Earlier this year, my family and I went to magical South Korea on a Christmas trip. Just as I did with Seoul, I wanted to publish this guide to being vegetarian in Busan. It can definitely be a little tricky but there are a good amount of restaurants to choose from. I can only imagine it will get easier with time, too!

Vegetarian in Busan

Let’s get this out of the way: South Korea is a harder country to be vegetarian in. Things might change in the future, but right now it can feel like WORK. With planning and a Naver map filled with pins, though, you will be sure to eat well in Busan.

Although Korean food contains plenty of vegetables, they are often served with meat. Many staple dishes and cooking styles are meat based (think: Korean barbecue) and have no vegetarian options. You can sometimes use Google translate to request that something like bibimbap comes without meat, but this could potentially be a bit hit and miss. Then, there’s the fact that the ubiquitous kimchi contains fish sauce and fermented seafood.

On our trip to Busan, two out of four of us were vegetarian, one ate everything, and I am a fussy pescatarian (ie: I eat plain fish) who is also gluten free. Finding something for everyone involved a lot of trawling for the right restaurant, but we did it. As such, I can confidently say that you can explore Busan on a vegetarian diet with planning. Let’s get right into it!

Tips for being vegetarian in Busan

• You MUST do some planning and pin some vegetarian places on your Naver map. They aren’t as plentiful as they were in Seoul (in my experience) but they are out there. You’ll be eating a lot of chips and 7/11 eggs (if you even eat eggs!) if not.
• Download Naver and pin your restaurants before you go. You will need Naver in Korea anyway because Google maps doesn’t work well. It is an added bonus that you can pin your restaurants and keep an eye on vegetarian options around you.
• I have a Naver map for Busan which you can find here. It includes coffee shops, bars, gluten free places (not that there were many) and a few other things I found cute or interesting. I did also pin all the vegetarian places we wanted to go to.
• If Busan is the same as Seoul, new restaurants and cafes pop up constantly. Have a list, but be open to trying new places if you stumble upon them.
• TikTok was SUCH a helpful resource when I was looking for restaurants. The reviews felt a lot more genuine than some websites out there. You can also read the comments to double check if the suggestions are legit. Same goes for Reddit – it can be very helpful in trip planning.
• Happy Cow is a brilliant resource for finding vegetarian and vegan food. Just make sure you cross-reference it with Google to make sure things haven’t closed down.

Vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Busan

Veganerang (Gwangalli Beach area)

We had a delicious lunch at Veganerang which was conveniently walking distance from our accommodation. You can choose from a la carte or, if two of you agree, a traditional Korean style meal. The opening hours of Veganerang are quite varied and complicated so I recommend checking before you go. Also, just so you don’t get lost: it’s on the one of the higher floors in the building so you will need to go up in the lift or take the stairs if there are some.

Love Urth (Gwangalli Beach area)

We stopped in at this cute little spot for dinner on our first night in Busan. I will say that the portions (at the time we visited) varied wildly. The soup and noodle bowl were huge but the tacos were more like a light entree. Still very cute and delicious, though! At the time of writing, Love Urth has quite varied opening hours, so I recommend looking them up before you go.

Ggulggeok House (Gwangalli Beach area)

Ggulgeok House is not a vegetarian restaurant but they do have vegetarian options. They were also happy to made alterations to some dishes (where possible) when we visited. This is a super trendy little spot that does new and unreal flavours of magkoelli. A great vibey spot for dinner and drinks. At the time of writing, Ggulggeok House has quite varied opening hours so I recommend checking before you go.

Tae Tae Tae (Seomyeon area)

We stumbled upon this restaurant after a long day of exploring and it was like stumbling into a goldmine. They have a separate vegan menu which almost felt too easy after two weeks of having to strategise every meal! The menu is Thai/Pan Asian and the food was great. At the time of writing, Tae Tae Tae is open every day with slightly different opening hours (but until very late).

Pyeonhan Jipbap

Another spot that vegetarian and vegans in Busan rave about, Pyeonhan Jipbap is a little off the tourist trail. By all accounts, though, it is very much worthwhile making the trip out. At the time of writing, Pyeonhan Jipbap has extensive but varied opening hours so I recommend looking online before visiting.

Yaein Tea House (Yeonje-Gu)

Yaein Tea was high on my agenda but unfortunately further out than we ended up going. It looks gorgeous, delicious and has a selection of teas as well. At the time of writing, Yaein Tea House is open from Monday to Saturday 12pm-10pm.

Soban Vegan

Soban Vegan is a vegan restaurant in Busan that gets rave reviews. We didn’t make it there but it is one of the higher rated Vegan restaurants around, so it should definitely be on your list. At the time of writing, the opening hours for Soban Vegan are varied so I would recommend looking online before you visit.

Arp (Yeongdo-Gu area)

Arp was high on my list but unfortunately we didn’t manage to get there. If you are intending to do the Huinnyeoul Culture Village, you could make a reservation for Arp afterwards. They are both across the bridge and in the same area (there’s a Momos coffee too) so they make a good group. The opening hours of Arp are a little varied, so I recommend checking online before you go (and making a booking).

A few more vegetarian and vegan suggestions

There are some other places on my Naver map that may have vegetarian options. They include:

• Sulgodang (has a vegan menu on Naver) right near Gwangbok Ro
• Bibim (a bibimbap place in Gamcheon culture village that apparently has vegetarian/vegan options)
• Ecotopia, a vegetarian and vegan restaurant in the Namcheon area
• Heeso Bakery (also has some things made without wheat flour)
• Oh! Good Things Bakery (near Jeonpo area)
• Moonggoojeom Vegan Bakery (near Jeonpo area)
• Rainbow Crust Bakery (near Jagalchi station)

Other resources for South Korea

• Where to stay in Busan
• Best cafes in Busan (with best coffee and best cocktail recommendations as well)
• Where to stay in Seoul
• Christmas in Seoul
• Vegetarian in Seoul