Three bowls of gukbap at a Changwon Bukmyeon restaurant: Myeongin

Myeongin Dwaeji Gukbap, a Changwon Bukmyeon restaurant for pork soup. Words and photos © Kim Kuma.

🐻 Myeongin Dwaeji Gukbap is a great place to head to in Changwon Bukmyeon when you're craving a hot bowl of soup. My mom used to be a regular here — the owner is kind and the portions and flavor are good — so this time I went along with her.

Where is Myeongin Dwaeji Gukbap, and is there parking?

Myeongin Dwaeji Gukbap is located at 897 Cheonju-ro, Bukmyeon, Uichang-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, and is open from 09:10 to 20:50. It's a spot most people reach by car, so it's convenient that there's a spacious private parking lot.

It had been a while since I last visited this Changwon Bukmyeon favorite. Since it's in Bukmyeon, it's a good place to stop for a simple meal while heading that way — especially since it's on the road to Bukmyeon Hot Springs, making it a good spot for a warm bowl of gukbap before or after soaking.

Walking into the restaurant, the friendly owner greeted us warmly, which made for a pleasant start. Since this was a place my mom used to frequent, it felt extra nostalgic to be there.

Six-person sofa seats and the self-serve bar

Myeongin Dwaeji Gukbap has six-person sofa seating, which is good whether you're dining with a group or eating solo. It has that cozy, familiar feel typical of a gukbap restaurant, and what stood out most was how spacious and roomy the seating was. With plenty of room, I could enjoy the meal at a relaxed pace, which I liked.

There's also a self-serve bar for customers. You can freely help yourself to any side dishes you need.

Myeongin Dwaeji Gukbap menu and prices

Myeongin Dwaeji Gukbap, a Changwon Bukmyeon restaurant for pork soup, uses domestic chilled pork. There's a variety of gukbap options — pork, lean meat, sundae (blood sausage), sundae with extra sausage, offal, and mixed. If you want to enjoy just clean pork, go for the dwaeji gukbap or salgogi gukbap; if you want a heartier bowl with sundae and offal, choose the sundae, offal, or mixed gukbap. Beyond the soups, there are also side dishes like suyuk baekban (boiled pork set meal), a suyuk sampler, and a sundae sampler — good options to order together when dining with a group.

How the dwaeji, salgogi and sundae gukbap tasted

That day we ordered three bowls: dwaeji gukbap at ₩10,000, salgogi gukbap at ₩10,000, and sundae gukbap at ₩10,000.

Ordering gukbap comes with a generous spread of side dishes — chives, napa cabbage kimchi, diced radish kimchi, and seasoning sauce, among others. On top of that, there's thin wheat noodles, lettuce, and more noodles, making for a pretty solid side dish lineup. The kimchi and diced radish kimchi in particular were delicious, and great for slurping alongside the soup.

As soon as the gukbap arrived, I tried a spoonful of the warm broth first.

The broth overall was clean and savory, leaning more comforting than intense — easy to eat. One of the things I worry about most with gukbap is that gamy pork smell, but Myeongin Dwaeji Gukbap's broth was clean with rich flavor, which I liked.

The pork is generously portioned. The pieces are on the thick side, but not tough — tender and yielding to the bite. It goes well eaten with rice, and when soaked in the broth it turns moist yet clean-tasting, which was excellent.

I tend to order sundae gukbap whenever I go to a gukbap restaurant, so that day I ordered it without a second thought.

Sundae gukbap has both pork and sundae (blood sausage) in it, so a single bowl is hearty and satisfying on its own. Loading it up with chives added a fragrant note that made the clean broth flavor even more vivid.

The sundae had a springy yet chewy texture. The filling blended together smoothly and tasted great.

Is Myeongin Dwaeji Gukbap worth a visit?

Myeongin Dwaeji Gukbap let us enjoy a generous serving of tender meat in a steaming milky-white broth. I liked the clean broth and the generous amount of meat. If you're looking for a hearty meal in Bukmyeon, this is a Changwon Bukmyeon restaurant worth remembering.