Gunsan is a city of gastronomy to the point where even the restaurants you often meet along the street sound ridiculous that they have been in business for decades. Since the Korean War, Gunsan has been home to nationally famous bakeries and North Korean restaurants, with people from North Korea who gathered around Gunsan Port, and Chinese people. It has become a gourmet city where you can enjoy flavors that cannot be found anywhere else, from the famous Gunsan champon to the water jajang that can only be enjoyed in Jeonbuk.
If you're planning a trip to eat, don't miss Gunsan. Among these, let's take a look at the secrets of long-established foodies who have caught the attention of foodies for decades.
Jangjae-dong's 'Original Popeye Naengmye', an authentic Pyongyang style cold noodle that has continued for the third generation
If you were to choose a famous restaurant in Gunsan, it would be one of the top five places. It all began when a first-generation founder who took refuge from North Korea made and sold cold noodles that they used to make and eat in their hometown. The store is large and there is also a spacious private parking lot, so you can use it conveniently. When you step inside, you'll see a small garden, and the overall wood-toned interior gives you a pleasant feeling.
The menu is simple, with cold noodles and gyoza, just like a gourmet restaurant. This place sells Pyongyang-style cold noodles, and the broth boiled with beef bone, chicken, and pork is cooled and seasoned only with soy sauce. Because of this, it is characterized by the dark color of the broth, which is close to brown. As a garnish, tear the pork loin and chicken into small pieces, sprinkle lightly with red pepper powder, and serve. King gyoza, which comes in 4 pieces on one plate, also goes well with cold noodles.
[Tips for eating]
â–²Location: 12-4 Jangjae-gil, Gunsan-si, Jeonbuk
â–²Business hours: 10:00 to 21:00 (closes at 19:30 in winter)
â–²Price: Watercress noodles 8,000 won, bibim-naengmyeon 8,000 won, Wangmandu 4,000 won
â–²Testimonial (eating cat kim): Not spicy, full of sesame powder, soy sauce-based soup, large amount of soup, unusual, huh;
Needless to say, Gunsan's representative bakery, Jungang-ro 1-ga “Lee Seong-dangâ€
Lee Seong-dang is a name that even if you don't live in Gunsan, you've probably heard it at least once. This place is famous for its red bean bread and vegetable bread. The savory smell of bread that you feel even before entering the store makes you feel good. In addition to the famous bread, there are dozens of other delicious breads on display in the store.
Red bean paste is full of unsweetened red bean paste, and is particularly characterized by the fact that the bread part is thin and is kneaded using rice flour to give it a chewy flavor. Another popular product, vegetable bread, is made by mixing various vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, and onions in a savory sauce and then baking them in an oven, which is excellent for the crunchy texture and light flavor of the vegetables. You can only buy red bean bread and vegetable bread in the main building, so it's a good idea to check it out.
[Tips for eating]
â–²Location: 177, Jungang-ro, Gunsan-si, Jeonbuk
â–²Business hours: 08:00 to 21:30 (closed every Monday)
â–²Price: Red bean paste 1,700 won, vegetable bread 2,000 won, fresh cream paste 2,300 won
â–²Review (Shikigin Chokuregi): A place famous for vegetable bread and red bean paste bread. The red bean paste bread is full of red beans. The red bean paste flavor was just plain, but it was really sweet. Maybe it's because it contains a lot compared to bread, but it really wasn't my favorite. The vegetable bread was even more delicious. The pepper flavor was strong, and there was a lot of cabbage in it, but I liked the crunchy texture. If I visit again, I think I'll only buy vegetable bread.
Rich flavor of local bean sprouts gukbap, 'Ilheung-ok' in Wolmyeong-dong
A place that opened in 1975 and has been doing business with bean sprouts and gukbap. Even though the business starts early in the morning, customers flock in early. The only items on the menu are bean sprouts gukbap and 2 moju that can be served as an accompaniment. The side dishes are simple with kakuteki, green pepper, and samjang, but that's enough.
