Which dish first comes to mind when you think about Busan? The list is too long, but many Koreans would pick Busan’s specialty, rice and pork soup.

Rice and pork soup is said to originate from the Hwanghaedo province when Hwanghaedo evacuees in Busan during the Korean War made soup with affordable miscellaneous pork meat and intestines. After the Korean War, noodles replaced expensive rice, but as it got affordable, it became the Rice and Pork Soup.

pork and rice soup is said to originate from the Hwanghaedo province when Hwanghaedo evacuees in Busan during the Korean War made soup with affordable miscellaneous pork meat and intestines. After the Korean War, noodles replaced expensive rice, but as rice got affordable, it became the pork and rice soup.

Even from afar, you can already notice rice and pork soup restaurants as the pig bone broth’s aroma wafts through the air and attracts customers. There are many 24 hr rice and pork soup restaurants because they need to keep the broth boiling to create a thick gravy.

Chop the pile of meat and combine it with broth to make the perfect bowl of soup. It looks like newly served fast food at first, but what you see is just a step in the broth’s long cooking process. On the contrary, it is arduously prepared “slow food.”

A simple table setting for rice and pork soup includes noodles as an appetizer and side dishes, such as salted shrimp for seasoning, minced sauce to thicken the broth, garlic, onions, peppers, and salad with garlic chives. The minced sauce is put onto the spoon, but locals commonly season it with salted shrimp themselves to suit their taste. Before seasoning, some also put the garlic chive salad into the soup for a chewy texture and a richer flavor.

The typical rice and pork soup restaurant menu includes blood sausage and rice soup, tripe and intestine rice soup, mixed rice soup, and a set menu with boiled pork slices, which includes a bowl of plain broth with boiled pork and stir-fried kimchi. This menu is recommended for large groups as a side dish, as well as for those who love to drink because the pork can be wrapped in leafy greens and eaten with a salted sauce.

Prepare a large spoon and a big bowl for the seasoned broth and thick lean meat that make your stomach grumble. As you bask in the soup’s steam, you’ll start sweating. Every bite of the warm pork will leave your taste buds tingling. Although it is simple and affordable, the dish is enough to experience Busan’s unique flavor that magically lifts up your mood.
When eating hot dishes like this, Koreans often say, ironically, “Oh, this is so cool!”