Korean soups: gukbap, seolleongtang, samgyetang: 64 places (October 2026)
64 restaurants in the Korea on a Plate guide for a bowl of Korean soup, ranked Monthly 30 first and then by Google rating. Each has hours, a price per person and what to order.
In this guide: Jigang Hansikdang (Jigang Korean Restaurant) Apgujeong Main, Ttukbaegijip (Earthen Pot House), Haehwaok, Geumseonggwan Naju Gomtang (Naju-style Beef Soup), Cheolcheol Bokjip.
At a glance: Price per person ₩5,000–₩55,000 (middle ₩13,000). Average Google rating ★4.2. 7 of 64 are open late or 24 hours.
Updated 2026-10-05
Disclosure: the editor of this guide runs Haehwaok. Ranked by the same rule as every other restaurant: this month's 30 first, then review-weighted Google rating.
Tips before you go
Soups come with rice and kimchi. White broths are served mild; add salt and green onion at the table.
Soup houses open early, and several in this list run 24 hours.
Jigang Hansikdang's main Apgujeong restaurant is listed on DiningCode for nakgopsae and Korean dishes. Nakgopsae is ₩17,000, with variations such as chadol nakgopsae (₩20,000), plus cheese octopus stir-fry, an octopus bibimbap set and Korean beef yukhoe; DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as clean, generous and casual.
START WITHNakgopsae · spicy stew of octopus, beef intestines and shrimp
Ttukbaegijip is a small stew restaurant near Jongno 3-ga serving four stews in earthenware pots: snail doenjang, plain doenjang, soft tofu and kimchi stew, all priced ₩8,000–₩9,000. DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as unpretentious, good value and popular with locals.
START WITHUreong Doenjang · soybean paste stew with freshwater snails
Haehwaok is a 24-hour Korean restaurant near Sinnonhyeon Station in Gangnam, Seoul. Visit for Hanwoo beef soup, beef shank and tendon hot pot, bulgogi and Korean beef barbecue, from breakfast to late-night dining.
Geumseonggwan Naju Gomtang serves Naju-style gomtang made with hanu (Korean beef) near Namdaemun Market, along with galbitang, pan-fried beef slices and boiled beef platters. DiningCode lists it for gomtang and dongdongju rice wine, and reviewers most often call it unpretentious, casual, generous and popular with locals.
START WITHNaju Gomtang · Korean beef soup served with rice, Naju style
A blowfish restaurant on a side street between Euljiro 1-ga and Myeongdong where the whole menu is bok: clear bok-jiri and spicy bok-maeuntang at ₩28,000, and salt-grilled blowfish, blowfish bulgogi and grilled milt at ₩43,000. DiningCode reviewers mostly describe it as lively, old-school and unpretentious.
Pair a visit to Gyeongbokgung Palace with a warming bowl of chicken soup. The traditional hanok setting makes this an inviting introduction to Korean comfort food.
A Michelin Guide Busan-listed institution near Haeundae Station, this pufferfish specialist has served bokguk around the clock on its ground floor for years. It's a classic Busan hangover cure and an introduction to a dish visitors rarely find outside Korea's coastal cities.
START WITHBokguk · clear pufferfish soup with bean sprouts
Running since 1949 and now in its third generation, Mapo-ok is regularly named among Seoul's oldest seolleongtang houses. The slow-simmered ox-bone broth is the kind of unfussy, warming meal locals eat any time of day, including breakfast.
One of the long-running tofu houses in Chodang-dong, the seaside neighborhood where tofu is set with seawater instead of standard coagulants, giving it a delicate, custard-like texture. It's a quiet, homestyle counterpoint to Gangneung's beach and coffee-street crowds.
START WITHSundubu · seawater-set soft tofu, plain or in a hot pot
One of Jeju City's most recommended early-morning soup houses, specializing in a Jeju-only style of haejangguk built around bracken fern instead of the cabbage used on the mainland. It opens at 6am and draws locals starting their day alongside travelers wanting a hearty meal.
