Busan Korean restaurant, scorched-rice tea finish: Songjeongok

Songjeongok is a Korean restaurant located at 54-1 Songjeonggwangeogol-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan, spread across the 1st and 2nd floors. It's open 11:00–22:00, with a weekday break time from 15:00–17:00, and parking is available.

I recently visited Songjeongok, a well-known spot in Songjeong for its pot rice! I love Korean food in general, so this really suited my taste — the side dishes and the main dish both came out neat and generous, so it'd also be a great spot to bring your parents haha. Especially with the hearty pot rice, I left feeling like I'd had a proper full meal! Let me introduce Songjeongok, a Songjeong favorite for Korean set meals, in detail :)

Where is Songjeongok? Hanok exterior and named-ingredient policy

The exterior is a shiny, upscale hanok (traditional Korean house) style — doesn't it look like a proper Korean set-meal restaurant right away haha? It's fairly large and stands out from a distance, so I could spot Songjeongok easily even from far away!

Songjeongok also runs a named-ingredient policy! I hadn't seen this before so I looked closely — they record everything from when the seafood arrived to the rice's milling date. Being able to check this myself made me trust that they really care about ingredient management :)

Inside Songjeongok's first and second floors: good for family gatherings or groups?

Songjeongok is split into 1st and 2nd floors, and the overall vibe was clean and comfortable haha. It felt easy enough to bring your parents, so it'd also work well for a family meal or family gathering!

I climbed the stairs and checked out the 2nd floor too! At night, the soft view of the Songjeong scenery outside the window made it feel a bit more atmospheric than the 1st floor haha. Overall the 2nd floor has more spacious seating and a calmer mood, so it seemed good for family meetings, family gatherings, or even bigger group meetups.

What comes with the 19,000 won abalone pot rice set at Songjeongok

Being a well-known spot, the side dishes at Songjeongok were really impressive right from the start..! Dried radish strips and kimchi came out, perfect to pair with bossam, along with soy crab, baek-kimchi (white kimchi), green onion kimchi, and tofu — the side dish lineup was pretty varied 👀

And for the main dish, I ordered the abalone pot rice set.

• Abalone pot rice set, 19,000 won per person

On top of that, there was salad and seasoned squid! The side dish quality is amazing, right? 👀

On top of that, fresh wrap vegetables and savory doenjang (soybean paste) came out too, so the side dishes alone already felt like a full, generous spread haha. Great for wrapping with the bossam, and dipping in the doenjang here and there made it even heartier and tastier 🩷

The tender bossam that came as a basic side dish was so good on its own 🩷 The meat was soft and juicy, and paired with the dried radish strips and kimchi it was seriously delicious haha. Even before the main dish arrived, I already felt like I was having a proper meal…!

And the various side dishes that go along with the bossam all paired well together!

I made a full, neat wrap, and of course the dried radish strips + boiled pork combo — one of my favorites — couldn't be skipped haha. The soft boiled pork with crunchy, savory dried radish strips and green onion kimchi was such a great match!

Songjeongok's abalone-innard pot rice and the scorched-rice tea finish

Finally, the main dish — the abalone pot rice — arrived 👀 This was exactly the dish I wanted to feature as a Songjeong pot rice recommendation! As soon as it came out, a savory aroma spread through the air, and I realized this must be the abalone innards haha. With a faint scent of the sea and a deep, nutty abalone-innard flavor, the aroma alone got my appetite going! Visually, it was packed with innards giving it a rich color, and topped with egg it looked even more appetizing :)

Wow… it was seriously savory and creamy! The deep, nutty richness unique to abalone innards came through, and the texture was soft and creamy — so delicious haha. Eating it together with the egg made the rich abalone-innard flavor even smoother, and the combination worked really well 👀

After eating a good amount of the pot rice, I finished it off by pouring in the scorched-rice tea they provided haha. Letting the rice stuck to the bottom of the pot soften slightly added a savory taste, making it the perfect warm finish after the abalone pot rice :) After the rich, savory abalone-innard pot rice, cleansing my palate with the light scorched-rice tea felt so much cleaner!

Who should eat at Songjeongok in Haeundae?

Overall, from the side dishes to the main abalone pot rice, everything came out neat yet generous, and I left satisfied with Songjeongok! In particular, the abalone pot rice — with its rich, nutty abalone-innard flavor blending creamily with the egg — was the most memorable part haha. The restaurant's atmosphere is clean and calm too, so it's good for dining with your parents, and also seems suitable for family meals or slightly more formal occasions like a meeting between families. If you're looking for a Songjeong Korean restaurant or Songjeong pot rice spot, I'd say it's worth visiting Songjeongok for a generous full spread!👀