Night-stall hagfish in Haeundae Market, Busan: Hyejane San Gomjangeo

How to find Hyejane San Gomjangeo inside Haeundae Traditional Market

Hyejane San Gomjangeo Main Branch is a live hagfish (gomjangeo) specialty restaurant located about midway through Haeundae Traditional Market in Busan. There's no parking on site, so you'll need to use one of the public parking lots near Haeundae — if you're heading to the market, the closest is the Haeundae Market Public Parking Lot, which leads directly into the alley that connects to the market.

We came to Haeundae for an early dinner, and since we were already there, we figured we'd wander around Haeundae Market too — and since my husband loves seafood, we decided to go to Hyejane San Gomjangeo, which is famous for live hagfish in the market!

The moment we stepped into the entrance of Haeundae Traditional Market, it honestly didn't feel like Korea anymore?? There were more foreign tourists than Korean visitors — it reminded me all over again that Haeundae Market is a real tourist destination I'd almost forgotten about!

The Hawaiian-style storefront and live seafood tanks at Hyejane San Gomjangeo

Hyejane San Gomjangeo, a well-known restaurant in Haeundae, Busan, sits roughly in the middle of the market, but it's decorated so flashily in Hawaiian style that we spotted it right away.

The clean tanks displayed a wide variety of fresh seafood, still alive, and the prices at Hyejane San Gomjangeo were clearly posted alongside menu explanations so tourists could easily understand them. A young male staff member explained everything kindly and clearly, which made the whole meal really comfortable and enjoyable!

This is Hyejane! Hyeja is a word used a lot by younger generations these days, and it really fits perfectly with Hyejane San Gomjangeo, haha. So let's take a look at the fresh seafood on offer at this hyeja-worthy Haeundae, Busan restaurant!

With such a fresh-looking parade of seafood on display at Hyejane San Gomjangeo, the hardest part was figuring out what to order! My husband and I decided to keep browsing the tanks a bit longer while we thought it over 🤔

Seating at Hyejane San Gomjangeo: night-stall tables, indoor seats and a group room

The inside of Hyejane San Gomjangeo was way bigger than I expected, with way more tables than I imagined! I honestly thought the outdoor tables at the entrance were the whole restaurant, but going further in revealed a fully equipped group section too — so Hyejane San Gomjangeo can easily handle gatherings or group dinners.

[Outdoor table seating] The round tables near the entrance really give off an outdoor dining vibe, almost like you're on vacation somewhere tropical.

Passing the outdoor-style tables and heading further in, you find a quieter space to enjoy your meal. [Indoor tables]

There's also a partitioned area that, once opened, reveals another spacious room — apparently this is the space used for group reservations. [Group table seating]

A lot of people worry about hygiene and cleanliness since the restaurant is inside a market... but at Hyejane San Gomjangeo, there's absolutely nothing to worry about — it's spotless and well organized, so if you're visiting Haeundae on a trip to Busan, this place is definitely worth recommending.

The jungle-like palm trees and the soft lighting scattered throughout gave the space an even more mysterious, pleasant feel! But honestly, the best part might be the restroom. Since Hyejane San Gomjangeo has its own restroom inside, you never have to use the shared restrooms in the market.

Now let's actually order the most delicious menu items at Hyejane San Gomjangeo^^

Ordering seasoned hagfish and steamed clams by tablet, plus side dishes and free seafood

You order using the table order tablet placed on every table, and I ordered seasoned hagfish and clam stew!

Once the order was placed, they brought out the basic side dishes (banchan) — and the dishware was so unique! The colorful plates made the food look even more appetizing, and I wanted to dig in right away.

While we were sucking the meat out of the whelks that came with the banchan, they brought out three kinds of seafood as a free service, haha. Steamed shrimp, live octopus, and freshly prepared sea squirt — we enjoyed every bit of it!

It had been a while since I'd had live octopus (sannakji), so I missed it even more, and it tasted amazing.

How the live hagfish is prepped and grilled into seasoned hagfish

The live hagfish we ordered as our main dish was shown to us alive right after being prepped, before cooking — which made me feel even more reassured and trusting of the place! Honestly it was pretty gross-looking, but I was so excited for how good the seasoned hagfish would taste that I could hardly wait for it to be cooked.

They toss the hagfish with various seasonings and vegetables, then stir-fry it over the flame.

The seasoned hagfish looked so appetizing that my mouth wouldn't stop watering! The chewy hagfish and the sauce are a perfect match — it's the kind of flavor everyone ends up loving.

What comes in the steamed clam pot at Hyejane San Gomjangeo

The second main dish was the clam stew! Honestly I didn't expect much from a clam stew, but it was packed with all kinds of clams — fan mussel, scallop, hard clam, mussel — plus live octopus, blue crab, and shrimp, making it look even more delicious.

Seeing the finished spread of seasoned hagfish and clam stew together was just perfect ❤️ Once the clam stew was cooked enough, the staff kindly cut it up into easy-to-eat portions for us, which was really convenient. 👇 the clam stew being prepped 👇

The clam stew at Hyejane San Gomjangeo is loaded with various seafood plus bean sprouts and minari (water dropwort), so the broth is bound to be refreshingly clean-tasting.

Seasoned hagfish wrapped in perilla leaves: how it tasted

Now let's really dig into the seasoned hagfish and clam stew! Hagfish tastes even better wrapped in perilla leaves^^

The fragrant perilla leaves paired so well with the seasoned hagfish, and wrapping it with a bit of garlic made it truly delicious!

Today really felt like we threw a seafood party^^ Even though it was an early dinner, eating all this seafood made digestion easier and I could even feel my skin looking firmer!

In front of the cashier, there were tons of autographs from famous celebrities! It really is a well-known Haeundae, Busan restaurant. If you're visiting Haeundae Market on a trip to Busan, I recommend enjoying fresh, live seafood at the clean and tidy Hyejane San Gomjangeo.

Hyejane San Gomjangeo hours and parking in Haeundae

• Open daily, hours 15:00 – 1:00 the next day
• No parking available — use public parking lots near Haeundae (Haeundae Market Public Parking Lot is closest)
• Address: 1F, 18 Gunam-ro 41beon-gil, Haeundae-gu, Busan