Dish guide · Noodles and dumplings
Kongguksu
콩국수
Noodles in cold soy milk
A summer noodle dish: wheat noodles in thick, chilled, freshly ground soy milk. It's nutty, mild and very refreshing.
What it is
- Soybeans are cooked and ground into a creamy broth, usually topped with cucumber, sometimes egg, tomato or ice.
- It's seasoned at the table, and shops are divided on salt or sugar. It tends to be a seasonal dish, so check that it's being served.
How to eat it
- 1Taste it first and add salt from the table. It's often eaten with young radish kimchi.
History
- Its origins aren't well documented. One account places it as a simpler alternative to an upper-class sesame noodle soup.
Allergies and diet
Usually contains
- Some recipes add peanuts, walnuts, pine nuts or sesame to the broth.
- The kimchi served with it usually contains fish sauce.
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
- 🍜
Jinju Hoegwan 진주회관
Noodles · Myeongdong · Since 1962
Seoul's most famous kongguksu: noodles in an ice-cold, almost porridge-thick soy milk broth, served since 1962. It is a summer ritual for office workers around City Hall, with lines out both doors on hot days.
Try: Kongguksu (cold soy milk noodles)
Short wait - 🍜
Myeongdong Kyoja 명동교자
Noodles · Myeongdong · Since 1966
Myeongdong's most famous noodle house, serving kalguksu since 1966: knife-cut noodles in a rich chicken broth topped with minced meat and four tiny dumplings, eaten with a fiercely garlicky kimchi. Koreans and visitors alike call it a must on any Myeongdong trip.
Try: Kalguksu
Short wait - 🍜
Donmul Guksu 돈물국수
Noodles · Jeju City & North Coast
A lunch-only noodle shop in a quiet Jeju City neighborhood, and a favorite of locals. Black bean noodles in a thick, cold soy broth (geomeun-kong-guksu) are a big draw. Hours are short, so come at opening time.
Try: Donmul-guksu (house pork noodle soup)
Locals' pick30-60 min wait - 🍜
Hwangsaengga Kalguksu 황생가칼국수
Noodles · Seochon & Bukchon
A Bukchon noodle house known for kalguksu in a milky beef-bone broth and fist-sized handmade dumplings. Right across from the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, it is a favorite lunch stop between galleries and palaces.
Try: Beef bone broth kalguksu
30-60 min wait - 🍜
Jinju-jip (Yeouido) 진주집
Noodles · Yeouido & Mapo
A basement noodle shop in the Yeouido Department Store with a national reputation for kongguksu: thick, nutty, ice-cold soy milk noodles. Office workers also come for the chicken kalguksu and plated dumplings.
Try: Kongguksu (cold soy milk noodles)
Short wait - 🍜
Matjarang 맛자랑
Noodles · Gangnam Station & COEX
A noodle restaurant near Seolleung Station, in business for over 35 years and often counted among Seoul's three great kongguksu (cold soy milk noodle) houses. In colder months the oyster soup with rice takes over, and it's an easy stop from the royal tombs.
Try: Kongguksu (cold soy milk noodles)
Short wait - 🍜
Myeong Guksu 명국수
Noodles · Seongsu
A plain, friendly noodle shop that has fed Seongsu office workers for over a decade. The bowls are big and cheap for the area: anchovy-broth noodles, sweet-spicy bibim guksu, and in summer a thick, nutty kongguksu (cold soy milk noodles). The house kimchi is made daily.
Try: Myeolchi guksu (noodles in anchovy broth)
Locals' pickShort wait - 🥣
Sindangdong Cheon Patjuk 신당동천팥죽
Noodles · Dongdaemun
A tiny red bean porridge shop by Sindang Station. Patjuk here is savory, not sweet: thick red bean porridge with chewy sticky-rice balls, or red bean soup with hand-cut noodles. In summer it adds a rich black-bean kongguksu (cold soy milk noodles).
Try: Saeal-patjuk (red bean porridge with rice balls)
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.