Also useful: the etiquette desk for what to do in the moment, the seasonal calendar for timing, and the guides for the full write-ups.
Words you will meet on menus, signs, transit maps, and in conversation around Busan. Each entry gives the Hangul, a romanization you can say aloud, and a plain explanation. Entries link to full guides as they are published. This page is reviewed as terms change.
Food
Dwaeji-gukbap · 돼지국밥
dwaeji-gukbap — Pork and rice soup, the everyday dish most associated with Busan. Broth ranges from clear to milky by shop; you season it yourself at the table with salted shrimp (saeu-jeot), chili paste, and chives.
Milmyeon · 밀면
milmyeon — Chilled wheat-flour noodles in a cold, tangy broth, a Busan-born relative of naengmyeon that developed after the Korean War when refugees substituted wheat for buckwheat. Ordered mul (with broth) or bibim (spicy, mixed).
Ssiat hotteok · 씨앗호떡
ssiat hotteok — A fried, sweet pancake split open and filled with seeds and nuts. Sold from stalls around BIFF Square in Nampo-dong.
Eomuk · 어묵
eomuk — Fish cake. Busan is known for it; served on skewers in hot broth from street carts and sold as gift boxes in stations and markets.
Dongnae pajeon · 동래파전
dongnae pajeon — A thick green-onion pancake from the Dongnae district, made with seafood and a rice-flour batter and cooked softer than most pajeon.
Hoe · 회
hoe — Raw sliced fish. At Jagalchi Market you can buy fish downstairs and have it prepared upstairs for a preparation fee.
Gomjangeo · 곰장어
gomjangeo — Hagfish, grilled with salt or in spicy sauce, a Busan specialty found around Jagalchi and Haeundae.
Naengchae jokbal · 냉채족발
naengchae jokbal — Chilled pork trotter served with jellyfish, vegetables, and a mustard dressing, associated with the jokbal alley in Seomyeon.
Places
Jagalchi Market · 자갈치시장
jagalchi sijang — Korea’s largest seafood market, on the Nampo-dong waterfront. Outdoor stalls, a modern indoor hall, and restaurants upstairs.
Gukje Market · 국제시장
gukje sijang — The historic “international market” in Nampo-dong, grown from post-war trading. Clothes, housewares, food alleys, and the neighboring Kkangtong (can) market.
Kkangtong Market · 깡통시장
kkangtong sijang — Bupyeong Kkangtong Market, next to Gukje Market, known for its evening food stalls. The name means “tin can,” from the imported canned goods once sold there.
Haeundae · 해운대
haeundae — Busan’s best-known beach district: a long sand beach, high-rise hotels, and the Blueline Park coastal train toward Songjeong.
Gwangalli · 광안리
gwangalli — Beach neighborhood facing the Gwangan Bridge. Cafés and restaurants line the shore; the bridge lights up at night and hosts the fireworks festival.
Nampo-dong · 남포동
nampo-dong — The old downtown: markets, BIFF Square, Yongdusan Park, and the ferry to Yeongdo. Metro Line 1, Nampo and Jagalchi stations.
Seomyeon · 서면
seomyeon — The commercial center and the transfer point between Metro Lines 1 and 2. Dense with restaurants, shopping, and nightlife.
Gamcheon Culture Village · 감천문화마을
gamcheon munhwa maeul — Hillside neighborhood of small, brightly painted houses, once a refugee settlement, now an art village. Steep lanes; residents still live there.
Yeongdo · 영도
yeongdo — Island district south of Nampo-dong, reached by bridge. Home to Taejongdae cliffs, Huinnyeoul Culture Village, and shipyards.
Gijang · 기장
gijang — The rural northeast coast of Busan: Haedong Yonggungsa temple by the sea, the Osiria resort area, and seafood such as snow crab and anchovies.
Dongnae · 동래
dongnae — Historic district in the north with hot springs, Beomeosa temple, the Geumjeongsanseong fortress walls, and Dongnae pajeon.
Centum City · 센텀시티
sentum siti — Planned district beside Haeundae with the Busan Cinema Center (the film festival’s home), large department stores, and Spa Land.
Taejongdae · 태종대
taejongdae — Coastal park at the southern tip of Yeongdo with cliffs, a lighthouse, and a loop road served by a small train.
Haedong Yonggungsa · 해동용궁사
haedong yonggungsa — A Buddhist temple built on rocks over the sea in Gijang. Very popular at sunrise and on Buddha’s Birthday; dress modestly and keep voices low.
Beomeosa · 범어사
beomeosa — Major Buddhist temple on Geumjeongsan mountain in the north of the city, founded in the seventh century. Templestay programs are offered.
Getting around
Gwangan Bridge · 광안대교
gwangandaegyo — The suspension bridge across Suyeong Bay, lit in changing colors at night. Also called the Diamond Bridge.
Gimhae Airport · 김해공항
gimhae gonghang — Busan’s airport (code PUS), west of the city. Connected by the Busan–Gimhae Light Rail, limousine buses, and taxis.
