Geumsubokguk Haeundae Main Branch is the oldest pufferfish soup (bokguk) house in Haeundae, open 24 hours on the first floor and listed as a Michelin Selected Restaurant in the 2024 guide.
What Is Geumsubokguk — Pufferfish Soup Since 1970
| KTX train | 2h 11m · from ₩46,700 · first 05:13 · last 22:49 |
|---|---|
| Express bus | 4h 00m · ₩29,100–₩67,400 · first 06:00 · last 24:00 |
| 1F bokguk hall | Open 24 hours, every day, no last order |
| 2F course restaurant | 11:00–22:00 · break 15:00–17:00 · last order 13:30 / 20:30 |
Geumsubokguk Haeundae Main Branch has served bokguk — pufferfish soup, Busan’s best-known hangover cure — since 1970, and it is the oldest bokguk restaurant in the Haeundae area.
The city of Busan lists it in its own English restaurant guide, and the Michelin Guide Seoul and Busan 2024 names it a Michelin Selected Restaurant for outstanding cooking.
The founder, Lee Bong-deok, came back from Japan and turned Japanese-style pufferfish dishes into a Korean-style hangover soup, and the house was the first to serve bokguk boiled in a clay pot (tteukbaegi) — a serving style that is now standard across Busan.
The name Geumsubokguk means putting care into each bowl as if embroidering on silk, which matches the small-batch clay-pot serving.
If you want to try bokguk for the first time in Haeundae, this is the house the city guide itself points to.
What to Order at Geumsubokguk — the Menu With Korean Names
Order the clear jiri bokguk (복국) — the city guide recommends it over the spicy bokmaeuntang when you want clean-tasting pufferfish.
The English listing gives the signature dishes with names you can point at: bokguk (pufferfish soup), bok twigim (deep-fried pufferfish), bok kkeopjil twigim (fried pufferfish skin), bok kkeopjil muchim (pufferfish skin salad), bok jjim (braised pufferfish), bok suyuk (boiled pufferfish slices) and bok sashimi (raw sliced pufferfish).
The soup comes in two broths — clear jiri or spicy maeuntang — and a separate seasoning sauce is on the table so you can adjust the taste yourself.
The fish in your soup is one of four types: eunbok (brown-backed, bouncy and mild — the easiest for a first-timer), milbok (green toadfish, chewier meat and a deeper broth), kkachibok (soft and sweet) and chambok (wild tiger pufferfish, in season only and the most expensive).
The second floor serves pufferfish course menus if you want a full set meal instead of a single bowl of soup.
Geumsubokguk Hours — Is It Really Open 24 Hours?
Yes, on the first floor: the bokguk hall is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, with no closing day and no last order.
The second floor runs on restaurant hours — 11:00–22:00 with a 15:00–17:00 break and last orders at 13:30 for lunch and 20:30 for dinner, per the Korea Tourism listing as of October 3, 2026.
The building has three floors: about 200 seats in the 1F soup hall, course seating on 2F, and a group banquet space on 3F.
Waiting lines are common at normal meal times, so an early-morning or late-night bowl on the 24-hour first floor is the way to skip the queue.
Hours can change, so check the listing or call +82-51-742-3600 on the day you go.
How to Get to Geumsubokguk From Haeundae Station
From Haeundae Station on Busan Subway Line 2, take Exit 3 and walk about 10 minutes.
The address is 23 Jungdong 1-ro 43beon-gil, Haeundae-gu, Busan, in the alley behind the hot-spring hotel area near Paradise Hotel and a few steps from Haeundae Beach.
- Ride Line 2 to Haeundae Station.
- Leave through Exit 3.
- Walk toward the Paradise Hotel block, about 10 minutes.
- Look for the three-story building at 23 Jungdong 1-ro 43beon-gil.
Five pufferfish restaurants cluster in this hot-spring hotel corner, so save the address on your phone before you set out.
Getting to Busan From Seoul First — KTX vs Express Bus
The KTX is 1h 49m faster than the express bus — 2h 11m against 4h 00m — and the cheapest bus fare saves ₩17,600 (₩29,100 against ₩46,700).
The bus runs later than the train, with a first departure at 06:00 and a last one at 24:00, while the KTX runs 05:13 to 22:49.
Take the KTX if your Haeundae day is tight, and the bus if you are watching the budget and can spare the afternoon.
Today’s KTX timetable for Seoul–Busan is kept current on the site’s timetable page, built from the national transport data feed.
A same-day round trip from Seoul is realistic by train: two 2h 11m legs still leave most of a day in Haeundae.
Where to Read More Before You Go
The site has a page of places to eat in Haeundae-gu from the same city guide, with a menu-words decoder that covers dishes like 복국 and 복튀김 — useful if you want to read the Korean menu wall.
A Busan travel map marks sights and restaurants together, so you can pair the soup house with Haeundae Beach or the hot-spring hotels on the same walk.
For visitors starting in Seoul, the KTX Seoul–Busan timetable page lists today’s first and last departures with fares.
One bowl of bokguk, a walk on Haeundae Beach and the hot-spring hotel alley fit naturally into a single Busan day.
Bookmark the menu-words decoder before you go — it covers the dish names you will actually see on the wall.
👉 Where to Eat in Haeundae-gu (Busan City Guide + Menu Decoder)
👉 KTX Seoul–Busan Timetable (Today)
👉 Express Bus Seoul–Busan Timetable
Related posts
📎 📅 Upcoming Dates — Release & Event Calendar
Sources
- What bokguk is (visitbusan.net)
- 24-hour 1F, 2F course restaurant 11:00-22:00 with break 15:0 (english.visitkorea.or.kr)
- Getting to Busan from Seoul — train (koreankorea.com)
What to Remember
- Open every day of the year — the 1F bokguk hall never closes.
- The 2F course restaurant is a separate place with its own hours: 11:00–22:00, break 15:00–17:00.
- Exit 3 of Haeundae Station, Line 2, then about 10 minutes on foot.
- Outside normal meal hours the queue is shorter, since the hall runs 24 hours.
- KTX 2h 11m from ₩46,700; express bus 4h 00m from ₩29,100 — train for time, bus for budget.
FAQ
Q. What is Geumsubokguk in Busan known for?
It is the oldest bokguk (pufferfish soup) house in Haeundae, open since 1970, listed as a Michelin Selected Restaurant in the 2024 guide, and credited as the first to serve bokguk in a clay pot.
Q. What should I order at Geumsubokguk?
The clear jiri bokguk, per the Busan city guide’s own recommendation; first-timers usually start with the eunbok (brown-backed pufferfish) version, which is mild and clean-tasting.
Q. Is Geumsubokguk really open 24 hours?
The first-floor bokguk hall is open 24 hours a day, every day, with no last order; the second-floor course restaurant runs 11:00–22:00 with a 15:00–17:00 break, per the Visit Korea listing dated October 3, 2026.
Q. How do I get to Geumsubokguk from Haeundae Station?
Busan Subway Line 2 to Haeundae Station, Exit 3, then about a 10-minute walk to 23 Jungdong 1-ro 43beon-gil, Haeundae-gu.
Q. How much does bokguk cost at Geumsubokguk?
The current menu prices are not listed in any source dated within the last six months, so no price can be quoted here — check the menu board on site or call +82-51-742-3600.
Save the address and the Exit 3 route, and check the Haeundae eating guide before your trip.
Cover photo: AI-generated illustration (pufferfish soup) — AI-generated image, illustrative only
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