Busan is a cinematic landscape where towering mountains collide with a restless industrial harbour. It’s where the grit of the East Sea port meets the glitz of the International Film Festival (BIFF), harboring a culinary world of street eats and recipes that have survived for generations. When it comes to food, while Seoul is a K-drama, Busan is a blockbuster.

At BIFF Square, watch the precision of vendors wrapping plump mandu pork dumplings before they are steamed to a silken finish. In this city, umami-laden eomuk fish cake skewers are legendary; a visit to the small museum reveals the iron-willed spirit of port workers and post-war refugees, in humble family hole-in-the-wall eateries, that that have anchored this local community for decades.

Don’t miss world-famous Jagalchi Market, and photograph the colourful sci-fi display of marine life; writhing spoon worms and octopuses, with crates of shimmering hairtail fish. Later, seek out the food hero ajummas for a bowl of kalguksu, a knife point ballet as dough is sliced into thick, tangles of noodle soup. We’d rather not spoil the surprises, but a sneak peek of our 10+ tastings includes some firm favourites.

Weave into the labyrinthine "Tin Can Alley" of Bupyeong Kkangtong Market, once a smuggling haven for American canned goods. Tackle the iconic tteokbokki, red chewy rice cakes bathed in a gochujang red glaze.. Sit for dwaeji gukbap, a bone-deep pork rice broth, followed by gimbap where rice is rolled tightly with succulent pork belly. Our evening tour edition features old-fashioned Korean fried chicken, golden and twice-crisped for maximum crunch. Your guide will show you the "soju bomb" cocktail mixing ritual, a blend of beer and Korean spirits. Burn off the adrenaline with a classic Korean "King of Hammer" activity - a local rite of passage for a definitive night out in Busan.

Stroll through Bupyeong Jokbal Street, past plastic tent eateries which mark the favourite gathering spots for locals. Every great film needs a memorable final cut, and ssiat hotteok pancake is it. Sliced open with melted sugar, and stuffed to bursting with a crunchy riot of sunflower seeds and nuts. Our food discovery offers an understanding of a city that other tourists just don’t experience. The closing credits can tell you that this is the ultimate crash course in the dishes beloved by locals in Busan.