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
- 🥣
Gangsanok 강산옥
Noodles · Euljiro, Seoul · Since 1958
A second-floor soybean house by Cheonggyecheon Stream, open since 1958 and only at lunch. From early summer to around September it serves just one dish, thick cold kongguksu; the rest of the year it switches to kongbiji (hot ground-soybean stew) with rice. Locals come here when the line at nearby Wooraeok is too long.
Try: Kongguksu (cold soy-milk noodles)
Locals' pickShort wait - 🍜
Jinju Hoegwan 진주회관
Noodles · Myeongdong, Seoul · 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, Seoul · 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 - 🍲
Aeseong Hoegwan 애성회관
Soups & stews · Myeongdong, Seoul
A gomtang shop in the Bukchang-dong food alley between City Hall and Namdaemun Market, where office workers line up every lunchtime. The clear soup is made from Korean hanwoo beef. Many regulars order the 'teuk' size for extra meat.
Try: Hanwoo gomtang (beef soup)
Locals' pickShort wait - 🍜
Busan Son Kalguksu 부산손칼국수
Noodles · Bomun Lake & Bulguksa, Gyeongju
A local noodle shop near Bulguksa Station, despite the name. The noodles rest for 48 hours, then go into a thick perilla broth, or into cold soy broth in summer. Sales stop at 300 servings a day.
Try: Perilla seed kalguksu
Locals' pickShort wait - 🍜
Cheongsong Son-kalguksu 청송손칼국수
Noodles · Euljiro, Seoul
A daytime-only noodle shop in the Euljiro printing alleys, run in the same spot for nearly 30 years. There are just two dishes: hand-cut noodles in anchovy broth, and cold soy-milk noodles. Printers and office workers eat here alone at lunch.
Try: Son-kalguksu (hand-cut noodle soup)
Locals' pickShort 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 - 🥣
Hongtak Mokpo-jip 홍탁목포집
Noodles · Dongdaemun, Seoul
A modest old eatery near Cheonggu Station famous for kongguksu, thick cold soybean-milk noodles served in a dented tin bowl. Lunch is noodles and home-style dishes; it closes early or when the soy milk runs out.
Try: Kongguksu (cold soybean-milk noodles)
Locals' pick - 🍜
Hwangsaengga Kalguksu 황생가칼국수
Noodles · Seochon & Bukchon, Seoul
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, Seoul
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, Seoul
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, Seoul
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, Seoul
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.