[Busan] Ending the Night at Eom Yong Baek, Haeundae: Thick-Cut Pork and a Table Full of Side Dishes

After the street stalls of Nampo-dong, we returned to Haeundae for the day’s finale: the Haeundae branch of Eom Yong Baek, a Busan brand famous for chasing the “ideal dwaeji gukbap.” Here, though, the star is not soup but grilled pork.

Among the hotels, a curved wooden wall glows softly in the dusk. Inside, exhaust ducts descend over tables fashioned from steel drums, and the room was nearly full even in the early evening. I understood this was a popular place before we had even sat down.

The menu is refreshingly focused: moksal (pork neck), ogyeopsal (skin-on pork belly), hangjeongsal (jowl) and a few others, each in 130-gram portions. We ordered the moksal and the ogyeopsal.

Thick Cuts, Grilled for You

The pork arrives startlingly thick by Japanese yakiniku standards, its surface glittering with salt. The grilling is left entirely to the staff, who flip and trim with tongs and scissors and return only perfectly cooked pieces to your plate. The moksal is deeply savory; the ogyeopsal all crisp skin and sweet fat. Thick-cut pork, grilled slowly, is a different food from the thin-sliced kind.

The Side Dishes Are Half the Fun

What makes this table entertaining is the supporting cast: green chilies and raw garlic, kimchi glossed in red sauce, sheets of tofu skin, little pots of seasoned dipping sauce. Small plates keep landing on the table, and the same piece of pork changes character with every pairing. Somewhere in the experimenting, my beer glass emptied itself.

The crowds make sense — it was a delicious night. We walked back to the hotel in the Haeundae sea breeze. Day two in Busan: from the temple on the sea to the hillside village to the night stalls — a day of long walks and better meals.

Notes from the Day

• Eom Yong Baek is a popular Busan brand built around the idea of the “ideal dwaeji gukbap” (pork and rice soup). At the Haeundae branch, grilled pork takes center stage.
• Cuts come in 130g portions — moksal (pork neck), ogyeopsal (skin-on belly), hangjeongsal (pork jowl) — at roughly 15,000–17,000 won per plate as of my visit.
• Staff handle the grilling. The thick cuts take time, so relax and play with the side-dish combinations.
• Dinner time gets very crowded — arrive early or expect a wait.
• Area information on the official Visit Busan website — details as of my visit.

Visited in August 2026. Prices and details are as of my visit.