Gwangjin udon restaurant: 48-hour noodles at Kosi

House-made udon near Konkuk University Station

The last time I was in Seoul for a lightning-fast stay of about seven hours, I still had to eat—because food may be one of life's biggest goals, after all. So here comes a quick review of the boundless (food) emotion I found at a great restaurant near Konkuk University Station in Seoul.

Kosi Konkuk University Branch. Not the Korean Series, haha. It is also famous around Konkuk University for tonkatsu, but above all, it is an udon spot introduced on the show Master of Living as a master of rolling udon noodles 👨🦳

Daily 11:10–21:00 (break time 15:00–17:00) (last order 20:30)

After such a long train ride, I was beyond hungry—almost dizzy, honestly—but this welcoming menu at least eased that dizziness 🤵🏻♂️ Kosi's signatures, tonkatsu and house-made cold udon, brought us right back to life.

Wow, this was almost my first time seeing a Master of Living certification plaque 👏👏 And yes, the cold udon we ordered really did have next-level bounce 👏👏

• Cheese tonkatsu
• Tori ten bukkake udon
• Vegetable tempura

An excellent choice, even for someone who does not prefer cold udon

Ta-da~ My order: tori ten bukkake udon. To borrow the menu description, it is cold udon mixed with chilled tsuyu (Japanese soup base) and topped with crispy fried chicken thigh.

I am not normally much of a fan of anything with a “cold” concept, but R said we absolutely had to have this place's signature dish. As a food blogger, it was a suggestion I could not escape 🥷 And I cannot deny that it turned out to be an excellent choice!

At this house-made udon and tonkatsu restaurant recognized by Master of Living, I got to experience that reputation in full 🧐 Their udon noodles reportedly take 48 hours to complete. They use just three ingredients—salt, water, and flour—and go through aging and a second aging process 🫢 It is the traditional Japanese Sanuki method, and the noodles' chew and elasticity are very, very charming 👏👏 (Next-level enough to earn a “very, very.”)

I poured on plenty of tsuyu and ate the springy udon with a slight buckwheat-soba vibe. Wow~ it sat somewhere between sweet and savory-salty, with a full hit of umami.

As a side, the vegetable tempura was great because the vegetables still had texture rather than turning mushy, and it was clean-tasting without too much oily flavor. And the real kick for me was the chicken karaage on top of this cold udon. Be warned: the juices flow freely, and it is seriously nutty and savory. That is why I kept inhaling the tender, moist chicken.

The tori ten bukkake udon came with yubu chobap (seasoned rice in fried tofu pockets), too. It was packed firmly with rice, giving me more than enough reason to finish completely full.

Handmade cheese tonkatsu overflowing with cheese

This is the cheese tonkatsu R ordered. As a well-known cheese lover, R picked this the moment they saw the menu, and first things first: beware of the overflowing cheese. The menu says it is Korean pork generously filled with mozzarella, and that description could not be more spot-on.

Watching big eater R happily inhale it made me feel proud of the Konkuk University Station restaurant I had suggested. “Thick yet tender” may sound a little contradictory, but it suits this handmade cheese tonkatsu remarkably well.

A vivid on-site record of a hearty lunch for aging youths on a chaotic Seoul day trip. This one meal was so filling that we skipped dinner that day—what a substantial lunch. There is a reason this Konkuk University Station restaurant has a wait.