Dish guide · Noodles and dumplings
Jajangmyeon
짜장면
Noodles in black bean sauce
Korea's favorite Chinese-Korean dish: thick wheat noodles under a glossy black sauce of fermented bean paste, pork and onions. It's savory, slightly sweet and not spicy.
What it is
- The sauce is made from chunjang, a dark fermented soybean paste, stir-fried with diced pork, onions and other vegetables.
- Gan-jajang brings the sauce separately, freshly stir-fried without added starch. Samseon-jajang adds seafood.
- Sweet and sour tangsuyuk and spicy jjamppong are the classic partners on the same menu.
How to eat it
- 1Mix the noodles and sauce thoroughly with chopsticks before you start. Pickled yellow radish and raw onion usually come on the side.
History
- It's a Korean version of zhajiangmian from China's Shandong province, and it took shape in the Chinese quarter of Incheon, where port workers wanted something quick and cheap.
- Gonghwachun in Incheon is often called the first restaurant to sell it under this name, but that's disputed, and sources give different dates. The old building is now the Jajangmyeon Museum, which opened in 2012.
- An Incheon company began adding caramel to the bean paste in 1948, giving the sauce its sweet, dark character.
Allergies and diet
Usually contains
- The sauce usually contains pork, and it may contain seafood in samseon versions.
- A few restaurants offer vegetarian jajang. Ask first.
Recipes differ between restaurants. If you have an allergy, always ask the staff before you order.
🗣️ Allergy card for the staff
Pick your allergy to see the sentence in Korean.
📍 Where to try it
- 🍜
Deokhwajang 덕화장
Korean-Chinese · Dongdaemun · Since 1970
A Korean-Chinese restaurant on Jangchung-dong's food street since 1970, the kind of place local offices and Dongguk University alumni have been coming to for decades. Order the house specials, deokhwa-myeon and deokhwa-bap, alongside classic sweet-and-sour pork and black bean noodles.
Try: Deokhwa-myeon, deokhwa-bap (house specials)
Locals' pickNo wait - 🍜
Gaehwa 개화
Korean-Chinese · Nampo & Jagalchi · Since 1968
A Chinese-Korean family restaurant on Nampo-dong's pork trotter alley, opened in 1968 and now in its third generation. It's known for yuni-jajang, a finely minced black bean sauce with more depth than the usual version, and a shelf of Blue Ribbon stickers.
Try: Yuni-jajang (black bean noodles with minced sauce)
Locals' pick - 🥟
Ogu Banjeom 오구반점
Korean-Chinese · Euljiro · Since 1953
A third-generation Chinese-Korean restaurant by Euljiro 3-ga, open since 1953. Thick, crisp fried dumplings are the legend here, best with a bowl of gan-jajangmyeon. An old-fashioned place with plenty of regulars.
Try: Gun-mandu (fried dumplings)
Locals' pickShort wait - 🍜
Sinheunggwan 신흥관
Korean-Chinese · Haeundae & Gwangalli · Since 1954
A Blue Ribbon Korean-Chinese restaurant by Haeundae Market, in business for over 70 years. Regulars come for gan-jajang (black bean noodles with the sauce on the side), sweet and sour tangsuyuk and fried dumplings, and it's an easygoing spot for an afternoon beer.
Try: Gan-jajang (black bean noodles, sauce on the side)
Locals' pick - 🍜
Sinseonggak 신성각
Korean-Chinese · Yeouido & Mapo · Since 1981
A Korean-Chinese noodle shop on a hill near Gongdeok, open since 1981 and only at lunchtime. The noodles are hand-pulled, and the gan-jajangmyeon, with a black bean sauce made without sugar, draws a line most days.
Try: Gan-jajangmyeon (noodles with dry black bean sauce)
Locals' pick30-60 min wait - 🍜
Deokseongwon (Main) 덕성원 본점
Korean-Chinese · Seogwipo & South Coast
A Chinese-Korean restaurant that has served Seogwipo for around 80 years. The order is kkotge-jjamppong: spicy noodle soup with a whole blue crab. Old-fashioned tangsuyuk is a good partner, and there's also a branch in Jungmun.
Try: Kkotge-jjamppong (spicy noodle soup with blue crab)
Short wait - 🍜
Dongillu 동일루
Korean-Chinese · Hongdae
A small Korean-Chinese restaurant in Mangwon-dong run by an ethnic Chinese (hwagyo) family for over 30 years. Locals come for gan-jjajang, noodles with a dry-fried black bean sauce, and chapssal tangsuyuk, crisp and chewy sweet-and-sour pork in a sticky-rice batter. Korean-Chinese food is its own cuisine, and this is a good place to try it.
Try: Chapssal tangsuyuk (sticky-rice sweet-and-sour pork)
Locals' pickShort wait - 🥟
Myeonghwawon 명화원
Korean-Chinese · Itaewon
An old Korean-Chinese restaurant at Samgakji, open for just four hours at lunchtime, that people line up for. It is usually named one of Seoul's three great tangsuyuk (sweet-and-sour pork) houses, and its crisp fried dumplings are just as famous. A good stop before or after the War Memorial of Korea.
Try: Tangsuyuk (sweet-and-sour pork)
30-60 min wait - 🍜
Taebaekgwan 태백관
Korean-Chinese · Seomyeon & Jeonpo
A neighborhood Korean-Chinese restaurant in Seomyeon with low prices and big portions. The house special is hwanggung jajang, a big tray of black bean noodles for sharing, and sets pair noodles with old-style tangsuyuk.
Try: Hwanggung jaengban-jajang (black bean noodles on a tray)
Locals' pick 
Wanchai 완차이
Korean-Chinese · Sinchon & Ewha
A second-generation Chinese-Korean restaurant in the alleys by Yonsei University. Its signature is spicy stir-fried mussels, and regulars also swear by the gan-jajangmyeon and fluffy tangsuyuk.
Try: Spicy stir-fried mussels
Locals' pickShort wait
Sources
We check every fact against at least two sources and write it in our own words. Last checked: 2026-10-31.