Busan local food

Dwaeji-gukbap — Busan's Pork and Rice Soup: Origin, Broth Styles, How to Eat It

A fast, cheap, filling bowl that fed refugees and dock workers — and still Busan's go-to meal at any hour

By Busan.net editors · Published Oct 30, 2026 · 한국어로 보기

Dwaeji-gukbap (돼지국밥, "pork rice soup") is a bowl of long-simmered pork-bone broth with thin slices of boiled pork, served with rice. You season it yourself at the table with salted shrimp, garlic-chive salad and chili paste. The best-known story says it spread in Busan during the Korean War, though pork soups were already sold in market towns of the region. It is Busan's everyday comfort food: quick, filling and served almost everywhere.

A stone bowl of Busan dwaeji-gukbap with kimchi, radish kimchi, chive salad and salted shrimp — Illustrative image — a bowl of dwaeji-gukbap with side dishes. Not an actual restaurant photo.

Dwaeji-gukbap in one line

Pork bones, head meat and lean cuts are simmered for hours into a rich broth, then ladled over sliced pork and rice. Because it used cheap, easy-to-find pork instead of beef, it became a fast, cheap and filling meal for ordinary Busan people.

Korean	돼지국밥 (dwae-ji guk-bap) — dwaeji = pork, gukbap = soup with rice
Contains	Pork (broth and meat). Salted shrimp (shellfish) is on the table — skip it if you're allergic. Some shops add a few wheat noodles (somyeon). Not vegetarian, not halal.
Spice	Mild as served. It only gets spicy if you stir in the red chili paste (dadaegi).
When	Lunch, dinner, late night and hangover breakfasts — many shops open early and some run late.
Price	One of Busan's cheaper sit-down meals. Prices differ by shop and are posted on the wall menu.

Origin — no single answer

Records don't agree on exactly where dwaeji-gukbap began. Three stories are told most often.

Korean War refugees (the best-known story): In 1950 hundreds of thousands of refugees poured into Busan, the wartime capital. Unable to make the beef soups of home, they simmered pork bones, offal and head meat into soup — a quick, filling meal for refugees and port workers.
Older market towns: Others say pork soup was already sold at markets and inns in South Gyeongsang Province, for example in Miryang, where pork and beef bones were mixed for the broth. These accounts come from oral history and shop lore rather than documents.
The industrial boom: In the 1950s–60s Busan grew into an industrial city (its population passed one million in 1955). Cheap, fast gukbap fed factory and dock workers and spread around markets and factories.

The fairest summary: pork soup probably existed in the region before the war, and the refugee years and industrial boom made it Busan's signature dish.

Milky or clear? Why every shop's broth is different

Milky white broth: Bones boiled hard for a long time release collagen and fat that emulsify into a creamy, rich broth. This is the style you'll see most in Busan.
Clear broth: Shorter cooking or mostly lean meat gives a lighter, cleaner soup. Some shops season it with soybean paste or ginger, giving a brownish colour.
Pork and beef bones together: Mixing in beef bones softens the pork aroma — often described as the Miryang style.

The meat is usually a mix of head meat, shoulder and belly. Add intestines and it becomes naejang-gukbap; add Korean blood sausage and it's sundae-gukbap. Some shops do toryeom — pouring hot broth over the rice and draining it several times so the rice soaks up flavour and the bowl arrives at an easy-to-eat temperature.

Illustration of three bowls of pork soup with milky, clear and red broth, plus salted shrimp and chive salad — Illustrative image — three broth styles with salted shrimp, chive salad and kimchi. Not an actual restaurant photo.

How to eat it the Busan way

Taste the broth first: Most shops season it lightly on purpose.
Salt with salted shrimp: Instead of salt, add a little saeu-jeot (새우젓) — it adds saltiness and savoury depth.
Pile on the chive salad: Busan people call garlic chives jeonggu-ji (정구지). Put the seasoned chives on top; they cut the richness.
Chili paste halfway: Stir in the red dadaegi (다대기) after you've eaten half, so you get two flavours from one bowl.
Eat the noodles first: If your bowl comes with a few thin noodles, eat them before they go soft.

Order ttaro-gukbap (따로국밥) if you want the rice served on the side instead of in the soup.

Menu words and useful Korean

On the menu	What it is
돼지국밥 dwaeji-gukbap	The basic bowl — lean meat and head meat
순대국밥 sundae-gukbap	With Korean blood sausage
내장국밥 naejang-gukbap	With intestines
섞어국밥 seokkeo-gukbap	A mix of meat, sausage and intestines
따로국밥 ttaro-gukbap	Rice served separately
수육(백반) suyuk	Sliced boiled pork on a plate, often with soup and rice

Useful Korean: "돼지국밥 하나 주세요" (dwaeji-gukbap hana juseyo) — "One pork rice soup, please." "따로 주세요" (ttaro juseyo) — "Rice on the side, please." "새우젓 빼 주세요" (saeu-jeot ppae juseyo) — "No salted shrimp, please."

Where: Gukbap shops are all over Busan — around Seomyeon, Busan Station, Nampo-dong and every market. Look for 국밥 or 돼지국밥 on the sign. After a cold-weather bowl, try Busan's other refugee-era dish, milmyeon, on a warm day.

FAQ

Why is dwaeji-gukbap famous in Busan?

The most popular story says it spread when refugees crowded into Busan during the Korean War and made soup from cheap pork bones and meat. In the 1950s–60s it fed the city's growing number of workers. Some say pork soup was sold in regional market towns even earlier.

What's the difference between milky and clear broth?

Boiling bones hard for a long time emulsifies collagen and fat into a milky, rich broth; shorter cooking or lean meat gives a clear, light broth. Neither is the 'right' one — it's each shop's style.

Is dwaeji-gukbap spicy?

No, not as served. It only becomes spicy if you add the red chili paste (dadaegi) from the table.

I have a shellfish allergy. Can I eat it?

The salted shrimp is served separately, so simply don't add it and say "새우젓 빼 주세요" (no salted shrimp). Check with the shop about other ingredients, as recipes vary.

What is ttaro-gukbap?

The same soup with the rice served in a separate bowl instead of in the soup — good if you want to taste the plain broth or control how much rice you eat.