The bean sprout gukbap contains bean sprouts, green onions, seaweed powder, and red pepper powder neatly in an earthenware pot of hot soup, and a freshly broken egg is placed on it. If you eat egg yolk without bursting it, you can enjoy the refreshing flavor of the soup, and if you spread it and mix it with rice or bean sprouts, you can enjoy it lightly. If it's not enough, all refills are free.
[Tips for eating]
â–²Location: 25 Guyeong 7-gil, Gunsan-si, Jeonbuk
â–²Business hours: 05:00 to 15:00 (closed every Wednesday)
â–²Price: Bean sprout gukbap 6,000 won, Moju 1,500 won
â–²Testimonial (Dim Sum): When I was a kid, I went hiking at Wolmyeong Mountain at dawn with my parents and went here with a bowl of bean sprouts gukbap on the way down~ I'm pregnant now, and I think of that flavor, so I went to eat it with my parents yesterday. It's hearty and delicious ^^
Let's enjoy champon in a scene from the movie, Rose Mi-dong's “Bin Haewonâ€
A Chinese restaurant located in Gunsan Champon Specialty Street. It is a long-established poro that is around 70 years old and has been designated as a cultural property. There are many famous Chinese restaurants in Gunsan, and Binhaewon is a “fun to watch†restaurant with a retro interior space where movies are often filmed. The hall located inside has a long table in a long space, making you feel like you are in a Chinese movie.
Binhaewon's famous menu is pujajang, a style that doesn't contain chunjang, and samseon champon, which contains plenty of seafood. You can think of muljajang as a style unique to Jeonbuk and is close to the salty taste of ulmyeon. You can feel the history of this sweet and sour pork in a transparent sauce, in which cabbage, onions, and wood ear mushrooms are stir-fried together, and you can feel the history of the dish.
[Tips for eating]
â–²Location: 57 Dongnyeong-gil, Gunsan-si, Jeonbuk
â–²Business hours: 10:30 ~ 21:00
â–²Price: Water jajang 8,500 won, jajangmyeon 5,000 won, Gunsan samseon champon 8,500 won, sweet and sour pork (small) 14,000 won
â–²Testimonial (Dawn Choi Shikigami): A very good Chinese restaurant! Sweet and sour pork is thin, so you can enjoy the taste of pork without feeling it. Champon tastes like it contains a philosophy that doesn't taste like condiments. Since it was a holiday season, I wasn't able to have many conversations with working people, but I was able to feel their kindness and pride.
A tender Korean beef rib bursts from the mouth, and Sinchang-dong's “Myeongwol ribsâ€
A beef rib restaurant with 60 years of tradition. The store was recently renovated and decorated with a pleasant interior. The menu was faithful to the basics, with beef ribs, noodles that can be served with it, and gomguk soup, which is the main menu. The beef ribs here are cut thin by the owner himself by bringing in good 1+ grade meat in a barrel. The characteristic is that it is slightly chopped with the tip of a knife to allow the seasoning to soak in.
The seasoning maximized the flavor of raw meat as if it had been applied or not, but it is said that the umami was enhanced by using soy sauce and anchovies. If you put the beef ribs on a charcoal grill and cook them slightly to medium, then dip them in the sweet soy sauce that comes with them, you can enjoy the true flavor of the beef ribs as they are.
[Tips for eating]
â–²Location: 59 Guyeong 7-gil, Gunsan-si, Jeonbuk
â–²Business hours: 12:00 to 21:00 (closed every Wednesday)
â–²Price: Korean beef ribs 28,000 won, noodles 3,000 won, gomguk soup 3,000 won
â–²Testimonial (Dawn Choi Shikigami): A very good Chinese restaurant! Sweet and sour pork is thin, so you can enjoy the taste of pork without feeling it. Champon tastes like it contains a philosophy that doesn't taste like condiments. Since it was a holiday season, I wasn't able to have many conversations with working people, but I was able to feel their kindness and pride.