Gijang seafood restaurant for seasoned hagfish: Ihwajang Hoetjip

What is Gijang Ihwajang Hoetjip?

Gijang Ihwajang Hoetjip (기장 이화장횟집) is a big two-floor raw fish and seafood restaurant inside Daebyeon Port in Gijang, Busan. It's close to Haedong Yonggungsa temple, so it's also called a Haedong Yonggungsa food spot, and it's popular for all kinds of anchovy dishes (ssambap, stew, grilled, fried, seasoned raw anchovy, braised) plus straw-fire hagfish and seasoned hagfish (gomjangeo).

Gijang has so many places worth visiting that I stop here every time I come to Busan. It's easy to drop by after Lotte Outlet, IKEA or Haedong Yonggungsa. Lots of families come, and there are plenty of dishes that go well with a drink.

This time I had the seasoned hagfish. Hagfish is high in protein and is said to have 200 times the vitamin A of beef, so I recommend eating it now and then for your health. I already liked hagfish, but the seasoned hagfish here tastes especially good. It isn't spicy, so it's fine to eat with a child, and the sauce is so good it's perfect for frying rice afterward.

Put hagfish on lettuce and wrap it up, and it's honey-sweet, guaranteed! This is what I come to Gijang Ihwajang Hoetjip for ^^

Gijang Ihwajang Hoetjip location, hours and parking

• Address: 560-5 Gijanghaean-ro, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan
• Hours: 10:00–20:30
• Parking: yes

There's plenty of parking in front of and beside the restaurant, so no parking worries. It sits right in front of Daebyeon Port with a sea view, and the two-story building is visible from afar. It has been on TV several times.

2026 Gijang Anchovy Festival dates

The Gijang Anchovy Festival is scheduled for April 24–26, 2026. With famous celebrities and all kinds of events, visiting Gijang then sounds like a lot of fun.

Should you book the 2nd-floor window seats at Gijang Ihwajang Hoetjip?

If you want a seat at the 2nd-floor sea-view window, I'd reserve ahead. When I went upstairs, the window seats were already full, so I sat in the next row. The place is so spacious that it's great for families and group gatherings.

Gijang Ihwajang Hoetjip menu and what we ordered

There's a wide range of anchovy dishes: raw anchovy, stew, ssambap, grilled and fried. Leaving without trying them seemed a shame, so I ordered the grilled and fried anchovies and chose the seasoned version of the hagfish. They also have abalone clam seaweed soup, flounder seaweed soup, rockfish spicy stew, mulhoe (cold raw fish soup), hoedeopbap (raw fish rice bowl), abalone porridge, and seafood like rock bream, sea bream, flounder and assorted raw fish. They have just about everything.

The wriggling live hagfish arrives along with a variety of side dishes. Cook it on the grill for about 10 minutes and it's tender and soft.

Sides include mussel soup, salad, chive pancake and seasoned vegetables.

The hagfish is already seasoned, so just keep turning it as it cooks. Meanwhile the side dishes and the extra fried and grilled anchovies I ordered arrived. With the whole table full, my mouth was watering, and it's food that makes you think of soju and beer.

Fried anchovies in Gijang: are there many bones?

The fried anchovies here are fried to order. The guts are removed before frying, so there's no bitterness at all, just a nutty flavor. There are small bones, but they're soft enough to eat.

For children I'd pick the bones out, but adults can just crunch away with no problem.

The nutty fried anchovies are even better dipped in soy sauce.

You can see the bones, right?

But very little caught in my mouth when I ate them. So I enjoyed them, nutty and clean-tasting, with no discomfort.

What do straw-fire grilled anchovies taste like?

The grilled anchovies come with head and guts, grilled right over a straw fire. They have a deep smoky aroma, and the guts give a bittersweet, nutty flavor.

You can eat them head and all, or pull off the head and crunch only the body. The bitterness of the guts depends on taste, but I like it. It was nutty and delicious.

Is the seasoned hagfish at Gijang Ihwajang Hoetjip OK for kids?

The seasoned hagfish looks spicy but isn't spicy at all, so even a child can eat it. I ordered it for 2 people, and with generous vegetables piled on top of the hagfish it looked great. Just stir it on the grill until cooked, and you're done!

The look of this Haedong Yonggungsa food spot made my heart skip. You just flip it front and back, so it's not hard, and staff helped when they weren't busy.

It's not spicy but well seasoned, and the hagfish is tender and soft. I ate it crunchy together with the vegetables.

Once it's cooked enough, turn off the heat and enjoy the hagfish's own flavor. The sauce whets your appetite, so it's good on its own, and wrapped in leafy greens it pairs wonderfully with the vegetables.

That day I was hooked on perilla leaf wraps more than lettuce, topped with pickled garlic. Yum.

Watching it wriggle, I thought it might be a bit icky, but that thought vanished once it was cooked. It tastes so good ^^

Fried rice in this tasty sauce would surely be great, but I was too full and gave it up. If you have room, definitely try it.

The generous hagfish sauce sizzling on the grill is exactly my taste.

Why Gijang Ihwajang Hoetjip is a good stop on a Gijang trip

Gijang Ihwajang Hoetjip is a leading seafood restaurant in Gijang where you can eat hagfish and anchovy hoe. Fresh seasonal seafood, generous portions and an open sea view make it a good stop on a Gijang trip.

The Gijang Anchovy Festival is coming, and the invited singers differ every day. It's held around Daebyeon Port in Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, so I expect crowds on those days.

On my way out, I saw hagfish (gomjangeo? meokjangeo?) cooking at the entrance. Since it's grilled at the entrance, it's fun to watch.

I enjoyed hagfish, grilled anchovies and fried anchovies at Gijang Ihwajang Hoetjip. It's near Gijang's tourist spots, so easy to reach, and it's at Daebyeon Port, where the Busan Gijang Anchovy Festival is held every year. Good! I ate well.