Samjin Eomuk Busan Guide: Fish Cake, Menu, Prices, Main Store & Tips for Foreigners

The Yeongdo Main Store is the Samjin shop that the brand itself calls its 본점 (main store), and it is the one tied to the 1953 start of the company. It is a bakery-style eomuk shop with a separate eating space and a making class upstairs, not a street stall.

Everything here is about that one shop, checked on the brand's own pages, Kakao Map, Naver Place and tourism sites as of October 21, 2026. Hours, menus and class details can change, so confirm anything time-sensitive before a special trip.

Quick answer

Is the Yeongdo Main Store worth visiting?

It depends on what you want from the stop. The shop is a quick browse-and-snack visit, and the class is a longer, booked activity.

A good fit if you:

• want to see the shop the brand calls its main store
• are curious about the brand's history, which it dates to 1953
• are traveling with children who would enjoy a making class
• want packaged eomuk to take home

A weaker fit if you:

• have only a short time near Busan Station, since the shop is on Yeongdo, across the water
• need a halal, vegetarian, vegan or allergy-safe food, which no source confirms
• arrive after 19:00, when the shop is closed
• want a Monday making class, since the hall is closed that day

On the basis for calling this place notable: VisitKorea, the national tourism site, describes Samjin as the oldest fish cake producer among the makers in Busan. Naver Place shows 8,525 visitor reviews for the experience hall listing. Neither is a ranking of fish cake shops, and this guide does not rank them.

Which Samjin is this?

The shop is listed by the brand as 삼진어묵 영도본점 at 부산광역시 영도구 태종로99번길 36 (lot address 봉래동2가 39-1). Kakao Map shows the same address, with the listing status as operating, under place ID 22579540.

The brand's own store page says the building is the main store that has made eomuk here since 1953. That is the brand's statement, so treat the year as the company's own account of its history.

Three things share the name and are easy to mix up:

• Other Samjin branches. The brand has several in Busan, including two near Busan Station with longer hours.
• 삼진어묵당 (Samjin Eomukdang). This is a separate snack-shop brand with its own website. It also appears next door at No. 37 on the same lane, and it is not the Main Store.
• The experience hall. It is upstairs in the Main Store building and is booked separately.

Where it is

Yeongdo is the island district south of Nampo and Jagalchi, linked by Yeongdo Bridge. The shop is on the island's Bongnae side, a short distance from a market of the same name.

The brand's page gives these directions:

For the subway, the same page lists Line 1 Jungang Station (exit 2) or Nampo Station (exit 8), and then the bus. No walking or travel times are published, and I give none. Check the live route in a map app on the day.

Before you go

Hours and closed days

The brand's page lists 09:00 to 19:00, Monday to Sunday, with no closed day. Kakao Map shows the same hours. I found no break time or last-order time.

The 2nd-floor experience hall runs on a different schedule: open Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00 to 18:00, closed on Mondays. Holiday schedules are not published, so check around Seollal and Chuseok.

The experience hall

The brand's booking page offers eomuk-making classes in a hall on the 2nd floor, and a booking is required. The VisitKorea page also says the 2nd-floor hall lets visitors make their own fish cake.

Class prices are not given here. The Korean booking page and the global booking page show different figures, and some dates were marked unavailable for groups when I checked, so treat the booking page as the only current source. Naver Place lists two experience hall addresses, so confirm which hall your booking is for.

I did not check age limits, class length or language support, and none is confirmed by the sources I used.

Eating in or taking away

VisitKorea says the Main Store has a separate space where visitors can eat the fish cakes they buy. I could not confirm seating numbers or whether the space is open all day. If you want a hot snack right away, ask at the counter.

Parking

The brand posted a notice on June 16, 2026 saying the Main Store lot is narrow, that public transit is recommended, and that nearby lots are available. An older tourism listing mentioned free spaces, but the brand's newer notice supersedes it. Fees and capacity are not published here.

Queue and preorder

No official wait time, queue system or preorder is published, and I found no reliable count of waiting times. Weekends and holidays would reasonably be busier, but that is an expectation and not a measurement.

