Chowon Bokguk in Nam-gu, Busan is a pufferfish restaurant in the city’s English guide; the signature order is bok guk (pufferfish soup) with fried pufferfish, and hours are 9:00-15:00 / 17:00-21:00 with last order at 8:15 p.m.
For a visitor, that means you need to arrive outside the 15:00-17:00 break and can finish a meal in about an hour before moving on.
This post covers what the place is known for, what to order with the Korean names, the best time to go, how to get there from Seoul or within Busan, and the Haeundae branch if that suits your route.
What Is Chowon Bokguk in Busan Known For?
| Address | 30, Hwangnyeong-daero 492beon-gil, Nam-gu (Daeyeon-dong), Busan |
|---|---|
| Phone | 051-628-3935 |
| Hours | 9:00-15:00 / 17:00-21:00 (last order 8:15 p.m.) |
| Signature menu | Bok guk (pufferfish soup), bok bulgogi (pufferfish bulgogi), bok course (full-course set) |
| Travel from Seoul | KTX 2h 11m from ₩46,700 · express bus 4h 00m from ₩29,100 |
| Haeundae branch | 08:10-22:00, closed Seollal & Chuseok, +82-51-743-5291~2 |
Chowon Bokguk is a pufferfish restaurant in Daeyeon-dong, Nam-gu, opened in 1983 and now run into its second generation, and it is listed in Busan Metropolitan City’s English restaurant guide (visitbusan.net, checked October 5, 2026).
The city guide describes it as renowned for pufferfish cuisine with branches across Busan, and the family also runs stores in Beomil, Yeongdo, Haeundae, Gimhae Jangyu and Ulsan without franchising — the family turned down franchise offers after the restaurant became famous nationwide.
It is also part of the restaurant’s story that a December 1992 political meeting held in the basement became the nationwide ‘Chowonbokguk incident’, exposed three days before that year’s presidential election; the remodelled basement room is still in use.
If you want a pufferfish meal from a long-running, family-run house with an official listing, this is the profile to match — and if you would rather avoid a politically famous address, the Haeundae branch below serves the same family menu.
My first check on any listing like this is the split hours — 9:00-15:00 and 17:00-21:00 — because landing during the 15:00-17:00 break is the one mistake that wastes the trip.
What to Order at Chowon Bokguk
Order bok guk (pufferfish soup) with the fried pufferfish (bok twigim) if it is your first pufferfish meal, or take the bok course if you want pufferfish served several ways at once.
| Dish | What it is |
|---|---|
| Bok guk | Pufferfish soup — the signature; clear jiri-style broth brought to the table boiling, ladled into your bowl in front of you |
| Bok twigim | Fried pufferfish, served alongside the soup |
| Bok jjokkal muchim | Seasoned pufferfish skin salad — skin deboned by knife, blanched, lightly frozen, shredded, tossed with crunchy vegetables and spicy sauce |
| Bok bulgogi | Pufferfish bulgogi |
| Bok course | Full-course set: pufferfish prepared several ways — shabu-shabu, deep-fried, sweet-and-sour salad, porridge |
| Bok chiri / bok maeuntang | Clear soup / spicy soup options |
The broth is seasoned only with kelp (dashima), radish and green onion, with soybean sprouts and water dropwort added at order time.
A house eating style finishes the meal by placing seasoned bean sprouts on rice and wrapping it in seaweed (kim); a visitor review notes a mild tingling on the tongue as part of eating fresh pufferfish — the founder Kim Dong-sik holds Busan’s first certified pufferfish cook licence.
If you are two people, one soup plus a separate order of fried pufferfish is the reported pattern, and I would save the full course for a second visit; if you are alone and want variety, the course does the work for you.
No menu prices for the Daeyeon main store could be confirmed from a source dated within the last six months, so check the menu board on site.
Chowon Bokguk Hours and Best Time to Go
The city listing gives two sessions, 9:00-15:00 and 17:00-21:00 with last order at 8:15 p.m., so plan around the 15:00-17:00 break between them.
An older local food article matches the split with the same 15:00-17:00 break but adds weekday and weekend variation (Mon-Fri to 21:00, Sat-Sun to 20:30) that the current city listing does not distinguish, and no closing day is stated in the city listing while an aggregator page shows it open every day.
On crowd data for a Monday, 9 a.m. was 21% busy with no wait, 10 a.m.
42% with up to a 15-minute wait, and 11 a.m.
69% with up to a 30-minute wait — which means going before 11 a.m. or after 1 p.m. keeps the wait short.
If you can choose, I would go after 2 p.m. in the lunch session or at 17:00 sharp for dinner; if you must arrive at noon, expect a possible 30-minute line and order while you queue.
How to Get to Chowon Bokguk
The Daeyeon main store is at 30, Hwangnyeong-daero 492beon-gil, Nam-gu, Busan (phone 051-628-3935), in Daeyeon-dong on Line 2 of the metro.
