Busan releases 2026 dining guide to showcase city's culinary scene

Dwaeji-gukbap (pork and rice soup), a signature Busan dish / Courtesy of the Busan Metropolitan Government

Busan released this year's "Taste of Busan" guidebook, promoting the southeastern port city's food culture to an international audience.

The Busan Metropolitan Government said Tuesday the guidebook covers 146 restaurants citywide in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese, pairing each entry with regional stories and culinary context. Published annually, it serves as the city's flagship food culture guide, curating restaurants through its own selection process alongside broader coverage of local ingredients and dining trends.

This year's edition moves beyond a restaurant directory, the city said, tracing the local food chain from farm to table through chef interviews, producer profiles and coverage of traditional cuisine and regional ingredients.

The guidebook also aims to ease navigation for international visitors, including QR codes linking to foreign language menus at 50 restaurants in seven languages — English, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Russian and Arabic.

A digital version of the annual publication is available for download at visitbusan.net. Print copies will be distributed at featured restaurants, tourist information centers and other locations across the city. Portable photo cards featuring selected restaurants will also be available free of charge at tourist information centers beginning mid-April, giving visitors a more accessible and engaging way to explore Busan's food scene.

The guidebook's reach has extended beyond Korea, with Lausanne, Switzerland, referencing its format to develop its own food guide at the 2025 annual assembly of the Food Capitals by Délice Network — a global alliance of 25 cities across 18 countries that share food policy and culinary industry expertise.

“'Taste of Busan' is a definitive guide to the city's food culture,” said Cho Gyu-yul, director general of the city's Citizen Health Bureau. “We will continue exploring ways to link local ingredients and culinary content to strengthen Busan's competitiveness as a food destination and offer more compelling dining experiences for visitors at home and abroad.”