Payment, English support and tax-free

Kakao Map lists KakaoPay, which is only a partial list of what the shop accepts. Whether foreign-issued cards work is not published, so carry some cash. English support and tax-free service at the Main Store are not published either, and I do not assume them.

What is Busan eomuk?

Eomuk (어묵) is Korean fish cake, a food made from fish paste that is shaped and then fried or steamed. It is sold as skewers in hot broth, as bars, as croquettes and as packaged gift sets.

Visit Busan, the city's tourism site, says Korean fish cake has its roots in Japanese oden, that Busan was an entry point for Japanese food, and that fish was plentiful in the city. It also notes that experience programs are common here. Those are the tourism site's explanations of the food's origin, not a record of one shop.

Eomuk or odeng?

You will meet both words. The National Institute of Korean Language says 오뎅 (odeng) is a non-standard word and 어묵 (eomuk) is the correct term for the food.

So search for 어묵 on a map app. I found no source that treats the two as different foods.

What to try

The brand's store menu page lists the chain's range, and it says menus vary by store. Do not assume every item below is on the shelf in Yeongdo on the day.

"Signature" and "BEST" are the brand's own labels. I found no independent ranking of these items, so this guide does not call any of them the best.

For a first visit, pick one croquette and one skewer so you can compare the textures. A gift set is easy to carry, but see the storage section first.

For foreign travelers

Ordering

Point at what you want or say the item name and the number. English support is not confirmed, so a translation app is a sensible backup.

Muslim travelers and pork

No halal certification is published for the Main Store, and TripKopia could not verify one. Menu item names include pork sausage and bacon, and the fish cake itself may be made on shared equipment, so pork cannot be ruled out. For wider guidance, see the Muslim-friendly food guide.

Vegetarian and vegan

Fish cake is a fish product, so it is not vegetarian or vegan. I found no plant-based item on the brand's pages, and I make no vegetarian or vegan claim for anything in the shop.

Allergens and gluten

The brand's pages do not publish an allergen chart for the Main Store. Item names mention pollock, shrimp, squid, cheese, bacon, egg, pork sausage and corn, so fish, shellfish, egg and dairy may all be present. Croquettes and breaded items are likely to contain wheat, but that is an inference from the format and not a published fact.

The fryer and shared-equipment practice is unknown. Show your allergy to staff before ordering, read the package label for packaged items, and treat this guide as a prompt to ask, not as an allergy-safe claim.

Buying eomuk as a souvenir

Storage

The brand's product page says to keep each product chilled or frozen as the product requires, and that chilled and frozen items ship separately. It gives no single rule for all products. Follow the label on the package, including any storage temperature and date.

Some frozen products rose in price on October 1, 2026, according to the brand's notice. Any price you read on a blog before that date may be out of date.

Train, flight and customs

I found no official rule on carrying chilled or frozen fish cake on KTX or SRT trains or on a flight, and I do not guess one. Ask the carrier or the airline, and keep the item cold and sealed if the label requires it.

Customs rules are set by the country you fly into, and each treats food differently. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says visitors must declare all agricultural items and that items are subject to inspection. Australian Border Force says to declare food on the Incoming Passenger Card and to check its rules first.

Check your own country's rules before you buy. This guide does not say that any fish cake is allowed or banned.

Planning around the Main Store

Busan Station branches

The brand's store list shows two branches by Busan Station: the Plaza branch at Jungang-daero 214beon-gil 7 and the Ramada branch at Jungang-daero 196beon-gil 10, both listed 09:00 to 21:00. They are different branches with different hours, and they are not the Main Store.

From the Kakao Map and brand-list coordinates, the Plaza branch is about 2.6 km from the Main Store in a straight line. That is geography and not a travel time.

If you have only a short stop near the station, a station branch may fit better. If you want the main store or the class, plan the trip to Yeongdo.

Other branches and the airport

The store list also shows branches at department stores in Seomyeon, Dongnae and Centum City, and one in Gwangan. It lists a branch in the airside area of Incheon Airport Terminal 2 open 06:00 to 22:00. Confirm hours on the store list before you rely on any of them.

