Our second and final stop in Korea was Busan, where we encountered generally better weather than in Seoul, much to our relief. The vegan scene was not quite so thriving, but we did pretty well here, though we only stayed a few nights. Here’s what we ate in Busan.

Soban Vegan

This restaurant is really highly rated on Happy Cow, so we were keen to give it a try even though the menu didn’t really wow us.

We both got the spicy soft tofu jigae, which was a stew that came with a pot of rice and five banchan dishes (more on those below). It’s difficult to find a dish where the spice levels satisfy both me and Dr HH, but this basically did the job, even if it was a little spicier than I would have really wanted. It contained plenty of nice soft tofu, and the rice was nicely seasoned. We did have our usual complaint in Korea that the only flavour of anything is chilli – this had chilli heat, but no other flavours really.

We also shared a plate of fried mushrooms in sweet and spicy sauce. The mushroom were juicy shiitakes in batter with a nice sauce on the outside. I was hoping the batter would be a bit crispier, but there was a lot of sauce which perhaps ruined that texture. This dish was more expensive than the stew, and wasn’t really worth the extra money for us.

The banchan were really good! We got kimchi, mock beef with mushrooms, sauteed aubergines, cabbage, and a fifth item that we couldn’t identify. Dr HH loved the kimchi, and I was very impressed with the mock meat. These were certainly the most creative and delicious banchan that we had on our trip.

The restaurant also has a selection of vegan products, which was handy as we were struggling to find vegan snacks in convenience stores. I was absolutely delighted to get a couple of bars of Vego chocolate to keep me ticking over!

Sulgodang

I am not always keen on eating at non-vegan restaurants when I’m travelling, in case the language barrier means I mess up my order and I accidentally get meat dishes. Sulgodang is not all-vegan, but it did a great job at alleviating my concerns. There is a clearly labelled vegan section on the menu, and after we ordered the staff asked if we were vegan so they could be sure to bring the correct banchan selection. We were so satisfied that we went back a second time as well.

On our first visit, Dr HH ordered the Korean ramen and found it a bit underwhelming. It didn’t really have a lot of flavour beyond being mildly spicy – our usual issue. It contained noodles and a few vegetables, but nothing particularly fun like tofu or mushrooms. He did get a small dish of rice with the meal, which he chucked in to the leftover broth at the end for a slightly different finish.

I ordered the tofu steak and it was an absolutely gigantic portion of tofu (500g according to the menu). It came with a pot of soy sauce with sesame seeds and spring onions in it. I also ordered a portion of rice to go with it. The tofu had a nice searing on the outside and the texture was fine but it didn’t really have much flavour. It could be so easily improved with smaller pieces of tofu (so you get more of the seared edges) and a bit of extra seasoning. Both of these dishes felt very much like a non-vegan’s idea of vegan dishes.

Nevertheless, we did make a second visit, and had quite similar feedback. I had japchae this time, which was solid but not amazing.

And Dr HH tried the fried rice. It was solid, and he enjoyed adding the various side dishes to it, but we were still not totally bowled over.

The banchan were more impressive, and provided some of the flavour and texture that was missing in our mains. Dr HH was especially thrilled to get some tteokbokki. You could ask the staff for refills of any of the dishes, which was also appreciated.

This restaurant was really conveniently located for us, and we generally liked the look of the vegan options. The banchan were great, the rest of the dishes were filling, and it was pretty solid.

Vegan Food

For something completely different – we were thrilled to spot a gigantic “Vegan Food” sign while wandering around Gamcheon Cultural Village (more on that below). Everyone around us seemed to be having colourful and fun looking drinks and treats, and I was really happy that we didn’t have to miss out.

This is a takeaway only stand which just offers one dish – a brightly coloured mochi with some fruity syrup. We could choose which colour mochi we wanted from an assortment of bright options. I think they all tasted the same though, based on the two we tried. Then there was a choice of a few different fruity syrups. We both got strawberry and mango, which were sweet and refreshing. It was colourful and cute!

Caffeinated

I am always thrilled to find a vegan breakfast available at an early hour! We were so delighted with this spot that we went three times during our stay in Busan. The only vegan options are a smoothie bowl (green or berry) and banana bread, along with plant based milk for drinks.

We enjoyed the berry smoothie bowls, though on one occasion Dr HH got some chunks of frozen fruit that he couldn’t get through. The coconut was a tasty topping, and the coldness was refreshing in the heat and humidity.

The banana bread was nice. It was served warm and in some sweet syrup, which made the dish a little too sweet overall for my personal tastes. But it was a nice light sponge with plenty of banana, and we still enjoyed it.

The hot drinks were good too, and it was quite a spacious and light spot, perfect for a leisurely breakfast.

Rainbow Crust

We found yet another all-vegan bakery in Busan, after Seoul being inundated with them! We got an assortment of bread to takeaway for breakfast or packed lunches, and we were generally pleased with everything.

The cinnamon bagels were generously spiced and really tasty.

The red bean paste buns were generously filled and had just the right amount of sweetness. I’ll never be a huge fan of beans in a dessert, but this was fine.

The vegetable cracker loaf had a good savoury taste which we enjoyed, though it was still quite subtle.

In all cases, the bread was extremely soft and pillowy, just what we wanted. I definitely recommend this place if you’re looking for some picnic food!

Activities In and Around Busan

We had a fun afternoon at Gamcheon Culture Village, which is a fun part of the city with lots of colourfully painted houses, street art, and fun things to spot. We paid for a map to make sure we didn’t miss any of the attractions, but you could easily just wander around.

We were delighted to get outdoors again for the Igidae Coastal Trail. This was a really pleasant walk of a few hours along the coastline, with beautiful views out to sea and towards the city. I would recommend good trainers or walking boots, because there was quite an array of terrain and some of it was muddy and slippy. There were lots of steps too. The travel blogs I’d read suggested it was more of a paved walkway by the beach, and it was not that at all! It was a great walk though.

We also took a day trip to Gyeongju where we spent some time exploring Daereungwon Tomb Complex, where we saw lots of ancient burial mounds and learned about the burial traditions and botched excavations over the years. We also took a bus out to Bulguksa Temple, which was really impressive, and Seokguram Grotto. It was a bit tricky to plan all our bus times, but worth it if you can make it work.