Dish guide · Noodles and dumplings
Makguksu
막국수
Buckwheat noodles
Chewy buckwheat noodles served cold, either in a chilled broth or with a spicy sauce. Gangwon Province, and especially Chuncheon, is its home.
What it is
- Bibim-makguksu is tossed in a spicy, vinegary sauce; mul-makguksu comes in cold broth, often from dongchimi (radish water kimchi).
- Memil-guksu is the broader word for buckwheat noodles. Some shops serve a nutty version dressed with perilla oil.
- Buckwheat flour has no gluten, and shops often mix in some wheat flour, so pure buckwheat isn't guaranteed.
How to eat it
- 1Add vinegar and mustard to taste, and mix the noodles well.
History
- Buckwheat grows well in Gangwon's poor soil, and Chuncheon has a noodle street, a museum and an annual makguksu festival. Sources differ on when the dish took its present form.
Allergies and diet
Usually contains
- Buckwheat is a serious allergen for some people.
- Broths usually contain meat stock or fish sauce from kimchi.
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
- 🍜
Gwanghwamun Mijin 광화문미진
Noodles · Jongno · Since 1954
Seoul's best-known cold buckwheat noodle house since 1954. You dip chilled buckwheat noodles into a cold soy broth that you season yourself with grated radish, green onion, wasabi and seaweed. A Michelin Bib Gourmand pick between Gwanghwamun and Jonggak.
Try: Cold buckwheat noodles (naeng-memil)
30-60 min wait - 🍖
Pyeongando Jokbal 평안도족발집
Jokbal & bossam · Dongdaemun · Since 1961
The old-timer of Jangchung-dong's jokbal street. Jokbal is pork trotter braised for hours in a spiced soy broth, then sliced and served at room temperature: tender meat, sticky skin. Here it is mild and clean-tasting, with buckwheat makguksu noodles and mung bean pancakes on the side.
Try: Jokbal (small, medium, large, extra-large)
Short wait - 🍗
Cheogajip 처가집
Soups & stews · Dongdaemun
North Korean-style steamed chicken served in an old house with no sign above the gate. A whole chicken is cooked plain until tender and arrives on a bed of soft chives; you dip it in a tangy soy and chili sauce. Buckwheat makguksu noodles and steamed dumplings complete the meal.
Try: Ibuk-sik jjimdak (North Korean-style steamed chicken)
Short wait - 🥩
Daeseong-jip 대성집
Korean BBQ · Seongsu
A retro Seongsu eatery whose star is beoseot jumulleok: spicy marinated chicken stir-fried at the table with a heap of mushrooms and no water, a cousin of dakgalbi. A seafood pancake and cold acorn-jelly soup often come along, and staff finish the pan as fried rice.
Try: Beoseot jumulleok (spicy chicken and mushroom stir-fry)
Short wait - 🥩
Dosan Jeongyuk (Cheongdam) 도산정육 청담본점
Korean BBQ · Gangnam
A busy pork barbecue house in Apgujeong Rodeo where staff grill aged pork belly and neck at your table from start to finish. Celebrity visits have made it a favorite with foreign visitors, and the evening line shows it.
Try: Aged samgyeopsal (pork belly)
30-60 min wait - 🍜
Hallasan Arae Cheotmaeul 한라산아래첫마을
Noodles · Seogwipo & South Coast
A buckwheat noodle restaurant on the slopes of Hallasan. Jeju grows much of Korea's buckwheat, and here it goes into bibijakjak-myeon, cold noodles mixed with vegetables and sauce, and warm buckwheat dishes such as jobegi (hand-torn noodles). A pretty place to stop on a west-side drive.
Try: Bibijakjak-myeon (cold mixed buckwheat noodles)
30-60 min wait - 🍜
Tapgol Makguksu (Main) 탑골막국수 본점
Noodles · Yeongjongdo
A buckwheat noodle shop that brought east coast cooking to Yeongjongdo. Try deulgireum makguksu, cold buckwheat noodles tossed in toasted perilla oil, which is nutty rather than spicy. A potato pancake or a plate of pork makes it a bigger meal, and the spicy jang-kalguksu is good on a cold day.
Try: Deulgireum memil-makguksu (buckwheat noodles with perilla oil)
Short wait - 🍜
Yurimmyeon 유림면
Noodles · Myeongdong
An old-school buckwheat noodle shop beside the Deoksugung Palace stone-wall road. In summer, office workers line up for cold buckwheat noodles; in winter, for a bubbling pot of udon-style noodle soup. A Michelin Bib Gourmand pick.
Try: Cold buckwheat noodles (memil-guksu)
Short wait
Sources
We check every fact against at least two sources and write it in our own words. Last checked: 2026-10-31.