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GyeongjuVisited April 2021 Views –

Gyeongju Wonjo Kongguk: Warm Soybean Soup for Breakfast near Daereungwon

A grey bowl of kongguksu: yellow noodles in pale soybean broth topped with shredded cucumber and half a boiled egg, with small side dishes of kimchi and seasoned green chili behind it.
How to order Address & map

Most travelers meet Korean soybean soup as kongguksu, a cold noodle dish for hot days. Gyeongju Wonjo Kongguk (경주원조콩국) does it the other way round. The house bowl is warm kongguk (따뜻한 콩국): soybean soup that you finish with toppings. The shop sits near the main gate of the Daereungwon tomb park, and Visit Gyeongju, a Gyeongju tourism site, dates it to 1956 and says the third generation now runs it.

A white bowl of warm kongguk, a pale creamy soybean soup with pieces of fried dough floating in it, beside a small dish of red seasoned strips.
Warm kongguk as it arrived in April 2021, with a small red side dish.

One soup, three ways

The wall menu I photographed in April 2021 listed warm kongguk in three numbered combinations. Visit Gyeongju's current listing shows two, so the lineup may have changed.

  1. black sesame, black beans, honey and glutinous-rice doughnut
  2. sesame oil, perilla (들깨), egg yolk and dark sugar
  3. glutinous-rice doughnut, perilla (들깨), egg yolk and dark sugar

The bowl in my photos has pale pieces of fried dough in it, and the spoonful below is flecked with dark specks, which fits number 1.

A spoon lifting soft pieces of dough coated in soybean soup flecked with dark specks, above the white bowl.
A spoonful: soft doughnut pieces coated in soup and flecked with dark specks.

Gyeongju City's food guide says the dish looks like a light meal but fills you up more than you expect, goes down easily, and suits all ages. It also recommends the shop for breakfast. Visit Gyeongju describes the flavor as deep and nutty and says the soup is made without additives.

If you want noodles

Kongguksu (콩국수) is a separate order: noodles in soybean broth, normally a cold dish, here topped with shredded cucumber and half a boiled egg and served with kimchi and a few small side dishes. It is not a larger version of the warm soup, so order by the full name. There is also 냉우무콩국, a cold soybean soup with agar jelly.

The menu, then and now

The wall menu at Gyeongju Wonjo Kongguk in April 2021, listing warm soybean soup in three numbered combinations, kongguksu, soft tofu stew and a seafood pancake among other dishes and drinks, with prices in won.
The wall menu in April 2021. Prices have gone up since.

My photo of the wall menu is from April 2021, when warm kongguk cost ₩5,000 to ₩6,000 and kongguksu ₩7,000. Visit Gyeongju's listing now shows warm kongguk at ₩7,000 to ₩8,000, kongguksu at ₩9,000, cold umu kongguk at ₩7,000 and sundubu-jjigae (soft tofu stew) at ₩12,000. The same listing names soy, peanut and shrimp as allergens and says vegetarian and vegan options are available.

How to order

Show this to the staff

따뜻한 콩국 1번 하나 주세요.

Ttatteutan kongguk il-beon hana juseyo.

One warm kongguk, number 1, please.

콩국수 하나 주세요.

Kongguksu hana juseyo.

One kongguksu, please.

땅콩 들어가요?

Ttangkong deureogayo?

Does it contain peanuts?

If the words fail you, point at the dish on the menu. The 2021 menu board also says every dish can be packed to go if you ask when you order.

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