Samjin Eomuk opens 'THE WAVE Gwangan' pop-up store in Busan

Samjinfood opened a new brand space, "Samjin Eomuk THE WAVE Gwangan," in Gwangalli, Busan, on Saturday, the company announced Monday. THE WAVE Gwangan is designed to serve as a testing ground for Samjin Eomuk's next-generation offline store model.

"Samjin Eomuk has been evolving to give customers a wider range of ways to experience fish cake," a company official said. "The brand collaborations and lifestyle content on offer at THE WAVE Gwangan are part of that effort — an attempt to let people encounter fish cake in an entirely new way."

The space was conceived around the concept of "a new wave of joy created by Samjin — born in Busan in 1953 — in front of the sea at Gwangalli."

Going beyond the company's existing bakery-style stores, the venue is planned as a new kind of brand space that will continuously present brand collaborations, lifestyle programs and seasonal content, drawing on Gwangalli's locational strengths. The interior is arranged so visitors can enjoy Samjin Eomuk products while taking in views of Gwangalli Beach and Gwangan Bridge, and the space also features a front terrace and photo zones designed to make the venue itself an experience.

THE WAVE Gwangan pop-up offers exclusive menu items available only at this location, as well as collaborative dishes developed with local Busan brands. Signature items include the "Giant Cheese Stick," notable for its oversized format and generous cheese filling, along with the "Kimchi Fried Rice Eomuk Ball" and "Beef Fried Rice Eomuk Ball," which combine kimchi and beef fried rice with fish cake.

Collaborative menus with local Busan brands include a "Sweet Pumpkin Snowflake Patbingsu" developed with Yongho-dong Halme Patbingsu, as well as a signature beverage co-created with Fuzzy Navel, a Busan-based tropical cocktail bar brand.

A special opening promotion will also run, offering three signature menu items — the Giant Cheese Stick, the Beef Fried Rice Eomuk Ball and the Kimchi Fried Rice Eomuk Ball — at 1,000 won each, limited to 100 units per item per day. Samjin Eomuk plans to operate the Gwangalli pop-up not merely as a retail outlet but as a lifestyle content space where customers can experience the brand in a fresh way.

"We will continue to present brand collaborations and lifestyle content that set us apart from our existing stores, showing customers who visit Gwangalli a new side of Samjin Eomuk," said Park Yong-jun, chief executive of Samjin Eomuk.