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[Busan Haeundae] Collecting Our Daughter’s Homework at Gaemijip: Nakgopsae, the Pot That Hurts and Delights

ナッコプセの鍋 Food and Beverages

The biggest piece of homework we carried to Busan got collected on night one. Back at a Korean restaurant in Yokohama, our daughter had ruled: “you have to try the real thing.” In Busan, the real thing means nakgopsae — and we went straight to Gaemijip, the venerable specialist’s Haeundae branch, a short walk from Haeundae Station.

Outside Gaemijip Haeundae

Nakgopsae: a trio of octopus, beef intestine, and shrimp

Nakgopsae is Busan’s own creation: octopus (nakji), beef intestine (gopchang), and shrimp (saewoo) simmered together in a fiercely spicy broth — the name simply strings the three ingredients together. Somewhere between a stew and a stir-fry, it produces a broth in which all three flavors collapse into one, and that broth is terrifyingly good over white rice.

A bubbling pot of nakgopsae
Nakgopsae packed with octopus, shrimp, and beef intestine

Delicious. But spicy. Relentlessly spicy

Let me be honest: this was a deliciousness I had never met in Japan. It was also hot. Punishingly hot. I negotiated with the side dishes — bean sprouts, sheets of seaweed — and my mouth burned anyway. And yet the chopsticks would not stop. That contradiction, pain and pleasure in the same spoonful, is precisely the addiction of nakgopsae.

Rice and side dishes of bean sprouts and seaweed

The local method is to ladle it over a big bowl of rice with the seaweed and sprouts and eat it bibimbap-style — the broth-soaked rice may be the true main course. Most shops let you choose a spice level when ordering; unless you are confident, start mild. It will still be plenty hot.

Mixed bibimbap-style over rice

Grading the homework

Our daughter’s “real thing” does exist. It is rougher and more direct than anything we ate back in Yokohama — a different animal altogether. Would I tell you it is worth flying to Busan for? Without hesitation. Eat it once, at least.

The lively dining room

Notes from the day

  • Gaemijip Haeundae (direct branch of the Gukje Market original), minutes on foot from Haeundae Station (Metro Line 2)
  • Nakgopsae = octopus, beef intestine, and shrimp in spicy broth; eat it mixed over rice, local-style
  • It is seriously spicy — use the bean sprouts and seaweed, and order the milder level unless you are sure
  • Gaemijip traces back to 1972; check locally for current hours

The road to Busan starts from the Gimpo transfer chapters. Next: the avenue outside and Haeundae Traditional Market.

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