Aewol pork noodle dinner and a lit-up coastal trail walk: Handam Guksu

I had pork noodles at Handam Guksu Gwakji Aewol Branch (한담국수 곽지애월점) in Aewol and even got a walk along Handam Beach afterward.

Where is Handam Guksu Gwakji Aewol Branch, and what are the hours and parking?

Handam Guksu Gwakji Aewol Branch is at 33 Aewol-ro, Aewol-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju, South Korea (1st floor). It's open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–20:30 (last order 19:50) and Monday 10:00–16:20 (last order 15:40). There's room for 3–4 cars in front, and if you park at the Aewol Handam Parking Lot or the Handam Trail Parking Lot, they cover 1 hour. It's close to the Handam Coastal Trail and Aewol Café Street, so you can eat, take a walk, and stroll on to a café.

You can park about 4 cars right in front of the shop! If it's full, the nearby Aewol Handam Parking Lot or Handam Trail Parking Lot gives you 1 hour of parking support. It's perfect for heading straight to the Handam trail or Aewol Café Street after eating, so the location was really great, haha.

What is the evening atmosphere like at Handam Guksu?

Handam Guksu Gwakji Aewol Branch was quite busy even in the evening, and the space is big enough that the tables aren't crammed together. We went at dinner time and there were still plenty of people inside, haha. Families, couples, friends, even foreign visitors, a real mix! The place is also bigger than I expected, and I liked that the tables weren't stuffy or too close.

Handam Guksu Gwakji Aewol Branch menu and prices

At Handam Guksu Gwakji Aewol Branch, the bone broth pork noodles and dongchimi bibim noodles (spicy mixed noodles with radish water kimchi broth) are ₩10,000, the mala pork noodles are ₩11,000, and a large portion costs ₩1,000 extra. Here's the full menu.

• Bone broth pork noodles ₩10,000 (large ₩11,000)
• Dongchimi bibim noodles ₩10,000 (large ₩11,000)
• Mala pork noodles ₩11,000 (large ₩12,000)
• Lean pork gukbap (torem gukbap, rice soup) ₩10,000
• Dombe naengsuyuk (cold boiled pork) ₩15,000
• Handmade pork tteokgalbi (grilled short-rib-style patties), 3 pcs ₩10,000
• Pork dumplings ₩7,000
• Bowl of rice ₩1,000
• Hallasan Soonhan / Hallasan 21 / Chamisul / Cass ₩5,000 each
• Hallabong makgeolli (rice wine) ₩6,000
• Jeju makgeolli ₩4,000
• Jeju beer ₩8,000

We ordered 2 bowls of bone broth pork noodles and the handmade pork tteokgalbi. Just noodles felt a little lacking, so we added one side, and this combo was a really good choice!

How does the bone broth pork noodles taste?

The bone broth pork noodles at Handam Guksu have tender, thinly sliced pork, and the milky bone broth is loaded with bean sprouts, so it's rich yet refreshing. The pork is sliced so thin that it just flutters when you lift it with chopsticks, haha. In the mouth there was nothing tough or dry about it, just really tender! It was also perfect to slurp up in one go together with the noodles, haha.

The broth, as you can see, is a milky bone broth, and it was rich but not heavy. The generous bean sprouts made the broth taste even more refreshing, hahaha.

Pork noodles with soy-pickled dried radish

The side dishes that come with the pork noodles are kimchi and soy-pickled dried radish (mumallaengi), and the combo with the dried radish was the best. These two go really well together, haha. The kimchi was crunchy and spicy and tasty, but eating the noodles with the dried radish was honestly the best for me. Put a piece of dried radish on the noodles and pork and pop it in your mouth in one bite: the chewy texture and salty soy flavor went so well with the tender pork!

If you run out of side dishes, you can just grab more from the self-serve bar, so you can eat without feeling awkward, hehe.

Is the handmade pork tteokgalbi side worth adding?

The handmade pork tteokgalbi (3 pcs, ₩10,000) at Handam Guksu was juicy inside with a sweet-savory sauce, and it paired nicely with the pork noodles. The side I ordered was moist and soft inside, and the sweetish seasoning went really well with the noodles, haha. If just noodles feels lacking, definitely add it as a side, haha. The seasoning isn't harsh, so kids would like it too!

Good location and good taste, so it was a really satisfying meal. Bone broth pork noodles piled with thin, tender pork plus soft handmade tteokgalbi left me nicely full, haha. Do try the combo with the pickled dried radish.

Next stop after Handam Guksu: the Handam Coastal Trail at sunset

The Handam Coastal Trail is right in front of Handam Guksu Gwakji Aewol Branch, so you can walk it straight after eating, and around sunset the lights along the ground come on and the mood is lovely. After a hearty bowl of pork noodles, we walked along the trail right outside the restaurant and it was so good! The sun had just set and soft lights glowed along the path, so it felt really romantic.

It's a great course for a slow walk to digest after a meal, so if you stop by Handam Guksu, definitely walk the trail too. Go around sunset and you get a pretty sea view as a bonus, like I did. If you're planning a trip to Aewol, try this course: a hearty meal at Handam Guksu, sea views along the trail, then a cup of coffee on Café Street 💙

Note: this is not a quote from the Korean edition; ignore.