Combining with Huinnyeoul

Huinnyeoul Culture Village is also in Yeongdo, and Visit Busan lists it as a related tour spot on the Samjin page. I found no official route between the two, so check the live route. See the Huinnyeoul Culture Village guide for the current access status, since parts of the coastal path have had restrictions.

Common mistakes

1. Going to the wrong Samjin. The Busan Station branches have different hours and are not the Main Store.
2. Confusing it with 삼진어묵당. That is a separate snack brand next door.
3. Arriving after 19:00. The shop is closed by then.
4. Planning a Monday class. The experience hall is closed on Mondays.
5. Turning up for a class without a booking. A booking is required.
6. Driving there. The brand says the lot is narrow and recommends public transit.
7. Assuming the whole menu is on the shelf. Menus vary by store.
8. Trusting an old price. Some frozen product prices rose on October 1, 2026.
9. Assuming it is halal, vegetarian or allergy-safe. None is confirmed.
10. Repeating the 1953 claim as an independent fact. It is the brand's account, supported by tourism bodies' descriptions.
11. Packing it without reading the label. Chilled and frozen items need different storage.
12. Assuming customs will allow it. Check your own country's rules.

Frequently asked questions

Which Samjin Eomuk does this guide cover?

The Yeongdo Main Store at 36 Taejong-ro 99beon-gil, Yeongdo-gu, Busan.

Is it really the main store?

The brand's own store page lists it as the 본점 and ties it to the 1953 start of the company.

What are the opening hours?

The brand's page and Kakao Map both list 09:00 to 19:00, every day.

Is it open every day?

The shop is listed with no closed day. The experience hall is closed on Mondays.

How much does it cost?

In-store prices were not found on the brand's pages, so check at the counter. Some frozen products rose in price on October 1, 2026.

Do I need to book?

Not for the shop. The experience hall requires an online booking.

What should I try first?

The brand tags its croquette set and assorted skewers as signature items. Menus vary by store, so see what is on the shelf.

Can I eat there?

VisitKorea says there is a separate space for eating what you buy.

Is there parking?

The brand says the lot is narrow and recommends public transit.

How do I get there from Busan Station?

The brand lists buses 190 and 101 to the Yeongdo Bongnae Market stop. No travel time is published.

Is it halal?

TripKopia could not verify halal certification, and pork items appear on the menu.

Is it vegetarian or vegan?

No. Fish cake is a fish product, and no plant-based item was found.

Does it contain allergens?

Allergens are not published. Fish, shellfish, egg, dairy and wheat may be present.

Can I take it home on a plane?

I found no official rule. Ask your airline, and check your arrival country's customs rules.

Do they speak English?

English support is not published.

Is the Busan Station branch the same?

No. It is a different branch with its own hours.

Hours, menus, prices and class details were checked on October 21, 2026 and can change without notice. The 1953 history comes from the brand and tourism bodies, and TripKopia has not independently audited it.

Last verified on October 21, 2026

Related guides

Korean Food

What to Eat in Busan: A First-Timer's Food Guide

Busan's food is a seaport-and-refugee story: hearty pork-bone soup, wheat-flour cold noodles, and the country's biggest fish market all trace back to the Korean War years. The dishes to try follow (dwaeji gukbap, milmyeon, Jagalchi seafood, Busan eomuk, ssiat hotteok, grilled shellfish, and market snacks), each with where to find it and how to search by name.

Busan

Destination

Huinnyeoul Culture Village Busan Guide: Coastal Walk, Tunnel, How to Get There & Tips for Foreign Visitors

Huinnyeoul Culture Village is a cliff-edge lane neighborhood in Busan's Yeongdo-gu where residents still live, with sea views over ships waiting at anchor. Entry is free and there is no gate. The seaside walkway below it and the Huinnyeoul Coastal Tunnel have been closed or restricted for slope works since December 2024, and the district's own timeline runs to 2027 and 2028. Most visitors take a city bus from Nampo Station or Busan Station, so confirm the route in a live map before you go.

BusanYeongdo-gu