Foods

When people in Gijang think of mulhoe (물회), cold raw fish soup, this is usually the first name that comes up. It sits right at the entrance to Gijang, just past Songjeong, with its back to the sea. The building is big and easy to spot from the road. There are a lot of mulhoe places around here, so a spot that has lasted this long is doing something right. Most of it comes down to one thing: the iced broth. But the menu range and a few honest drawbacks are worth knowing too. ...

If people in Yaksu start talking about ibuk-style steamed chicken, this place comes up almost every time. Come expecting the dark, soy-braised Andong jjimdak and you’ll do a double take. The chicken here arrives pale white, piled with garlic chives, sitting in a pool of clear, light broth. It looks more like a poached chicken than anything braised. It isn’t a loud, bold dish. The flavor is clean and gentle, almost plain, and that splits people. But if you’re into that quiet kind of cooking, it’s the sort of place that keeps coming back to mind. ...

Right across from Gwanchoksa Temple in Nonsan, there’s a place that looks more like a warehouse than a restaurant. A big banner out front is the only real sign you’re in the right spot. Don’t let the outside fool you. At lunch it fills up with locals. The cheonggukjang set runs 9,500 won. That gets you stir-fried pork, a stew, six side dishes, and rice. The first thing most people think when the table is set is, “how is this only 9,500 won?” ...

One financier, 1,000 won. About seventy U.S. cents. Honestly that single fact is the whole pitch for this place. I’ve been going here for a while - long before it was called Hayeongdang (하영당). Back then it was a tiny shop in a Guam-dong alley called 7days (세븐데이즈), the kind of place only people in the neighborhood knew about. ...

If you ever find yourself in Gongju, a quiet historic town about 90 minutes south of Seoul, there is one dish locals will insist you try before anything else. It is called gimpitang (김피탕), short for kimchi pizza tangsuyuk. Yes, that is kimchi, pizza cheese, and Korean sweet-and-sour fried meat, all on one plate. I know how it sounds. I was skeptical too, about ten years ago, when a friend dragged me to a tiny shop in Gongju for my first plate. One bite in, the tangy sauce, the sour kick of aged kimchi, and the stretchy cheese somehow made complete sense together. I have been coming back ever since. ...

For about 10,000 won a person you get a bubbling pot of spicy pork rib stew, a fresh stone-pot of rice, and scorched-rice tea to finish. In a year when everything got more expensive, a meal like this almost feels like a glitch. I’ve been coming here for years. The first few times, this was just a quiet neighborhood lunch spot where office workers in Seonhwa-dong came for a cheap home-style meal. It’s a different scene now. ...

If you want good aged sashimi in Samsan, Ulsan, Yoonseul Dining (윤슬다이닝) is worth a stop. I’d been meaning to go for a while because the sashimi kept showing up on my Instagram. Short version: if you like raw fish, you’ll probably leave happy. It’s small and you really need a reservation, so I’d plan around that. The basics The address is 5 Dalsam-ro 24beon-gil, Nam-gu, Ulsan (울산 남구 달삼로24번길 5 1층). It’s one block over from Yongma Night Market in Samsan, tucked behind the grilled-meat alley, not far from Lotte City Hotel. ...

The other night I was half-watching a TV food show when a giant bowl of kongguksu (콩국수, chilled soybean noodle soup) filled the screen. I sat up because I knew that bowl. It was Kongmyeondang (콩면당), a place two minutes from spots I’ve eaten at for years. After that broadcast in late May 2026, blog posts about it suddenly flooded the Korean internet. That broadcast was KBS2’s Saengsaeng Jeongbo (생생정보) on May 27, 2026. ...

There’s one black pork place on Jeju’s east coast I end up at almost every trip. It’s called Jejugil Heukdwaeji Chamsut-gui (제주길흑돼지참숯구이), sitting right on the coastal road near Seongsan Ilchulbong. I’ve actually known this spot for more than ten years, so I was surprised when it suddenly started blowing up in searches. Turns out it was because of a TV show. ...

Haebaragi is my go-to in Ulsan whenever I’m craving a Japanese course. Last time I had the 90,000-won omakase, but honestly, that’s 180,000 won for two people, which is a lot to do often. So this round I tried the step below it — the 60,000-won Haebaragi course. Short version: if the omakase feels like too much but you still want a real Japanese course, the 60,000-won option is the sweet spot. Here’s how it differs from the 90,000-won, and whether 60,000 is enough on its own. ...