Top 20 "Busan Pork Gukbap" Restaurants Selected; Citizens to Taste and Vote

[Financial News] The Busan Pork Gukbap Competition, which sought to determine the "real Busan pork gukbap restaurants," has selected its top 20 establishments. Citizens will taste the food and vote to choose the final top three.
The Busan Metropolitan City Government and BTO announced on the 29th that they are holding Gukbap Week, a major event of the 2026 Busan Pork Gukbap Competition, from the 28th through the 14th of next month.
Held for the first time this year, the event was designed as a participatory culinary program to develop the stories and preferences of citizens surrounding Busan's signature local dish, pork gukbap, into tourism content rather than simply hosting a restaurant competition. The event will proceed from citizen recommendations to the Gukbap Roundtable, Gukbap Week, the Gukbap Showcase and the Gukbap Awards.
On the 19th, the Gukbap Roundtable was held to discuss the stories behind the 20 establishments selected through citizen recommendations. Twenty "gukbap enthusiasts," chef Kang Leo, food literature researcher Park Sang-hyun and actor Han Sang-jin attended. Under the theme "What defines Busan pork gukbap?" the participants shared their experiences, preferences and the characteristics of each selected establishment for a full nine hours.
Key discussions from the Gukbap Roundtable will also be released in video format. Following the preview video released on the 27th, videos introducing the citizen participants and the full episode will be released sequentially through the official Visit Busan social media channels and other platforms.
The discussions from the roundtable will lead into Gukbap Week and the citizen participation vote. The 20 pork gukbap restaurants selected through recommendations from about 10,800 citizens are eligible for the vote.
Citizens and tourists alike can access the Kakao Map voting page, view the selected establishments and vote for their favorite pork gukbap restaurant. Those who visit a selected establishment can also participate by scanning the QR code on a poster or promotional material installed at the restaurant.
The 20 restaurants eligible for the vote will be featured at the Gukbap Showcase, which will be held from the 16th to the 18th of next month at Now Arriving, located in the Busan International Finance Center (BIFC). On the 16th, the Gukbap Awards will be held to announce the final top three establishments and the top 10 based on the voting results.
[email protected] Byeon Ok-hwan Reporter