Jjamppong

짬뽕

Spicy seafood noodle soup

♨️ Served hot🌶🌶🌶 Very spicy🥬 Not vegetarian

A fiery red noodle soup packed with seafood and vegetables. With jajangmyeon and tangsuyuk, it's one of the three pillars of Korean-Chinese restaurants.

What it is

Thick wheat noodles sit in a broth colored with chili powder and chili oil, usually with mussels, squid, shrimp, cabbage and onions.
Some shops serve a version with a whole crab or a big beef rib on top.
If you can't decide between jjamppong and jajangmyeon, many restaurants sell a half-and-half bowl.

Styles & local versions

Yakki-udon야끼우동

Despite the Japanese-sounding name, this is a Korean-Chinese dish created in Daegu: noodles stir-fried with seafood and vegetables in a spicy, slightly sweet sauce, with no broth. Most Chinese restaurants in Daegu have it on the menu.

How to eat it

1Eat the seafood first if the bowl is piled high, and leave shells on the side. Pickled radish and raw onion help cool things down.
2Ask for less spicy if you're unsure. Not every kitchen can change it.

History

The name is linked to champon, a dish first served at a Chinese restaurant in Nagasaki in 1899. In Korea, the Shandong community's pale noodle soup became the red, seafood version later, reportedly from the 1960s, though the timeline isn't well documented.

Allergies and diet

Usually contains

wheatshellfishfishpork

Most versions hold mussels, squid and shrimp, and the broth may include pork.

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

🍜
Andongjang 안동장
Korean-Chinese · Euljiro, Seoul · Since 1948
A Korean-Chinese restaurant open since 1948 and the place credited with creating gul-jjamppong: a white, gently spicy noodle soup packed with oysters. Order it plain or spicy, with crisp shrimp toast on the side.
Try: Gul-jjamppong (oyster noodle soup)
Short wait
🍜
Gaehwa 개화
Korean-Chinese · Nampo & Jagalchi, Busan · 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
🥟
Sandong Gyoja 산동교자
Korean-Chinese · Myeongdong, Seoul · Since 1978
A small Chinese restaurant run by an ethnic Chinese (hwagyo) couple across from the Chinese Embassy in Myeongdong, open since 1978. Crisp fried dumplings, juicy boiled dumplings, five-spice pork and oyster jjamppong draw long-time office regulars.
Try: Gun-mandu (fried dumplings)
Locals' pickShort wait
🍜
Yonghwa Banjeom 용화반점
Korean-Chinese · Chinatown & Sinpo, Incheon · Since 1972
A Chinese-Korean restaurant run by an ethnic Chinese family near Dong-Incheon since 1972. Locals line up for its fried rice and crispy sweet-and-sour pork with the sauce poured over.
Try: Fried rice
Locals' pick
🥢
Abanggung 아방궁
Korean-Chinese · Gangnam Station & COEX, Seoul
A 24-hour Korean-Chinese restaurant on a second floor in the Gangnam Station food alley, with many private rooms used for office dinners and family meals. Jajangmyeon, seafood jjamppong and sweet-and-sour dishes through the night, plus set courses for groups.
Try: Seafood jjamppong (spicy noodle soup)
Locals' pickNo wait
🍜
Deokseongwon (Main) 덕성원 본점
Korean-Chinese · Seogwipo & South Coast, Jeju
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
🥟
Deoksunru 덕순루
Korean-Chinese · Namdaemun & Seoul Station, Seoul
A Chinese-Korean restaurant that has stood in the same Namyeong-dong spot since 1959. Classic jajangmyeon, jjamppong and crisp tangsuyuk at fair prices, plus a garlicky kkanpunggi (sweet-spicy fried chicken) that regulars rate highly.
Try: Jajangmyeon
Locals' pick
🍜
Dongillu 동일루
Korean-Chinese · Hongdae, Seoul
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
🥟
Eohyangwon 어향원
Korean-Chinese · Hwangnidan-gil & Old Town, Gyeongju
A third-generation Chinese restaurant run by an ethnic Chinese family, a welcome break from Korean food on a Gyeongju trip. Skip the usual order and try the eggplant dumplings and Taiwanese beef noodle soup.
Try: Eggplant dumplings
30-60 min wait
🥢
Haenghwachon 행화촌
Korean-Chinese · Myeongdong, Seoul
A Korean-Chinese restaurant run by an ethnic Chinese family on the old Chinatown street in front of the Chinese Embassy in Myeongdong. Office workers fill its two floors at lunch for jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) and crisp, spicy lajogi (chili fried chicken).
Try: Jajangmyeon (black bean noodles)
Locals' pickShort wait
🥢
Hohwa Banjeom 호화반점
Korean-Chinese · Gangnam, Seoul
A decades-old Korean-Chinese restaurant at Apgujeong Rodeo, now in a clean two-floor building with private rooms upstairs. Dry-fried black bean noodles, brisket jjamppong and sticky-rice sweet and sour pork are the standards. Busy with office workers at lunch and families on weekends.
Try: Dry-fried black bean noodles
Locals' pickShort wait
🍜
Junghwa Banjeom 중화반점
Korean-Chinese · Downtown & Seomun Market, Daegu
A Chinese restaurant off Dongseong-ro, often called the birthplace of yakki-udon, Daegu's spicy stir-fried noodles with seafood and vegetables. Pair it with old-style sweet-and-sour pork.
Try: Yakki-udon
🥟
Myeonghwawon 명화원
Korean-Chinese · Itaewon, Seoul
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
🍜
Sinseung Banjeom 신승반점
Korean-Chinese · Chinatown & Sinpo, Incheon
Chinatown's busiest jajangmyeon house, known for yuni-jajang and crispy sweet-and-sour pork. Take a waiting number first, then look around the neighborhood while you wait.
Try: Yuni-jajangmyeon
30-60 min wait
Wanchai 완차이
Korean-Chinese · Sinchon & Ewha, Seoul
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
🍜
Wonjo Gangneung Gyodong Banjeom 원조강릉교동반점 본점
Korean-Chinese · Downtown, Chodang & Gyeongpo, Gangneung
The original shop behind Gangneung's famous Gyodong jjamppong: a fiery, smoky seafood noodle soup. It's basically a one-dish restaurant, and the line outside is part of the experience.
Try: Gyodong jjamppong
30-60 min wait
🍜
Yangjagang (Yeongjongdo Main) 양자강 영종도본점
Korean-Chinese · Yeongjongdo, Incheon
The noodle stop near Eurwangni Beach, known for its wang-galbi-jjamppong: spicy seafood noodle soup with a huge beef rib on top. It's big, messy and very satisfying. Regulars also recommend the tangsuyuk.
Try: Wang-galbi-jjamppong (spicy noodle soup with a big beef rib)
30-60 min wait