Busan Sashimi Prices at Jagalchi Market, Platter, Mulhoe and Set Meal Costs

The assorted live-fish platter, called modum-hoe in Korean, comes in four fixed sizes on Jagalchi Coastal Road: small KRW 60,000 (about USD 43), medium KRW 80,000 (about USD 58), large KRW 100,000 (about USD 72) and extra large KRW 120,000 (about USD 87). Two people are comfortable with a small or medium, four or more with a large or extra large. Prices are posted by size, so you know the bill before you sit down and there is no haggling. The fish is taken from the tank at the door and sliced to order, and the plate reaches your table in about ten minutes.

Solo travelers are well looked after. Hoe-deopbap, a big steel bowl of rice topped with sashimi, vegetables and sesame oil that you mix with vinegared chili paste, is KRW 15,000 (about USD 11) and is the most ordered one-person dish. Mulhoe, the icy spicy sashimi soup Busan is famous for, is KRW 18,000 (about USD 13), and the premium mulhoe with higher-grade white fish is KRW 25,000 (about USD 18). Hoe-jeongsik, a sashimi set meal with rice and the day's side dishes, is KRW 20,000 (about USD 14). Grilled abalone or edamame often lands on the table alongside, so a solo meal still feels complete.

It is a Busan custom to finish a sashimi platter with a stew made from the leftover bones and head. Ordered on its own, the rockfish bone stew, called ppyeo-maeuntang, is KRW 50,000 small (about USD 36), KRW 80,000 medium (about USD 58) and KRW 100,000 large (about USD 72). The broth is drawn from rockfish bones and simmered with tofu, water dropwort and bean sprouts, clean and warming rather than fishy. In winter this pot is often the part of the meal people remember most.

Wild-caught premium species such as ishigari (a prized relative of olive flounder), striped flounder and parrotfish start at KRW 80,000 (about USD 58). These run on Daily Selection Pricing: the restaurant picks whatever is in the best condition that morning, and the exact price moves with how rare the fish is and how the plate is composed, following the same-day supply of Jagalchi Market. A quick phone call asking "what is good today?" gets you the day's recommendation and price before you arrive.

The grilled fish set is the quiet value pick on any Jagalchi menu: one whole grilled fish with kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts and other side dishes for KRW 15,000 (about USD 11). Side dishes change daily depending on what is fresh, so the spread differs from visit to visit. Under USD 25 (around KRW 30,000), the sashimi rice bowl (KRW 15,000) or mulhoe (KRW 18,000) are the safe bets. For two people with about USD 75 (around KRW 100,000), locals like a small platter (KRW 60,000) plus soy sauce marinated crab (KRW 30,000). Cards are accepted everywhere on the coastal road, so you do not need to carry a lot of cash.