suyuk (Photo courtesy of haps Magazine Korea)
I’ve been to Namcheonjip more times than I can count and somehow never bothered to take a proper photo until recently.
That’s probably the best thing I can say about it. It’s the kind of place you go when you actually want to eat and drink, not document the experience.
It’s tucked inside the Namcheon Beach Market building in Suyeong-gu, which means first-timers usually walk past it at least once. The Naver Maps pin puts you across the road, so just head into the market building itself and go up to the second floor. You’ll figure it out.
The menu is jeon-forward, which is exactly what you want with a cold bottle of soju on a summer evening. The modum jeon is the obvious order and worth every won of the 33,000 won, but honestly, I always end up adding the oyster pancake and the perilla leaf one on top of that, and somehow it’s never too much. They do half-and-half on a few items which is great when you’re with someone equally indecisive.
The suyuk is the other thing you have to order. Thinly sliced boiled pork that comes out soft enough to fall apart, eaten wrapped with kimchi and whatever else is on the table. It sounds simple because it is, but it’s the dish that always disappears first and the one people talk about on the way home. Small is 30,000 won, large is 40,000 won. Get the large.
The domestic skate version is for people who know what they’re doing. There’s also a full grilled fish section and soups if you want to slow the evening down toward the end.
It opens at 3 p.m., and I’ve never once arrived before 6, which feels right. It’s not a lunch spot. It’s a place you end up staying longer than you meant to, which in Busan is basically the highest compliment a restaurant can get.
Closed Sundays. Last order is 11:30 p.m. Parking in the market building is free for the first hour, though they’ll give you three validation tickets and only one counts, which is a very Korean situation.
Restaurant Information
Namcheonjip (남천집 본점)
Address: Gwanganhaebyeon-ro 15beon-gil 77 (Namcheon Beach Market Building, 2F), Suyeong-gu, Busan
Hours: 3 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., closed Sundays
Tel: 0507-133-7818
