Eating in Chuncheon

Chuncheon, the lakeside capital of Gangwon Province, is easy to eat in because it has two famous dishes and most visitors come for both. This page is about how to order them and what to expect. The history of the dishes, including the origin stories, is on the Chuncheon region page, and the province is introduced under Gangwon.

The dakgalbi alley

Dakgalbi is marinated chicken stir-fried in a spicy sauce with vegetables. VisitKorea describes Chuncheon Myeongdong Dakgalbi Street as a 150-meter alley on the back street of Myeongdong, the city's main street, lined with dakgalbi restaurants on both sides. It says the alley took shape in the 1970s and 1980s as restaurants opened one by one, and that cheap, generous portions made the dish a favorite of college students and soldiers.

VisitKorea names two cooking styles that sit side by side in the city. Cheolpan dakgalbi is cooked on a hot iron plate with cabbage, sweet potato, onion and green onion. Sutbul dakgalbi is grilled over charcoal and puts more attention on the meat itself. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture describes the classic marinade as a gochujang base with red pepper powder, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and sugar, and the usual accompaniments as cabbage, sweet potato, carrot, green onion and white rice cake. Charcoal versions may be marinated in salt, soy sauce or chili paste, according to VisitKorea.

How the meal goes

At a typical restaurant, the staff cook at the table or bring a pan ready to finish. You can wrap pieces in lettuce with garlic, and many places let you add extras such as rice cakes, noodles or cheese. VisitKorea notes that the meal often ends with bokkeumbap, rice stir-fried in the leftover sauce, which it calls a beloved ritual. The dish is spicy, so ask about the heat level before ordering if you are sensitive; see capsaicin and spicy food for the wider picture. Bone-in and boneless versions are both offered, and boneless thigh meat is now common.

Makguksu

Makguksu is a buckwheat noodle dish. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture defines it as buckwheat noodles eaten in kimchi broth, made with buckwheat flour kneaded with boiling water. The noodles go into a bowl with chilled kimchi liquid and are topped with chopped kimchi and salted cucumber, then sesame salt and chili. The entry says clear kimchi such as dongchimi or nabak-kimchi works better than kimchi heavy with chili and salted seafood, and that adding some chilled meat stock improves the broth. It also notes that the dish began as a late-night snack and became a lunch meal.

In restaurants you will usually choose between cold broth and spicy bibim style, in which the noodles come dressed in chili sauce. If you are new to buckwheat noodles, try the broth version first for the plain flavor of the grain. For the larger family these noodles belong to, see noodles in Korean history and buckwheat. Buckwheat noodles are often made with some wheat flour, so people avoiding gluten should ask; see gluten-free Korean eating.

Planning tips

• Dakgalbi is usually ordered by the portion for two or more people; makguksu is a single bowl, so a group can split both.
• A small group can try both in one day, with makguksu at lunch and dakgalbi in the evening.
• Ask staff how to cook the pan if the table is self-service; they will usually show you.
• Opening hours, addresses and prices change, and sources give different street addresses for the alley. Confirm with the city's tourism office before you go.