Busan Station · 부산역
busan-yeok — The KTX terminal on Metro Line 1, near the port and Chinatown. High-speed trains from Seoul take roughly two and a half hours.
Donghae Line · 동해선
donghae-seon — A commuter rail line running from Bujeon through Centum City and Haeundae toward Gijang and Ulsan. Transit cards work as on the metro.
Cashbee / T-money · 캐시비 / 티머니
cashbee / timeoni — Rechargeable transit cards accepted on the Busan metro, buses, and most taxis. Cashbee originated in Busan; T-money also works. Sold at convenience stores.
Everyday life and dialect
Jjimjilbang · 찜질방
jjimjilbang — Korean bathhouse-and-sauna complex. Gender-separated bathing areas are nude; shared sauna rooms use provided clothing. Spa Land in Centum City and Hurshimchung in Dongnae are the best known in Busan.
Saturi · 사투리
saturi — Regional dialect. Busan’s version of the Gyeongsang dialect is famous for its intonation and short endings; a few forms appear below.
Ma · 마
ma — A Busan filler and attention-getter used between close friends, roughly “hey.” Not for strangers or elders.
-no / -na · -노 / -나
-no / -na — Question endings typical of the Gyeongsang dialect: “mwo hano?” (what are you doing?), “bap meogeonna?” (did you eat?).
Majna? · 맞나?
majna — “Really?” or “Is that so?” Heard constantly in Busan conversation.
Dandi · 단디
dandi — “Properly,” “carefully.” “Dandi hara” means do it right.
Jeongguji · 정구지
jeongguji — The Busan word for garlic chives (buchu in standard Korean), the herb you add to dwaeji-gukbap.
Halmae · 할매
halmae — Dialect for “grandmother,” common in restaurant names such as “Halmae Gukbap” to signal an old family recipe.
Ajimae · 아지매
ajimae — Dialect for “ma’am,” the woman running a market stall or restaurant.
Around Suyeong, Nam-gu and Haeundae
These are the names you’ll actually see on signs in the three districts this site covers.
Igidae · 이기대
igidae — A coastal park in Nam-gu with a cliff-edge walking path facing Gwangan Bridge and Marine City. The best view of the bridge that doesn’t cost anything, and far quieter than the beach it looks at.
Millak · 민락
millak — The eastern end of Gwangalli. Millak Waterfront Park (민락수변공원) is where people sit on the rocks with food from the fish hall behind it, and Millak The Market is the newer complex on the water.
Namcheon · 남천
namcheon — The station and neighbourhood west of Gwangalli, known locally for a cherry blossom street in spring and for being where people live rather than visit.
Daeyeon-dong · 대연동
daeyeon-dong — The Nam-gu neighbourhood around Kyungsung and Pukyong universities. Two metro stops from Gwangalli, and the densest cheap-food area in this part of the city.
Oryukdo · 오륙도
oryukdo — Literally “five-six islands”, named because the count appears to change with the tide. At the southern tip of Nam-gu, with a glass-floored skywalk over the water.
Cheongsapo · 청사포
cheongsapo — A small fishing harbour between Haeundae and Songjeong, with red and white lighthouses and a stop on the Blueline Park coastal train.
Dalmaji-gil · 달맞이길
dalmaji-gil — “Moon-greeting road”, the hill road above Haeundae lined with cafés and galleries. One of the city’s cherry blossom spots in late March.
Gunam-ro · 구남로
gunam-ro — The pedestrian street running from Haeundae Station down to the beach. Where the festival stages go up and where most visitors eat.
Words on a menu
Ttaro-gukbap · 따로국밥
ttaro-gukbap — Soup with the rice served separately rather than already in the bowl. Ttaro means “apart”. Ordering it is not a special request; it’s a menu line.
Sujeo · 수저
sujeo — Spoon and chopsticks as a set. Usually in a drawer under the table edge, which is the thing nobody tells you.
Dadaegi · 다대기
dadaegi — The chilli seasoning paste you stir into soup yourself. Comes in a small dish beside the salted shrimp.
Mul- / Bibim- · 물- / 비빔-
mul / bibim — Two ways almost any cold noodle dish is sold. Mul means it comes in broth; bibim means mixed with sauce and no broth. So mul-milmyeon and bibim-milmyeon are the same shop’s two options.
Jeongsik · 정식
jeongsik — A set meal: a main plus rice, soup and side dishes at one price. Usually the best value line on a menu.
Where these facts come from
- Place names, administrative divisions and station names: Busan Metropolitan City and Busan Transportation Corporation.
- Standard-language definitions and romanization: National Institute of Korean Language.
- Dialect usage and everyday meaning: how the words are actually used here, checked against local usage rather than dictionaries alone.
What I did not check: etymologies for a few of the older place names, where local accounts and official ones differ. Where that’s the case I’ve given the common reading rather than picking a side.
Last reviewed: September 2026. Entries are added as they come up in the guides.