START WITHGosari haejangguk · bracken-fern and pork-bone soup
Bapjangin Dwaeji Jjigae's Hongdae branch, about 140 m from Hongik University Station, serves pork stews: jjageuli, pork kimchi stew, soft tofu with potato and soft tofu with brisket, plus bulgogi, stir-fried squid and Spam sets for one or two. DiningCode reviewers most often call it unpretentious, generous and good value.
Running since 1968 in the old Mukyo-dong office district, this single-menu restaurant serves the mild, clear pollack soup Seoul office workers turn to as a gentle hangover cure. It opens early and is built for a quick, quiet meal rather than a leisurely dinner.
Baekam sundae is a style from Baekam in Yongin, where the sausage is packed with vegetables and glass noodles rather than filler and the broth is a clear pork bone stock. This is the original branch of the Nongmin group and it draws a steady office lunch crowd from the Daechi and Seolleung blocks. The soup arrives with sundae and assorted pork offal already in the bowl.
START WITHSundae-gukbap · pork blood sausage and offal rice soup
A Korean restaurant in Ikseon-dong centred on onban, rice served in a warm broth, alongside soy-sauce suyuk (sliced boiled pork), dumplings, perilla-oil buckwheat noodles and samgyetang. DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as upscale, with a good view, clean and quiet.
START WITHOnban · warm rice in clear broth with toppings
A samgyetang specialist near Samgakji Station serving whole young chicken in broth, including black-sesame and herbal versions alongside the classic. It is light, warming and an easy first Korean meal; a kimchi pancake on the side is a popular addition.
START WITHSamgyetang · whole young chicken in ginseng broth
Groups & sharingFirst time in KoreaNear the sights
₩22,000 per person
Hours 11:00–21:00
A large, bright dining hall in the heart of Namdaemun Market with seating for over a hundred, this spot is built for the market's steady flow of shoppers and tour groups rather than a quiet meal. It's a dependable, filling stop near Seoul Station and the market's kitchenware and fabric alleys.
START WITHWanggalbitang · large-cut beef short rib soup
Minjeong Sikdang's main branch in Jayang-dong, near Konkuk University, is listed on DiningCode for seolleongtang and boiled-beef hot pot. The menu also has ox-head gomtang, beef knee soup, mixed boiled beef, seafood chive pancake, dumplings and seasonal naengmyeon. Reviewers most often describe it as unpretentious, lively and popular with locals.
A haejangguk house that has fed Gangnam's after-drinks crowd for about thirty years, running almost round the clock near Samseong Station. The signature bowl combines beef tripe and seonji, the mild blood curd, in a beef broth. There is also a clear brisket gomtang for anyone who would rather skip the offal.
START WITHYang-seonji haejangguk · beef tripe and blood curd soup
A beef-soup restaurant near Sinyongsan Station known for gomtang finished with a heap of fresh minari (water dropwort). The broth is clear and deep rather than heavy, and the herb gives it a fresh, green edge. It opens in the morning and runs until 23:00.
START WITHMinari gomtang · beef soup with water dropwort
A sundae-gukbap restaurant a few steps from Olympic Park, open from 08:00 to 22:00 every day. The soup comes full of sundae and pork with rice, and stir-fried spicy squid is the usual side to share. It is one of the most popular soup houses around Jamsil.
START WITHSundae-gukbap · Korean sausage and pork soup
A counter-only shop that serves one dish: a clear broth made from Berkshire pork, poured over rice and topped with thin slices of pork loin. It has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand in the Seoul guide for several years. There are about ten seats and no reservations.
START WITHDwaeji-gomtang · clear pork broth over rice
Running for roughly four decades near the Gangnam/Sinnonhyeon office district, this specialist serves chueotang, a hearty mudfish soup considered a classic restorative dish across Korea. It's a good change of pace from Gangnam's newer restaurants, a genuine old-school lunch spot rather than a trend-driven one.
Every place is in the Korea on a Plate guide, written by an editor who runs four restaurants in Seoul. The list is filtered from published hours, prices and tags; nobody pays to be listed.
