Busan Station hagfish grill, day one of a couple's trip: Gyeongbuksan
In short
Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo (경북산꼼장어) is a third-generation hagfish (kkomjangeo) restaurant on Choryang-ro in Dong-gu, Busan, about a 7-minute walk from Busan Station. On the first day of a 2-night, 3-day Busan trip, the writer and her husband ordered the half salt, half sauce medium for two (55,000 won). They ate it with silkworm pupae, quail egg and freshwater snail side dishes, seaweed wraps from the owner and fried rice, along with a daytime drink. Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo near Busan Station is a good pick for a first day in Busan or a meal before catching the KTX.
Good to know
- Getting there
- Choryang Station Exit 1 · 5-min walk (store listing, Oct 6, 2026)
- Order
- Half salt, half sauce, medium for two, 55,000 won
- Extra
- Fried rice, 1 serving
- Side dishes
- Silkworm pupae, quail eggs, freshwater snails (writer's guess)
- Location
- 25 Choryang-ro, Dong-gu, Busan; about a 7-minute walk from Busan Station, near Choryang Station
- Price reference
- ₩55,000 ≈ $41 (2026-10-14)
as written by the visitor on Jun 24, 2026
Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo: a hagfish grill near Busan Station
Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo (경북산꼼장어) is a hagfish (kkomjangeo) restaurant about a 7-minute walk from Busan Station, and I hear it's now in its third generation. My husband and I took a 2-night, 3-day trip to Busan, and the first thing I searched for the moment we arrived was a great hagfish place! It's famous for it, so of course I had to try it myself!!!!
The owner was so kind in guiding us that our Busan trip got off to a really good start.
Salt or sauce? I recommend half and half
We ordered half and half, and this is just my opinion, but I'd recommend it too. I ate the salt-seasoned and sauce-seasoned hagfish first, then had rice stir-fried in the leftovers at the end.
You get to taste both flavors, and if it's your first time in Busan you probably don't know which to pick! My husband liked the sauce better, while I preferred the mild salt one! Eating hagfish right here in Busan, the home of hagfish, felt different somehow.
Location, interior and menu prices
Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo is near Choryang Station. About three hagfish restaurants sit in a row, and the one in the middle is the traditional third-generation Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo. We ordered the half-salt, half-sauce medium for two (₩55,000).
Inside, you'll see signatures from lots of celebrities. That's proof it's a great place, right!? The menu is also written so you can take it in at a glance.
Side dishes: silkworm pupae, quail eggs and snails
The side dishes at Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo were silkworm pupae, quail eggs, and freshwater snails? Is that right!? I thought it was neat that they come out like this. These sides take quite a lot of work, so you can feel the care.
Can you watch the hagfish being prepared?
Warning: a bit gross
At Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo the owner told us we could come out and look if we wanted to see the hagfish, so I just went right out and took photos! Look how that thing turned into this!
The big plus here is that you can see the hagfish actually being prepared right in front of you! It's not pre-cut, you watch the process, so it must be extra fresh, right!? I think foreign friends would find this performance fascinating if I bring them to Busan someday.
How to enjoy it: wraps with grilled onion and garlic
At Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo my husband wrapped up the sauce hagfish so neatly! I'm team salt, so I ate mine with the grilled onions. Garlic was grilled alongside too, and wrapped together it was really delicious.
I also pulled out the snails from the side dish one by one, and it was fun! Salty, and it brought back memories of catching snails and playing 20 years ago. My husband peeled and ate the quail eggs. The power to overcome laziness...
Finishing fried rice and daytime drinks in Choryang
Fried rice is the finish at Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo, of course. Koreans always end with fried rice, right!? The amount in the photo is one serving. The fried rice especially! It was killer.
At Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo in Choryang I often saw people who came in the daytime for daytime drinks. Some foreign visitors were eating hagfish too, so word must have spread overseas. Being third-generation, the taste is different and clean, which I liked. Hagfish is a must on a Busan trip, right!?!! I had a daytime drink too, hehe.
Hagfish wrapped in seaweed: the owner's kick
The owner of Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo brought one sheet of seaweed for each person, and that was the kick. Wrapping the hagfish in seaweed made it even tastier, can you believe it!? The owner really knows food.
Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo in Choryang has apparently been on TV a lot. There was a photo with a famous mukbang YouTuber, and I want to look up later how much they ate.
When to visit Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo near Busan Station
Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo is a short walk from Busan Station, so it's good on the first day of a Busan trip or the last day before the KTX (high-speed train). I found a great place on day 1 and started the trip happily. You all know you have to eat hagfish when you come to Busan, right!? I highly recommend Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo in Choryang! Or plan a visit on your last day before the KTX.
Warning: a bit gross
I filmed a video of live hagfish, so be careful when you press play.
Where it is
25 Choryang-ro, Dong-gu, Busan, South Korea부산광역시 동구 초량로 25 경북산꼼장어
Gyeongbuksan Kkomjangeo: hours, menu and prices →
