Best Burgers in Busan: Beaches and Seomyeon

In Busan, the best burgers are found in two kinds of places: the beach districts of Haeundae and Gwangalli, where restaurants face the sea, and the downtown hub of Seomyeon, with the café streets of Jeonpo-dong next door. Nampo-dong, near the old port, adds a third and older area to explore.

Busan is Korea’s largest port and its second city, and its food is built on the sea and on pork: raw fish at Jagalchi Market, eomuk fish cakes, and dwaeji gukbap, a pork and rice soup locals eat at any hour. Milmyeon, cold wheat noodles, is another Busan specialty, born when refugees of the Korean War adapted naengmyeon to wheat flour. Burgers arrive as a foreign style next to these staples, and the beach districts are where they are easiest to find. In Gwangalli, the evening view of the lit Gwangan Bridge draws a crowd to the seafront.

Burgers in Busan: key facts

• Neighbourhoods to explore: Haeundae, Gwangalli, Seomyeon, Jeonpo-dong and Nampo-dong.
• Local specialties: dwaeji gukbap, milmyeon and eomuk.
• Evening scene: Gwangalli Beach, facing the Gwangan Bridge.
• Getting around: Busan Metro Line 2 links Seomyeon, Gwangan station for Gwangalli, and Haeundae.
• From Seoul: the KTX runs to Busan Station, near Nampo-dong and the old port.
• Currency: South Korean won (KRW), the currency our Busan guides quote.

Every guide we publish on Busan is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. Seoul and other cities each have a page in our burger restaurants section.