A 34-year-old neighbourhood pizzeria in Busan’s Gwangbok-dong is currently the hardest restaurant reservation in Korea — harder, by the numbers, than anywhere in Seoul. Lee Jae-mo Pizza (이재모피자) recently swept the #1 and #2 spots on Korea’s national restaurant waiting rankings, with its flagship and a nearby branch combining for a reported daily average wait of around 10,000 people across the chain. For a pizza shop that spent its first 30 years as a single, unremarkable storefront, that is an extraordinary turn.
What Is Lee Jae-mo Pizza?
Lee Jae-mo Pizza opened in 1992 in the Nampo-dong/Gwangbok-dong area of Busan’s Jung-gu, founded by Kim Ik-tae. The name isn’t a brand invention — “이재모” (Lee Jae-mo) is the name of the mother of the church elder who helped Kim get the shop started, and the restaurant has carried it ever since. The company itself is named FGK, and the storefronts still fly a banner reading “I Love Jesus” — Kim has spoken publicly about the business growing out of a personal faith journey, including shutting down an earlier bar business after his mother’s cancer diagnosis.
For three decades, that was the whole story: one shop, one location, no expansion. That changed in 2022, when the company opened its first directly-operated branch in Seomyeon. A second Gwangbok-dong location and a Busan Station branch followed, and in January 2024 the chain made its first move outside Busan entirely, opening in Jeju. By 2026 there are seven locations across Busan and Jeju — still a small, regional footprint by Korean chain standards, which makes the current national waiting numbers even more striking.
Why It’s Breaking Korea’s Waiting Records Right Now
A few things have converged to push a regional pizzeria to the top of a nationwide list usually dominated by Seoul:
The cheese-crust pull. The signature dish is a thick, old-style dough piled with toppings and a crust packed with 100% natural Imsil cheese (임실치즈) — a well-regarded Korean artisanal cheese — that stretches in a long, cascading pull when a slice is lifted. It’s the kind of visual that travels well on short-form video, and it’s become the single most-shared image associated with the brand.
It stayed small on purpose. Thirty years as a single shop built genuine, word-of-mouth credibility in Busan before the brand ever tried to scale. When it finally did expand from 2022 onward, it carried three decades of local trust into each new location instead of opening cold — a sharp contrast to the typical viral restaurant that has no track record behind the hype.
A flagship that signals serious ambition. In December 2025, the company announced a new flagship in Gangseo-gu, Busan (Myeongji-dong) — a 1,000-pyeong (~3,300 sqm) site across two buildings with a basement and four floors. One building is planned around the core menu (signature pizza, pasta, salad); the other is being built for brunch, dessert, and a rooftop lounge. Construction was slated to break ground in March 2026 for a 2027 completion — news that turned a regional pizza chain into a story about a genuine F&B expansion, not just a single hot table.
No shortcut to a table. At the flagship, there’s no remote or app-based waiting list — you register in person, and while doors open at 10:00, regulars know to show up by 9:30 just to get on the list. That kind of friction tends to amplify demand rather than dampen it in Korea’s current dining culture, where a hard-to-get table is itself part of the appeal.
The result is a pizzeria that now pulls in visitors from well outside Busan, including a growing number of foreign tourists who build a stop here directly into their Busan itinerary.
What to Order
| Dish | Korean Name | Price (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Cheese crust pizza (L) | 이재모크러스트 / 치즈크러스트 L | ₩29,000–30,000 |
| Cheese crust pizza (S) | 치즈크러스트 S | ₩25,000 |
| Pepperoni pasta | 페퍼로니 파스타 | ₩10,000 |
| Kimchi fried rice | 김치볶음밥 | ₩11,000 |
The cheese crust pizza is the dish people are actually queuing for — most regulars say they don’t bother looking at the rest of the menu. The kimchi fried rice is the popular palate-cleanser order on the side, cutting through the richness of all that cheese.
Practical Info
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Name | Lee Jae-mo Pizza (이재모피자) |
| Main store | Gwangbok-jungang-ro 31, Jung-gu, Busan — short walk from Jungang Station (Busan Metro Line 1), Exit 5 |
| Busan Station branch | Jungang-daero 197, 2F, Dong-gu, Busan — about 3 minutes’ walk from Busan Station, directly across the street |
| Other locations | Seomyeon, a second Gwangbok-dong site, and Jeju (7 locations total as of 2026) |
| Hours | Mon–Sat 10:00–21:10, last order 20:30 |
| Closed | Sundays |
| Phone (main store) | 051-255-9494 |
| Naver Map | Naver Map → |
| Waiting system | In-person registration only at most branches; no guaranteed remote waitlist — arrive by 9:30 for a 10:00 opening if you want a realistic shot |
| Price range | ₩10,000–30,000 per person |
| Upcoming flagship | Gangseo-gu (Myeongji-dong), Busan — 1,000-pyeong, two buildings; construction from March 2026, targeting 2027 completion |
Tips Before You Go
- Don’t expect a Seoul location. Despite the national buzz, Lee Jae-mo Pizza is still Busan- and Jeju-only. If you’re based in Seoul, this is a reason to build a Busan day or overnight around it, not a same-day trip.
- Pick a branch based on your itinerary, not hype. The Busan Station branch is the easiest to slot into a KTX-based day trip; the Gwangbok-dong main store sits inside the Nampo-dong shopping and street-food area, so it pairs naturally with a longer afternoon there.
- Go early, not late. Weekend lunch waits regularly run past an hour, and branches can stop taking names early once the kitchen reaches capacity for the day — there’s no late-afternoon workaround.
- Bring cash patience, not cash. Cards and mobile payments are standard; the real currency here is time, not money.
- Watch for the new flagship if you’re visiting in 2027 or later. The Gangseo-gu mega-location is being built as a destination in its own right, with dessert and rooftop space beyond the core menu — worth checking the company’s status before a future Busan trip once it opens.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Lee Jae-mo Pizza? A pizzeria founded in 1992 in Busan’s Gwangbok-dong, known for a thick-crust pizza loaded with Imsil cheese. It operated as a single shop for 30 years before expanding into a small chain from 2022 onward, and has since become one of the most-waited-for restaurants in Korea.
Why is it suddenly Korea’s most-waited-for restaurant? Lee Jae-mo Pizza’s flagship and a nearby branch recently took the #1 and #2 spots on national restaurant waiting rankings, with an estimated combined daily average wait of around 10,000 people across all locations — driven by its viral cheese-pull pizza, three decades of local credibility, and a newly announced 1,000-pyeong flagship that’s raised its national profile.
Is there a Lee Jae-mo Pizza location in Seoul? No. As of 2026, all locations are in Busan (five sites, including the main store and Busan Station branch) and Jeju (one site), with a major new flagship under construction in Busan’s Gangseo-gu for 2027.
How do I get a table without a long wait? There’s no reliable shortcut. Most branches only take in-person waitlist registrations, and regulars arrive around 9:30 for the 10:00 opening. Weekday mornings are your best bet; weekend lunches routinely run over an hour.
What should I order? The cheese crust pizza (치즈크러스트) is the dish everyone is there for — go large if you’re sharing. Kimchi fried rice is the most popular side to cut through the richness.
Planning a Busan trip around it? See the full Busan complete guide for how to fit a pizza stop into a wider itinerary, or check the Korean BBQ guide and regional Korean food guide for more dishes worth travelling outside Seoul for.
