Yongin Chinese restaurant with thin noodles: Doseogwan Dwitjip

A handmade-noodle Chinese restaurant behind Cheongdeok Library

Doseogwan Dwitjip (도서관뒷집) 📍 In the back alley behind Cheongdeok Library, Giheung-gu, Yongin “A Yongin Chinese restaurant with handmade noodles, located behind Cheongdeok Library” 🕑 Hours: 11 AM–8 PM Closed every Monday Break time: 2:30 PM–5 PM 🅿️ Parking: In front of the restaurant or on nearby streets

Even after moving, I still occasionally have things to do in Dongbaek, Yongin, where I used to live. This was one of those days when I had business in Dongbaek for the first time in a while.

After finishing up in the morning, we decided to have lunch nearby. We all went to Doseogwan Dwitjip, a popular Chinese restaurant near Cheongdeok Library that my partner had visited after it was recommended to us.

When my partner first suggested Doseogwan Dwitjip, I pictured a café serving something like brunch. But it was actually a Chinese restaurant, which was funny. The name makes sense because it is near Cheongdeok Library, but perhaps that unusual-for-a-Chinese-restaurant name is what makes it even more memorable..

We came on a Saturday at lunchtime, and it was almost completely full. It is not in the middle of a busy commercial district, but on a quiet mixed residential-and-shop alley behind the library, so I was amazed that everyone had found it. It seemed word had spread locally that this was a great place to eat.

An atmosphere like a bookstore or café

True to its name, books were displayed throughout the restaurant as if it were a bookstore or library, which was also distinctive. The interior almost made me think it was a café. If they changed only the menu to a café menu right then, no one would find it strange—the atmosphere was that café-like.

The basic table setting was simple: danmuji (pickled yellow radish), onion, chunjang (black bean paste), paper cups, and a water bottle.

From children's jjajang to spicy pepper jjajang sets

The menu focused on main dishes, and I noticed several options designed for sharing, including sizzling-plate jjajang and set menus.

There were many families dining with children, not just us, and since there was a children's jjajang menu, we ordered it for our son.

That meant we could order spicy pepper jjajang and jjamppong for ourselves and enjoy a little spicy kick for the first time in a while.

We ordered the spicy pepper jjajang and jjamppong as set menus: one with tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) and one with fried dumplings. The spicy pepper jjajang was topped with sliced Cheongyang chili peppers, red chili powder, and shichimi spice.

Thin white noodles and rich jjamppong broth

Doseogwan Dwitjip is known for its thin, white noodles, and I was a little worried because they differed from the usual yellow corn noodles. But once I mixed them well with the sauce and tasted them, those worries disappeared—they were delicious Chinese-style noodles. Sometimes white noodles taste only of flour and seem bland, which was why I had worried, but these noodles were tasty in their own right.

Their thinness was another advantage: the sauce clung well to them, and the texture felt just right. The spicy jjamppong also came in a generous portion.

Again, the noodles were a little thinner than standard Chinese-style noodles, and they worked wonderfully with the rich, refreshing jjamppong broth. There were plenty of ingredients, the broth was delicious, and I really enjoyed the jjamppong too.

The tangsuyuk and fried dumplings that came as set-menu sides. The now-common tangsuyuk with its white glutinous-rice batter was deliciously crisp, and the fried dumplings felt satisfyingly classic.

I was going to give all the sides to my son, but he left a little of each for us to taste haha.

Read with the kids, then have jjajangmyeon

We often spent time with the kids on weekends at Cheongdeok Library in Cheongdeok-dong, and now that a great Chinese restaurant has opened nearby, it seems like the kind of place where you can read books, enjoy delicious jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles), and make happy memories together. Come to think of it, there seem to be quite a few good places around Cheongdeok-dong. I would recommend it for delicious jjajangmyeon and jjamppong with children or friends.