From Seoul, the fastest KTX runs 2h 11m from ₩46,700 with first departure 05:13 and last 22:40 on the October 5 TAGO schedule — 1h 49m faster than the fastest express bus, which takes 4h 00m from ₩29,100 to ₩67,400.
Within Busan, the restaurant sits in the Daeyeon area of Line 2 between the Kyungsung Univ/Pukyong Natl Univ station and Daeyeon station, though the exact station exit and walking time are not confirmed in a recent source, so pin the address above in a map app when you set out.
If you are combining the meal with sightseeing, the UN Memorial Cemetery and the Busan Museum are both in Daeyeon-dong, the same neighborhood.
If you are arriving by KTX in the morning, the 9:00 opening of the lunch session fits directly; if you are driving, about 30-car parking is reported at the main store from an older encyclopedia entry, so confirm on site.
- Open the KTX timetable for your date and book a seat arriving before 14:00 or after 17:00.
- Ride Busan Metro Line 2 toward the Daeyeon area and get off at Kyungsung Univ/Pukyong Natl Univ or Daeyeon station.
- Walk per your map app to 30, Hwangnyeong-daero 492beon-gil — call 051-628-3935 if the entrance is hard to find.
- Check the clock: arrive before 15:00 or after 17:00, and before 20:15 for last order.
Chowon Bokguk Haeundae Branch
The Haeundae branch runs 08:10-22:00 and closes only for Seollal and Chuseok, so it suits a beach-day schedule better than the split hours at the main store.
Per the TRIPPOSE listing, the branch is at 329-2 Haeundaehaebyeon-ro with 80 seats, non-smoking, parking available, phone +82-51-743-5291~2, and it sits 550 m from Haeundae Station (Line 2) Exit 3 toward the beach, then left 350 m, left at the five-way intersection, and first right into the alley 100 m.
The menu mirrors the main store: silver, milbok, magpie and tiger pufferfish as maeuntang (spicy) or jiri (clear) soup, plus bok suyuk, bok twigim, bok bulgogi, shabu-shabu, bok jjim and pufferfish sashimi as specials.
If you are staying in Haeundae, take the branch; if you are touring Nam-gu sights like the UN Memorial Cemetery, the Daeyeon main store is the one to keep.
👉 Where to Eat in Busan Nam-gu — menu-word decoder
👉 KTX Seoul to Busan Timetable
👉 Chowon Bokguk on the Busan City English guide
👉 Chowon Bokguk Haeundae Branch (Trippose English listing)
👉 Chowon Bokguk history in the Busan culture encyclopedia
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📎 Seoul — everything we know
📎 📅 Upcoming Dates — Release & Event Calendar
Sources
- City listing: bok guk, bok bulgogi, bok course; hours 9-15/1 (visitbusan.net)
- Busan history encyclopedia entry: founding, moves, 1992 inci (grandculture.net)
- No price data dated within the last 6 months (exa.ai)
Before you go — check these
- Reconfirm hours on the Busan City English guide before you go — listed 9:00-15:00 / 17:00-21:00 with last order 8:15 p.m.
- Call 051-628-3935 for the day’s availability, since no closing day is confirmed in the city listing.
- Check the menu board on site — no confirmed menu prices for the Daeyeon main store.
- After your meal, verify branch hours separately: the Haeundae listing is older, so call ahead.
- Dial the phone number if arriving near 15:00-17:00, when the kitchen breaks between sessions.
FAQ
Q. What is Chowon Bokguk in Busan famous for?
Pufferfish cuisine — a family-run house open since 1983, listed in Busan City’s English restaurant guide, with the signature order being bok guk (pufferfish soup) alongside fried pufferfish.
Q. What should I order at Chowon Bokguk?
First visit: bok guk plus the fried pufferfish (bok twigim). To try pufferfish several ways in one sitting, order the bok course — shabu-shabu, deep-fried, sweet-and-sour salad and porridge.
Q. What are Chowon Bokguk’s hours?
The main store runs 9:00-15:00 and 17:00-21:00 with last order at 8:15 p.m. The Haeundae branch runs 08:10-22:00 and closes for Seollal and Chuseok.
Q. How do I get to Chowon Bokguk?
The main store is at 30, Hwangnyeong-daero 492beon-gil, Nam-gu, on metro Line 2 in the Daeyeon area. From Seoul, the fastest KTX takes 2h 11m from ₩46,700; the express bus takes 4h 00m from ₩29,100.
Q. How much does bok guk cost at Chowon Bokguk?
No menu prices for the Daeyeon main store could be confirmed from a source dated within the last six months, so the figures circulating online are not reliable — check the menu board when you arrive.
Planning more meals in Nam-gu? See the Nam-gu restaurant guide with a menu-word decoder and the Busan travel map.
Cover photo: AI-generated illustration (pufferfish soup pot) — AI-generated image, illustrative only
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