Haeundae Traditional Market Food Guide: 5 Stalls Worth the Queue in Busan

Haeundae Traditional Market is the reason we kept coming back to this neighbourhood every single day. We stayed twice. Both times, five stalls stood out. Here’s exactly what we ate, what we thought, and what to order.

Haeundae Traditional Market sits a 5-minute walk from Haeundae Station (Line 2, Exit 3). It runs daily and gets busiest in the late afternoon. Go hungry.

Planning a full Busan day? The Busan City Tour Bus on Klook covers Haeundae, Gamcheon, and Jagalchi Market in one loop. Book in advance on weekends.

The Best Stalls at Haeundae Traditional Market

1. Nohong Mandu (노홍만두)

📍 26-4 Gunam-ro 41beon-gil, Haeundae-gu, Busan

Dish: Shrimp Mandu

We joined the queue before we knew what we were queuing for. The steaming trays stacked outside did enough convincing. Nohong Mandu’s shrimp mandu are soft, thin-skinned dumplings filled with fresh shrimp and seasoned pork. Jenny loved them. Ian thought they were fine but not exceptional. Worth trying, but don’t build your whole market visit around it.

Order: Shrimp mandu (1 portion). Our verdict: 3.5/5.

2. Soh-Moon-Nan Tweegim Jeon (소문난 튀김 전)

📍 29 Gunam-ro 41beon-gil, Haeundae-gu, Busan

Dish: Assorted Jeon (Korean Pancakes)

Crispy, golden, and made fresh. Jeon is a Korean savoury pancake, pan-fried with seafood, vegetables, or meat. The key word at this stall is fresh. Do not buy pre-made jeon that’s been sitting out. The version made right in front of you, in the hot pan, is a completely different experience. Chewy inside, crisp outside, best eaten immediately.

Our verdict: Solid, not standout. Go to the stall actually frying when you arrive. Skip anything pre-made.

3. Sangguginae (상국이네)

📍 40-1 Gunam-ro 41beon-gil, Haeundae-gu, Busan

Dishes: Tteokbokki, Sundae, Tweegim

This is your classic Korean street food combo, and Sangguginae does it well. There’s always a line. The tteokbokki (rice cakes in sweet-spicy chili sauce) is exactly what you want from a market stall: bold, chewy, and comforting. Sundae is Korea’s blood sausage filled with glass noodles and spices. It sounds intimidating, tastes mild and savoury. Tweegim (Korean fried snacks) pairs perfectly with everything else.

How to order: Get all three and share. Mix the tweegim into the tteokbokki sauce. That’s the move.

4. Haeundae 31cm Haemul Kalguksu (해운대 31cm 해물칼국수)

📍 46 Gunam-ro 41beon-gil, Haeundae-gu, Busan

Dish: Seafood Knife-Cut Noodle Soup

We came back four times. If you’re planning a full day in the area, read our Busan day guide. This was Ian’s favourite kalguksu in all of Busan, and we ate a lot of kalguksu in Busan. The bowl is enormous. The noodles are thick, chewy, and 31cm long. The broth is clear and light, loaded with clams, mussels, and scallops straight from the coast. The price for the size is genuinely hard to believe.

If you love noodles, ask for extra noodles when you order. You have to request it at the start. Don’t forget. We forgot once. It hurt.

Our verdict: 5/5. Do not skip this. It’s the best thing at Haeundae Traditional Market.

5. Haeundae Myeongpum Hotteok (해운대 명품 호떡)

📍 38 Jungdong 1-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan

Dish: Seed Hotteok and Cheese Seed Hotteok

We went back every day for the first few days until we had to physically stop ourselves. Seed hotteok is a Busan original, born in the Nampo-dong neighbourhood and now a staple across the city. The dough is deep-fried crisp, stuffed with a nutty seed mixture, and filled with a honey centre that makes a mess and is completely worth it.

The cheese hotteok is available from Wednesday to Sunday after 6pm, but stock runs out and some days it just isn’t there. If you see it, order it immediately. Sweet and savoury in the same bite.

Our verdict: 5/5. This is Haeundae Traditional Market’s most dangerous stall for your self-control.

Those are the five stalls we go back to every time we visit Haeundae Traditional Market. The market is small enough to walk in 10 minutes but good enough to anchor an entire morning. Come hungry.

Haeundae Traditional Market: Tips and Getting There

Best time to visit Haeundae Traditional Market: Late afternoon into the evening. Stalls are fully running, lines are moving, and the whole market has more energy. Avoid the midday rush if you want a shorter wait at the kalguksu stall.

Bring cash. Most stalls are cash only or strongly prefer it.

Our top two picks: Haeundae 31cm Haemul Kalguksu for the bowl of your life, and Haeundae Myeongpum Hotteok to finish.

Getting There

By subway: Line 2 to Haeundae Station, Exit 3. If you’re coming from Seoul, check our Seoul day guide first. Haeundae Traditional Market is a 5-minute walk. Fare: 1,400 to 1,800 KRW (~$1.40 to $1.80 CAD).

By bus: Bus 1003 from Busan Station to Haeundae Beach stop (around 45 minutes). Fare: 1,200 to 1,500 KRW (~$1.20 to $1.50 CAD).

By taxi: 35 to 45 minutes from Busan Station depending on traffic. Cost: 15,000 to 25,000 KRW (~$15 to $25 CAD).

If you want to see more of Busan beyond the market, we recommend booking a Busan day tour on Klook. We used it to plan activities around Haeundae and it saved us a lot of guesswork.

While you’re in the area: the Haeundae Blueline Park Sky Capsule and Beach Train is a 10-minute walk from the market and one of the most-booked experiences near Haeundae Traditional Market in Busan. Book in advance — it sells out on weekends.

Watch the full market video on YouTube to see every dish in action. Follow us on Instagram at @chasing.jenny for more from our 202 days across Asia.

For destination details, check the official tourism site.