stairs up to the 2nd floor. After tasting the food, I think it might actually become a hot Seomyeon bar soon hahaha.

Inside Yuumangju Seomyeon Branch: sleek black room, four-seat tables only

The 2nd floor space at Yuumangju Seomyeon Branch has all tables set for four, with walls, tables, and chairs entirely in black. The windows are big, so at 5pm the sunlight was pouring in and made it feel bright.

Wow, it was way bigger than I expected. With the big windows letting in all that sunlight right now it looks bright, but the base aesthetic is definitely black.

The place is spacious, so every table seats four. I liked that too — maybe because I'm on the bigger side, but even when it's just two of us, I like having a 4-person table haha.

Black walls, black tables, black chairs, and soft lighting glowing over it all — a clean, understated space. And the staff were genuinely so kind, I was in a good mood the whole meal!

It's an open kitchen, so I got to watch the cooking happen from a distance.

Yuumangju Seomyeon Branch menu and prices for fusion drinking food

Fusion dishes that feel both familiar and unfamiliar all at once.

• O-Dae-Bal ₩34,900 (beef intestine + chicken feet + stir-fried cuttlefish)
• Yukhoe & Shrimp Jang Kal-bibim ₩32,900
• Kimchi Daedori Tang (kimchi + beef intestine + chicken)
• Boiled Pork Nurungji Chicken Gomtang ₩29,900
• Beef Short Rib Seafood Hot Pot ₩29,900
• Beef Tendon Fish Cake Soup ₩29,900
• Soft Tofu Mala Pork Skin ₩31,900
• Yuumangju's All-in-One Chicken ₩29,000

We ordered the beef short rib seafood hot pot for ₩29,900, aged kimchi rice balls for ₩6,000, and Chamisul soju for ₩5,500.

The complimentary snack was garlic baguette. Crispy garlic baguette drizzled with sweet syrup — my hand just kept reaching for more.

Aged kimchi rice balls, 6,000 won and almost two servings

The aged kimchi rice balls (묵은지 주먹밥) at Yuumangju Seomyeon Branch cost ₩6,000, but the portion is almost like three bowls of rice. It's exactly the kind of hungry hour right after work, so we ordered it to eat alongside drinks.

The portion was genuinely huge — felt like about three bowls of rice went into it haha.

Finely diced aged kimchi, a heap of seaweed flakes, and mayonnaise generously drizzled on top.

Sanitary gloves come with it, so one person bravely mixed it all together first, ignoring the heat.

Rolled into round little rice balls, you can pop one after a shot of soju, or pop one whenever you're hungry. Very filling.

Beef belly seafood hot pot, 29,900 won: how good is the spicy broth?

The beef short rib seafood hot pot at Yuumangju Seomyeon Branch is ₩29,900, a pot packed with beef short rib, blue crab, red king crab, and whole soft tofu. Once the rice balls were done, today's main event arrived.

The base of the seafood hot pot is a cool, spicy broth, and with the beef short rib added the crab flavor stays intact while the meaty broth seeps in gently — the broth was just right.

Now let's go through what's actually in it. Since it's a beef short rib seafood hot pot, the beef sits in the center, with blue crab and red king crab split evenly on either side.

On one side, there was a whole piece of soft tofu. I'm not usually a fan of regular tofu, but soft tofu is a different story. Dip that soft, delicate tofu in the spicy broth and it's game over.

They said it tastes even better if you simmer it a bit longer, so we put it right on the burner. There was so much in the pot that some broth escaped, but honestly even the overflowing broth looked delicious haha.

The beginning and end of any broth dish should be the broth itself. Deep seafood flavor, rich and spicy — exactly the taste I wanted. I had the final say on today's food order, and I think I nailed it again haha.

Before dipping into the broth, I also ate the beef short rib on its own first.

The broth soaks right into the crab meat, so it bursts the moment it hits your mouth.

The cooling-down zone for pieces that came out way too hot.

Like this — dipping the tofu and beef short rib together into the broth.

Someone at the table who clearly knew what they were doing dipped a rice ball into the broth too, and I was so impressed I immediately followed suit — this combo gets my full approval. Another delicious meal today.

Would I go back to Yuumangju Seomyeon Branch?

The owner was so kind that it put me in a great mood, and the food was tasty overall — a solid spot for drinking.